William Peter Blatty Submits Petition to Halt Georgetown’s Drift From the Church

The National Catholic Register ^ | 10/4/13 | Joan Frawley Desmond

[marshmallow]

2,000 signees join The Exorcist author in requesting that the Vatican require the university to implement Ex Corde Ecclesiae.

WASHINGTON — When William Peter Blatty won a four-year scholarship to Georgetown University in the 1940s, he arrived at the Jesuit campus with a sense of relief.

During his childhood, Blatty and his mother suffered through more than 20 evictions for non-payment of rent. For the first time, he knew he could stay put without unwelcome interruptions.

More than a half century later, after winning an Academy Award for the screenplay adaptation of his bestselling novel The Exorcist, Blatty still calls Georgetown “home.”

But his love for the pontifical institution has inspired him to support and sign a canon-law petition that asks the “Catholic Church to require that Georgetown implement Ex Corde Ecclesiae, a papal constitution governing Catholic colleges.”

If that effort fails, the petition signed by Blatty and 2,000 other Catholics calls for “the removal or suspension of top-ranked Georgetown’s right to call itself Catholic and Jesuit in any of its representations.”

Asked to explain why he has backed a petition that could damage the reputation of his alma mater, Blatty told the Register, “Today’s Georgetown isn’t Georgetown, but more like a living Picture of Dorian Gray.”

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

I’m forever grateful to him for having filmed “The Exorcist,” (the fear of the devil is the beginning of the beginning of wisdom) and now I like him even more.

[Arthur McGowan]

The archbishops of Washington have wrung their hands (if they did that much) while Georgetown and other universities reverted to paganism and went pro-abortion. Cardinal Donald Wuerl can’t summon the courage to say that Nancy Pelosi is not a fine Catholic in good standing.

Georgetown was sold to the Saudis years ago.

[livius]

Cdl Wuerl is a disgrace; I don’t know how many more years he has until retirement, but I hope it’s not a lot.

Georgetown spends more time promoting its various “Islamic institutes,” funded either by the Saudis or by American Muslim groups, than it does on anything else. Well, except on gushing over Obama and supporting abortion.

[NotSoFreeStater]

It’s a Jesuit university, what do you expect.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[latina4dubya]

scariest book i ever read...

[Agamemnon]

I’m forever grateful to him for having filmed “The Exorcist,” (the fear of the devil is the beginning of the beginning of wisdom) and now I like him even more.

You have this very significantly backwards there, friend

Proverbs 9:10: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."

The Exorcist was a film about the godless filmed by the godless meant to import a perception of power to Satan that he does not inherently have, unless those who choose to remain godless surrender that power to him.

As one of God's children, do not allow yourself to be gulled by Hollywood into surrendering that power, yourself.

FReegards!

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

You have this very significantly backwards there, friend

That's the passage that I had in mind.

That's why I said, "the beginning of the beginning of wisdom."

And it's true. Fear (i.e., profound respect for) of the Lord can begin with (abject) fear of the devil.

It's a starting point.

Blatty portrayed the devil in all his malignancy, potentially striking fear into the heart of the most complacent atheist.

For that we should all be grateful.

[real saxophonist]

Interesting that you post this now. Linda Blair has been in Denver the last couple of days, mainly promoting her dog rescue program. But when asked about The Exorcist, she said it’s mainly a battle between good and evil, and I agree.

[Vaquero]

Not all Jesuits are leftists. I do believe that Francis who is a Jesuit will tow the line following traditional Catholicism.

[Agamemnon]

And it's true. Fear (i.e., profound respect for) of the Lord can begin with (abject) fear of the devil. It's a starting point.

The devil is a loser and I do not fear losers. As a Christian you shouldn't either.

Fearing the devil is the beginning of Satan's deception not the "beginning of the beginning of wisdom." Do not build him up in your mind to be something bigger than he is.

I do not love God, because I fear the devil. Keep your mind on Christ. God is Love (I John 4:8) and Perfect Love casteth out fear (I John 4:18)

Blatty portrayed the devil in all his malignancy, potentially striking fear into the heart of the most complacent atheist. For that we should all be grateful.

Possibly, but Blatty does not point the reader toward conquering the sin in one's life and conquering the devil with it by trusting in Christ, having a salvation experience, and establishing the Lordship of Christ in one's life .... merely cultivating a cartoonish fear of the devil that results in box office receipts.

The devil thinks he will have the atheist eventually. So what if he scares the crap out of him in a movie? Move on to "Rosemary's Baby," or "The Shining," and any other crap movie peddled by Hollywood that instills more fear of the devil. Instill more fear, and get more submission to the phony power he holds. Satan's OK with that.

Is there any empirical evidence to which you might point that describes how many atheists turned their lives over to Christ as a result of viewing "the Exorcist" or reading the book?

We bring people to Christ on the basis of His love for us, not on the basis that we have constructed our own fear around the power we have chosen to project upon the most damnable One for all time.

FReegards!

[Clintons Are White Trash]

Please....I work for/with Jesuits on a daily basis. They are the best people I’ve ever worked for and their mission at our Retreat House is wonderful. As the director says on a regular basis “I’d rather see empty envelopes than empty seats”. I agree some places have gone astray, but this director also sits on the board for the local Jesuit University and they have done everything they can to maintain strong values there.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater....

[Clintons Are White Trash]

Oh, I forgot to mention - the story of the Exorcist happened here in St. Louis and the boy was even brought to our location for an outing that did not turn out well.

[BlessedBeGod]

Cdl Wuerl is a disgrace; I don’t know how many more years he has until retirement, but I hope it’s not a lot.

November 12, 2015, so about 2 more years.

[60Gunner]

Actually, that is not correct.

The Word of God (the Bible) clearly states: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." (Proverbs 9:10; Psalm 111:10, italics and emphasis mine)

Why not fear the devil? Because we are children of the living GOD, that's why. So here's how this really works:

"Resist the devil, and he will FLEE from you." (James 4:7, italics and emphasis mine)

The devil has no power over us that we do not first abdicate to him. Give him a tough time and he'll move on to easier prey. Heaven knows there's enough of that around for him these days.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

FWIW,

” So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! “

“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

We shouldn’t underestimate our adversary, or overestimate our sanctity.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Re-read the original post carefully.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

There is an excellent one hour documentary on YouTube that tells the true story.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dDgoNlOn-hk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdDgoNlOn-hk

The truth is more interesting than fiction.

The most memorable part for me comes at the very end.

[livius]

You mean...2 looong years!

It’s particularly bad in his case, because while DC isn’t that important Church-wise, because it’s important government-wise, people take his miserable Dem-supporting behavior as a statement from the Church as a whole.

This is certainly not the truth, but the press can portray it that way.