‘Father Stu’ a reflection on sin, suffering and redemption

The question which I have been asked incessantly for the past month does not have much to do with my regular topics.

“What do you think of the new movie `Father Stu?' ”

It is a good question, although I realize not all readers have yet seen the film. Go see it — it is an extremely good reflection on sin, suffering and redemption.

“Father Stu” is a biography of a real Catholic priest named Stuart Long, who died in 2014 at age 50. The lead character in the film is played by Mark Wahlberg, who is also one of the film's producers. The film was released April 13, during Holy Week, and has thus far grossed over $17 million. A trailer of the movie can be found at youtube.com/watch?v=DHREzAdyCPs.

The basic storyline is that Stu begins with his less-than-successful career as a boxer, which ends up damaging his health. He then turns to Hollywood and attempts to break into film or television but does no better than making one ridiculous commercial. Along the way he meets and falls in love with a devout Catholic, Carmen, so he follows her to church. To win her heart, he converts to Catholicism. His fortunes change when he first picks up a DUI, and subsequently gets in a motorcycle accident that almost kills him, after being warned by a man who resembles Christ not to do it. After the accident, while unconscious, he has a vision of the Virgin Mary, and when he awakes, he decides to go into the priesthood.

It is at this point the film turns into the first of many insights that many priests will recognize. He has to tell his mother that he wants to be a priest, and given his wild past she finds this incredible. He must also tell his girlfriend that he is leaving her for the seminary. I know both of these trials and it is not an easy passage. Young people — do you want to shock your parents and friends? Go tell them you are becoming a priest and watch their reactions.

During this transition to seminary, we meet his father, played by Mel Gibson. Stu's parents are separated and both are fairly crusty, hard-bitten individuals. The careful viewer will note that both of Stu's parents still wear their wedding rings even though it is clear that they cannot stand each other.

While in seminary we meet several significant individuals. Most are just ordinary guys, but there are exceptions. For example we meet the stuffy seminary rector who declines to admit Stu but who finally relents. Viewers will note that the rector wears a black cassock with purple piping, indicating that he is a monsignor, and therefore someone who represents the church establishment. Why do Hollywood and television keep depicting priests in traditional cassocks? And for that matter, why are religious sisters always dressed as they were in the 19th century with the long back robes? We hardly ever wear that stuff anymore. There are exceptions and may God bless them, but one has to ask if the archaic attire is more a theatric fashion statement than the real thing. Nonetheless, the rector clearly represents those clergy whose job it is to keep the machine rolling and not necessarily representing Christ.

We also meet a remarkably stuffy young seminarian who spends his time with a nose in a book and clearly looks down on Stu. Mercifully, the two are reconciled at the end of the film. But I cite these two examples of ecclesiastical pomposity because both the rector and the seminarian are in every single diocese and seminary. Discretion forbids giving examples.

Tragedy strikes Stu when he develops a severe muscular disorder that robs him of his mobility and eventually his life. He returns home to Montana, and is cared for by his father, in a process that redeems him, and he is reconciled with his wife. After a while, he finds that his friends and the whole parish have lobbied the local bishop in Montana to go ahead and ordain him. Stu ends his life in a nursing home, where he becomes a local sensation, with lines of people waiting to make their confession to him or seek his counsel. In real life, Stu lived another six years, but he did attract a very large following.

I was fortunate to meet Wahlberg to ask him about his new film, when I interviewed him for a gala event for our parish school. He told me, “This film was the one I had to make.” I found him to be a very approachable man, although he does need to travel with bodyguards these days. In our conversation, he showed me a clip of the film on his tablet and talked for a short while. We spoke of the challenges of raising teenage daughters and his own life off camera. He told me that he begins every day on his knees in prayer and then spends a couple of hours working out. It was evident that his own personal long-term conversion inspired many elements in the film.

At the end of our formal interview in front of an audience, when we had managed to get through all of the prepared and preapproved questions, I took a chance and decided to break with the agreed script. In one final question I asked Wahlberg if he had any advice for priests in our day and age. He replied, “Accept people the way they are and be nice to them. Don't reject them because they are different.” Better advice, I could not give.

Gregory Elder, a Redlands resident, is a professor emeritus of history and humanities at Moreno Valley College and a Roman Catholic priest. Write to him at Professing Faith, P.O. Box 8102, Redlands, CA 92375-1302; email him at gnyssa@verizon.net; or follow him on Twitter @Fatherelder.