Episode Details

Dr. Matthew Petrusek

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I’m Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Hollywood is not known for being friendly to Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular, especially nowadays; unfortunately, there is no shortage of storylines and characters that mock and even demonize believers. At the same time, however, whenever the film industry wishes to depict a “religious looking” scene or add a transcendent element to the plot, it frequently employs Catholic architecture, Catholic sacramentals, and even Catholic priests to do so. What should we make of this ambivalence to the faith? What does Hollywood get wrong, and what, perhaps to our surprise, does Hollywood get right about Catholicism and the priesthood? What do these portrayals tell us more broadly about potential openness within the entertainment industry to God’s existence, the divinity of Christ, good and evil, and life after death? Here to take a look at some pivotal classic and contemporary films that prominently feature Catholicism and Catholic priests, with an eye to unpacking their significance for the wider entertainment culture, is Bishop Robert Barron.

Topics Covered

00:00 | Introduction
01:19 | Bishop Barron’s recent watchlist
02:44 | What movies have meant to Word on Fire
04:06 | Artificial intelligence and cinema
05:10 | Hollywood and the Catholic priesthood
07:06 | Examining the evangelical strategies of Christian studios
08:43 | Boys Town (1938)
12:10 | The Exorcist (1973)
21:13 | True Confessions (1981)
24:42 | The Mission (1986)
29:07 | Calvary (2014)
32:51 | How best to portray Catholicism and the priesthood in movies
34:17 | How best to watch movies depicting the priesthood
36:04 | Listener question: How did St. Thérèse help on CATHOLICISM?
38:26 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

Links:

• Word on Fire Institute: 

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