www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall An NC-17 Mother Teresa film

My blood pressure is up and my temper is roused. I need to take a walk and let off my steam, for I've just found out that a pot smoking hippie named Rob Cohen is directing an NC-17 film that involves Mother Teresa.

The title of the movie is Teresa: The Making of a Saint. It is described as a film in a film and its plot involves a liaison with a priest. (To see the G-rated trailer, here is the link: http://www.teresathemakingofasaint.co.uk/)

I don't care if this is a "comedy" or if the director doesn't believe Catholics will take offense, I am seriously offended. I'm so mad I'm sweating.

Terry

TERRY:

My brother--

Take a deep breath and chill. Like the desecration of the Eucharist vidoes on YouTube--the Enemy is alive and well. We need to pray for those with such a depraved mind.

Remember we are all to answer for every thought, word, and deed. So don't add to your own burden by letting the Enemy push your buttons and making you become angry. Let no one steal your peace. Christ is still in charge and He allows this only because there are people praying for His Mercy toward the whole world.

Otherwise, do you doubt that you could wake up some morning to see the mountains melt like wax because He's had enough and He's come back to settle accounts? Best for us to pray for these people--like the prayer posted some time ago by an Orthodox bishop who'd spent time in a concentration camp and composed a beautiful prayer for his enemies.

In Christ,

BOB

Wow that looks terrible.

I am no longer angry. The Jesus Prayer and a reading in the Psalms and your words brought be back to the right perspective.

I watched the trailer, it doesn't specificly say it's about Mother Theresa though it does appear to be based on her. As far the subplot of her having a romantic attachment to a priest, there's nothing in the trailer to imply it depicts a physical relationship. Almost every film or novel about priests or nuns contains some subplot about them having some romantic attraction at one point (see "The Nun's Story" "The Singing Nun" "Song of Bernadette"). If anything the voice over indictaes the film casts her in a good light with the usual "she went to serve the poorest of the poor" ...schtick.

I'll be up front...I don't have a high opinion of Mother Theresa. I hope some one will make a film about her that is accurate; ie., showing her accepting and refusing to return money from Charles Keating, sucking up to Jean-Claude Duvalier, allowing her homes for the sick to remain in squalor while her order amassed a fortune etc.

Easy now! regardless of any negative speculation or hearsay(possible evidence?). It is improper to judge or speak ill of the dead, Just looking out for you

"There's nothing in the trailer to imply it depicts a physical relationship."

They show her with loud makeup and suggest a strong sensuality. It is the NC-17 rating which convinces me of its content. The trailer is a teaser.

I don't see why Mother Teresa would be ethically obliged to return Keating's donation. The private request from the prosecutor working for the DA of Los Angeles County to return the "ill begotten" donations was not in any way binding on her. She was not an active participant in the Savings and Loan scandal and she would have been making an inside-the-beltway political move to have rejected the funds from when he first offered to his last donation. The world does not revolve around Washington D.C.

You look at her politically, but political power and manipulation was not the essence of her mission.

Terry

Her fawning over the Duvaliers is well documented as is the fact that she refused to return the money Charles Keating gave her after the California DA wrote to her and informed her that he had obtained the money by defrauding American's retirement funds.

I did not deny the facts, I disagree with your assumptions.

[quote=Terry Bohannon
I don't see why Mother Teresa would be ethically obliged to return Keating's donation. The private request from the prosecutor working for the DA of Los Angeles County to return the "ill begotten" donations was not in any way binding on her. She was not an active participant in the Savings and Loan scandal and she would have been making an inside-the-beltway political move to have rejected the funds from when he first offered to his last donation. The world does not revolve around Washington D.C.

You look at her politically, but political power and manipulation was not the essence of her mission.Terry [/quote]

She was ethically obliged because she had been informed that it was stolen from hard working ppl who were left destitute in thier old age by Charles Keating. Sorry, there is no defending that.

"She was ethically obliged because she had been informed that it was stolen from hard working ppl who were left destitute in their old age by Charles Keating. Sorry, there is no defending that. She was a money grubbing media-skank plain and simple."

But the donations covered a span of years. It was not one lump sum. The money would have been spent by the time she received the letter.

Her decision to ignore the letter did not change the situation of the suffering elderly; I don't see how returning the money would have helped them if so many lawyers had their hands in the bin. The needs of the poor in India and throughout the world would be greater. America has the wealthiest poor on the planet. I am confident that the money Keating donated was put to good use.

Terry

Of course it's always ok for the good ol' USA to bank roll the rest of the world, never mind our own needy...

Look, I apologise for for some of the language I've used, but bottom line: I believe Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu did very little for the poor in India or anywhere else. She interfered with politics when it suited her and used the poor as a fundraising tool to amass a fortune for her order. I do not believe she was saint. I've read plenty about her, pro & con and I've decided the "con" outwieghs the "pro". Just my $0.02

David:

If Mother Teresa's order amassed a fortune for themselves, why do the members live no better than the people they serve? From all accounts, the members get two habits, eat very poorly, and work so hard. If I were looking for a soft berth in the religious life, they'd be the last people I'd want to be a permanent part of. It seems to me that the reason to amass a fortune is to better oneself and one's family or colleagues as in the case of a religious order.

BOB

Maybe you ought to read a little on detraction and calumny. Right or wrong you are speaking unbelievably hatefully and are just totally lacking in charity. May God have mercy on your soul! How shameful!

I can understand that if one does not believe in the sanctity of someone under consideration for canonization by the Church, one would not pray for their intercession. And David, I like yourself, would not think to ask Mother Teresa for heavenly intervention. But this is a matter of one's personal beliefs. As I am sure you are aware, many Catholics hold her in very high regard, and some even hold her to be a saint. From my reading, it would appear that Mother Teresa did much more good than harm, and I just don't see evidence of profiteering on her part. Expressing such mean spirited words in regards to someone that your friends and co-posters hold dear, without making any point other than you just don't like her, strikes me as being just a tad harsh. There are many Ukrainian Catholics that do not hold the Royal Martyrs of Russia in very high regard, but I have never heard anyone refer to them in derogatory terms. So unless there is some point that you are trying to make as to why she should not be revered, why stir the pot of animosity?

Alexandr