Thursday, November 04, 1999

The movie "Dogma" has raised the ire of Catholic protesters -- and that's even before they've had a chance to see it.

But not all Catholics who see it will be ... well, dogmatic in their condemnation.

"Dogma," which was shot in Pittsburgh last year, has been denounced by the Catholic League and other detractors who have labeled it blasphemous and a mockery of the things they hold sacred. The film receives its local premiere Friday as the opening movie in this year's Three Rivers Film Festival. It opens nationally Nov. 12.

Yesterday, a critic's screening was held in Oakland, and along for the ride was the Rev. Carmen D'Amico, pastor at St. Benedict the Moor Roman Catholic Church, Hill District. D'Amico was aware of the controversy surrounding the movie and that it had to do with Catholicism, but he did not know precisely what the film was about before seeing it.

The plot centers on a pair of fallen angels, played by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who hope to exploit a loophole in Catholic dogma to receive plenary indulgence, wiping away their sins and allowing them to return to heaven. If they succeed, however, they would render God fallible and, thus, destroy all existence.

The movie contains a character, played by Linda Fiorentino, who works in an abortion clinic and turns out to be a distant relative of Jesus. It features a cardinal who tries to replace the crucifix as a symbol of the church with a smiling, winking, thumbs-up statue of Jesus he calls "Buddy Christ." It depicts God as a woman. And it contains swearing, raw talk about sex, marijuana use, some violence and a demon made of excrement.

Writer-director Kevin Smith, who says he is a devout Catholic, calls the film "a pro-faith, pro-Catholic, spiritually uplifting" movie, but one that he acknowledges employs lots of the vulgar humor that has become one of his trademarks.

So what did D'Amico think?

"I liked it in many ways," he says. "It was an interesting attempt at trying to explain or understand God and the workings of God, and it was creative.

"I liked the way they used those characters in trying to understand their mission and responding to little bits of information," he says.

He cited a line when Bethany, the abortion-clinic worker who has lost her faith, asks why she of all people was chosen to prevent the fallen angels from destroying existence. Metatron (Alan Rickman), the angel who delivers God's messages to humans, says, "It has to be revealed gradually. It can't be revealed all at once."

D'Amico says, "That's what faith is. Faith is something you grow into. ... There was some good insight in the movie. I can see him really trying to express a desire to believe and his disappointment, maybe, with organized religion."

His major complaint about the film was what he called its "tired, stereotypical" portrayal of organized religion.

"They used their imagination in so many ways, but when it came to that, organized religion, it was the same line -- outdated, useless, we put up with it. You can say it's a commentary on organized religion, but it's been done so many times before.

"The church is such an easy target. I don't think he [Smith] tried enough there to express the other side, where countless women and men have sacrificed for someone else," D'Amico says of writer-director Smith. "It kind of trivializes the people of God. It kind of trivializes the purpose of the Church. ... I can understand where that would be hurtful to people."

And he says that when you mess with symbols that people hold sacred, you have to expect an uproar. "You are going to stir up deep emotions," he says. "It is irreverent, and some of the things they mention could be blasphemous -- mixing really vulgar stuff with sacred things."

But, he says, "If you're trying to go in there with an open mind, trying to understand what is this person trying to say -- the bottom line for me is, I think this person is trying to say, 'I believe in God.'

"There is faith in this film. This is a person's expression of faith.

"There are a couple of times in the film where it did move me spiritually. It made me really think of God's graciousness, mercy and compassion for humanity. ... I give him credit for the attempt. You can see the passion that was there."

D'Amico says he doesn't get upset when movies criticize the church.

"To me, in a kind of weird way, they're showing respect for it," he says. "This institution, this faith community is to be reckoned with. There is power there -- I call it God's power -- to really reach people and to touch people. If the church was never viewed as a threat, it would just be discarded.

"I think we should always see things before we comment on them. I saw the film 'Priest' [another movie that was condemned in Catholic circles] on tape. Again, the same stereotypes were there of the church. But there was an underlying message of the depth of faith that is part of the Catholic Church -- a belief in Christ that is so deep.

"You can see that sometimes people do have an agenda. They maybe aren't favorable to the church and some of its teachings but rather it would just shut up and go away. But this is also people trying to express some kind of belief. I want to be able to hear it. I want to be able to listen to it. I think it helps me in ministering and reaching out to people in our time.

"I probably wouldn't get up into the pulpit and say, 'You know what, everybody, I think you should go see this film.' I'd say, 'It's OK. If you go and see it, you may enjoy it. But you may go see it and be deeply offended by it.' I think you have to approach this movie with an open mind. There's the language, the sexual innuendo. But there's humor in it, and I can laugh at it."

So, thumbs up or thumbs down?

"I wouldn't encourage people to see it, but I wouldn't discourage them, either."

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