About 20 to 25 of us attended the showing last night and Ed lead our after the film discussion. He felt the film will be a good memorial 50 years from now. He suggested a comparison between the media coverage of John Paul's polish visits and the recent coverage of Benedict's visit to England. There was nothing about why he was there in the American media. In Poland there was an intentional government shut down. The twist is that this is intentional by the secular media. Others spoke of the 2 great physical (meaning not understood here of that usage) evils of Nazism and Communism and the effects on peoples lives. That John Paul gave a message of hope --that you are worth something. That America needs this message now. The film is relevant to our situation. One speaker in the film said democracy will fall when people are not interested in the truth.
Someone spoke of the corruption of money, selling porn and junk. That this too destroys the church.
Ed felt that communism is a greater evil than Nazism because it is an ideal thing and not nationalistic, so it appeals to people in various nations. He added we knocked Lenin off his pedestal.
Some one felt communism was not a greater evil than Nazism.
It was brought up that moral relativism is happening in the European Common Market--secular rules.
Ed raised the question of why the Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima 3 months before the communist revolution in Russia and urged prayer for the conversion of Russia.
Someone else said we will always have a problem until the end of the world.
Nina raised a point to clarify something she felt was being suggested about relativism. She said that relativism isn't about different religions, that religious freedom is not relativism.
Someone asked Ed, as to his statement that the Pope was a result of people's prayer -- did it say that in the movie. He said no, that was his own idea.
Ed recommended we read Ed Wiegels new book, the End and the Beginning, a sequel to Witness to Hope, which has a lot of materials from former communist countries secret police files. Wiegel is coming to speak at the Newman Center.
