Posted on 02/28/2005 1:28:36 PM PST by nickcarraway
Hollywood A-lister buys the rights to the book ‘Stealing from Angels'
Fittingly, just ten days after the death of Sr Lucia dos Santos, the last survivor to witness the appearances of the Virgin Mary at the Portuguese town of Fatima in 1917, Mel Gibson has bought the rights to the book ‘Stealing from Angels’.
Brian Dullaghan’s novel tells the story of a young Irish man who escapes a dreary life in his hometown only to slip into a life of major crime in New York. Everything changes when he meets Maria and he jumps ship again, this time to Maria’s hometown in Italy. However, blissful happiness does not follow and when the couple are connected to the murder of Pope John Paul and the third secret of Fatima, things really implode.
‘Stealing from Angels’ is a work of fiction that tells the tale of a man who shoulders a huge secret and trusts no one.
The third prophecy
Those familiar with the three prophesies revealed by the Virgin Mary at Fatima will be aware that the first two referred to the two World Wars and the third to the long kept secret that Sr Lucia ultimately revealed that foretold the 1981 attempt on Pope John Paul II’s life.
In 2000, when the Pope visited the shrine at Fatima, Cardinal Soldano, authorised to read a statement on behalf of the pontiff, described the prophecy: "the 'bishop clothed in white' makes his way with great effort toward the cross amid the corpses of those who were martyred. He too falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire." Pope John Paul II credits the Madonna of Fatima with his survival following the assassination attempt by Turkish right-winger Mehmet Ali Agca in St Peter's Square.
‘Stealing from Angels’ has received rave reviews and is very popular in America, not least, in the same vein as The Da Vinci Code, because people can indulge their desire for church conspiracy theories – especially relating to the Catholic Church.
Mel Gibson’s interest will again stir up the controversy. Gibson is known to practice pre-Vatican II ‘traditional’ Catholicism and much was made amid ‘The Passion’ furore of his father’s Vatican conspiracy theories.
But let’s put this to one side. The film will not hit screens until 2006 and Gibson has proved himself an exceptional actor and director. He has also treated key figures in the Catholic hierarchy with respect and even sought their opinions ahead of the worldwide release of ‘The Passion of The Christ’.
Mel Gibson travelled to Fatima in September of 2003 to show the film to religious institutions. He visited Sr Lucia’s convent in Coimbra and managed to secure an agreement to show ‘The Passion’ to the sisters. Later, Gibson returned to Portugal and made another secret visit to the convent to meet with Sr Lucia.
One thing’s for sure; this film is destined to be a controversial box office blockbuster. But before the conspiracy theories get out of hand, not to mention individual reader interpretations, the author himself has the final say in an interview with The Tribune: “It’s a great story and that is that,” said Dullaghan.
Hollywood holds its breath…
Prove all things, hold fast that which is good (1Thess.5:21)
That is the Catholic Church Doctrine.....don't believe it if you want, but I'm curious at Protesant's dismissal of Mary's saintliness......Mary, The Mother of God....do you not think that Jesus holds Mary above ALL others???? geesh, it seems so natural.
No, it would be unnatural for the Son of God to play "favorites", even with His own mother...he loves each of us equally. Nothing in the Gospels even hints at Mary being the product of an immaculate conception. Was her mother the prodcut of an immaculate conception too? Mary was born into sin, just as the rest of us were. She found favor with God, even despite her sinful state. He decided to use her to birth His Son, nothing more, nothing less.
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