Cardinal of New York: “Go to see The Passion”

Mar 1, 2004 / 22:00 pm

The Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Edward Egan, has urged parishioners to see Mel Gibson's blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ.”

“It's good that we see that movie because that movie tells us about the greatest prayer, the greatest sacrifice that was ever made,” said the Cardinal, during a ceremony of introduction of a group that will be accepted into the Catholic Church on Easter.

“The victim was Jesus Christ, the priest was Jesus Christ, he offered himself,” the Cardinal said.

“The film represented the sacrifice of Christ. It is here today in this beloved cathedral, the reality of this sacrifice,” he added.

The Archbishop of New York said he hoped the congregation would walk out of St. Patrick's Cathedral with the same indelible impression of Christ's sacrifice as audiences experienced viewing “The Passion.”

“It is my hope that you leave here this morning and feel like you will never be the same,” he said.

Further commenting on the film, the Cardinal said that “over the last few months, one would think that the only film that had ever been made was ‘The Passion’ by Mel Gibson.”

“Culture can tell us that there is no sin and there is no temptation, but life shouts back that there is. But we know there is sin, we know there is temptation,” he concluded.