Monday, November 2, 2009

Has Mel softened up?

Actor Mel Gibson and his girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva are the proud parents of a baby girl named Lucia. Earlier this year, Mel and his wife of thirty years filed for divorce.

I'm a bit confused by Gibson's behavior. When he was filming The Passion of the Christ, he told interviewers that his wife would not have the gift salvation since she (I believe Episcopalian) was not Catholic. During this same period, reports of his "ultra- religious orthodoxy" surfaced when it became public that he is a part of a splinter Catholic group that does not recognize the authority of Pope Benedict or the changes of Vatican II.

Despite his very conservative adherence, Gibson filed for divorce this year and now has a child with a woman who is not even his wife. I know this makes me sound like a puritan, but doesn't this type of thing come into conflict with his Catholicism? Or has he softened up and relaxed his stringent beliefs? Is he still a part of his Catholic splinter group? Maybe I'm just picking on him unfairly.

9 comments:

X said...

Mel is thinking with the wrong...ah...never mind.

Therese said...

I have wondered the same thing since hearing the news Tom. I wonder though if once someone rejects the authority of the Pope, if they start to reject other Catholic beliefs.

Tracy said...

I think Therese has hit it right on!!

Shirley said...

Hmmm, Therese has a point. But you can be sure that the devil was so p-eed off at the movie The Passion, which drew a lot of people back to Christ, or at least renewed their fervor for His Passion that his attacks on Mel became stronger. I hope that in the end Mel will come back to living his faith, and who knows; we are not to judge his marriage- to a non Catholic- but I sure hope he isn't jumping from the frying pan into the fire. So to speak.

Cathy_of_Alex said...

Dissent is dissent no matter what kinds of apparently orthodox garb it may wear. I've said many times that there is no difference between "progressive" dissidents and the "ultra-trad" dissidents. Rejection of part of the teaching authority of the church is rejection of all of it.

I"ll pray for Mel. I don't know where his head is at either, though it appears his soul is definitely conflicted.

Tom in Vegas said...

Angela-

Don't go there:0)

Aussie-

You bring up an excellent point. Perhaps one might say that if one rejects the teachings of the Magisterium, one self-excommunicates.

Tracy-

I second that motion!

Shirley-

I agree with you. The Passion did draw a lot of people back to Christ. Ironically, it was the most profitable rated "R" movie of all time.

Cathy-

You bring up an excellent point which I had failed to previously recognize. Ultra-trads are just as big a dissidents as the liberal Catholics. Realizing this makes for a nice wake-up call for peole who think they can be more Catholic than the Pope.

Terry Nelson said...

Seriously - I read somewhere that his dad "annulled" his marriage to his wife. His dad is a sedevacantist and a holocaust denier - the family has issues - no wonder Mel drinks.

While filming the Passion he must have been caught up in some sort of psycho/spiritual fervor - for which everyone canonized him. He's just a Hollywood guy. I'm afraid zealous Catholics are trying to make a saint out of the guy who starred in "Bella" as well.

Men - human beings - will always dissapoint us if we put them on some sort of plaster pedestal.

Terry Nelson said...

Yep Daddy took care of it:

http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/celebrity/inthemag/844132/mels-marriage-is-annulled-by-his-own-dad

Tom in Vegas said...

Terry-

I was completely unaware that his father was playing a role in his divorce to his wife, Robyn. But I was aware of his father's very controversial views about both the Catholic Church and the holocaust. You are correct. A family like that loaded with issues will definitely drive someone if not to drink, then to something more serious.