Author examines silence as positive, negative
throughout church history
Reviewed by Mitch Finley
Catholic News Service
Soon following World War II, a Swiss Catholic phi-
losopher and former medical student named Max Picard
published a little book titled
“The World of Silence.”
Trappist Father Thomas Merton praised this book
in his own modern classic,
“Thoughts in Solitude.”
Picard’s book is in print and remains indispensable
reading for anyone interested in the importance and
value of silence in the modern world.
Unlike Picard’s book, Diarmaid MacCulloch’s
“Si-
lence: A Christian History”
addresses the phenomenon
of silence as both a positive and a negative reality. He
examines silence as a historian and as both presence
(positive) and absence (negative). One example of the
latter is a section of MacCulloch’s book titled
“Gay
Anglo-Catholics.”
In this section, the author examines silence as a
refusal to discuss homoeroticism in the 19th-century
Church of England and in the Oxford Movement, led
by Blessed John Henry Newman in the 1830s to draw
Anglicans to their Catholic roots. Ordained an Anglican
priest, the future cardinal joined the Catholic Church
at the age of 44. MacCulloch leaves no doubt that he
believes that Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) was ho-
mosexual and engaged in homosexual relationships.
Father Ian Ker, the author of the definitive biogra-
phy of Cardinal Newman, as well as more than 20 other
books about him, has called claims the cardinal was gay
“absolute rubbish.”
Knighted in 2012 and a professor of the history of
the Christian church at Oxford University, MacCull-
och investigates silence in the Hebrew and Christian
Scriptures, in the history of monasticism, in the Eastern
schism, in the Protestant and Anglo-Catholic Reforma-
tions and in the Counter-Reformation launched by the
Council of Trent. Finally, MacCulloch attempts to ac-
cess the silences behind the “noise” of human events in
the history of Christianity, after which he recommends
for the believer “a Resurrection silence.”
“Silence: A Christian History”
is a scholarly his-
torical study that is accessible to any educated reader. It
is clearly written from a Church of England theological
perspective, and it offers many insights that anyone in-
trigued by the topic will find rewarding.
Finley is the author of more than 30 books on Cath-
olic themes, including “The Seeker’s Guide to Being
Catholic” (Wipf and Stock). To learn more visit www.
mitchandkathyfinley.com.
This is the cover of
“Silence: A Christian
History” by Diarmaid
MacCulloch. The book is
reviewed by Mitch Finley.
CNS
This week’s DVD and Blu-ray releases: The films of
Peter O’Toole
By John Mulderig
Catholic News Service
NEW YORK (CNS) -- The following are
Catho-
lic News Service
capsule reviews of DVD and Blu-ray
releases featuring the late Peter O’Toole (1932-2013).
Theatrical movies have a
Catholic News Service
clas-
sification and
Motion Picture Association of America
rating. These classifications refer only to the theatrical
version of the films below, and do not take into account
the discs’ extra content.
‘
“Becket”
(1964)
Superb adaptation of Jean Anouilh’s classic play
about the deep friendship and later conflict between
England’s King Henry II (Peter O’Toole) and his friend,
Sir Thomas a Becket (Richard Burton), later a saint, and
how their days of drinking and womanizing came to an
end when the monarch appointed Becket archbishop of
Canterbury, leading to Becket’s spiritual transformation
and ultimate martyrdom. Director Peter Glenville’s film
is rather stagy and leisurely paced, but the Oscar-win-
ning dialogue is uncommonly literate, and the perfor-
mances are brilliant. Some crass expressions and (by to-
day’s standards) tame sexuality. The sharp, beautifully
restored DVD features lively commentary by O’Toole,
who is interviewed by knowledgeable BBC film critic
Mark Kermode, as well as substantive interviews with
composer Laurence Rosenthal (who explains how his
music was informed by Gregorian chant) and editor
Anne Coates, who explains the challenges of working
on a film with so little conventional action, and who
tells some fascinating anecdotes about the shooting.
There are also two precious archival Burton interviews,
one with Ludovic Kennedy (1977) with whom he can-
didly discusses his drinking problems, and another with
Kenneth Tynan (1967), with whom he reminisces about
his career.
The Catholic News Service
classification is
A-II -- adults and adolescents.
The Motion Picture As-
sociation of America
rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly
cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for
children under 13. (MPI Home Video; also available on
Blu-ray)
‘
“FairyTale: A True Story”
(1997)
Romanticized account of the controversy stirred in
1917 England by two little girls whose photographs of
what they said were tiny fairies frolicking in their gar-
den aroused the skepticism of Harry Houdini (Harvey
Keitel), though were proclaimed genuine by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle (Peter O’Toole). Director Charles Stur-
ridge spins an enchanting tale of childhood innocence
in a sweet family film marred by a few rude words. Se-
rious argumentation over the existence of fairies and
fleeting mild language.
The Catholic News Service
clas-
sification is A-II -- adults and adolescents.
The Motion
Picture Association of America
rating is PG -- parental
guidance suggested. (Paramount Home Entertainment)
“For Greater Glory”
(2012)
Powerful historical drama recounting the persecu-
tion of the Catholic Church in Mexico during the 1920s
under the presidency of Plutarco Calles (Ruben Blades)
and the popular reactions -- both peaceful (led by Edu-
ardo Verastegui) and violent (led by Andy Garcia) -- it
provoked. As Garcia’s character, a religious skeptic,
becomes the unlikely commander of an army of the
devout, he gains inspiration from a saintly adolescent
See cns dvd & blu-ray review, page 27
26
Gulf Pine Catholic
•
January 31, 2014
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