Sadly Over-hyped

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

"Conventional Piety" makes some serious charges about Fr. Mychal Judge. I hope the editors will either allow me to respond, or delete his post (which has nothing to do with the film).First, we do not know if Fr. Judge did or did not address alleged discrimination in the FDNY. Piety's comments are pure speculation. What we do know is that Fr. Judge publicly stood up for a black family who had moved into Rochelle Park, NJ in the late 60's, while he was pastor of Sacred Heart. As a result of his outspokenness for justice, enough people complained that the archdiocese removed him as pastor. (Michael Ford biography of MJ). He is described as "never having a racist bone in his body." Second, as FDNY chaplain, Fr. Judge traveled all over the city at all hours of the day and night, often responding to emergencies. "Setting his own schedule" went along with the job, and that schedule was usually 16-18 hours a day.Then "Conventional Piety" charges that Fr. Judge was "a disobedient priest" with "a unique spiritual vision." By every account, Judge's only disagreement with the official church was over the issue of same-gender relationships, which makes him neither disobedient nor unique among priests. Judge asserted the primacy of his conscience, a duty which goes back to the early church. Read Aquinas.Finally, Conventional Piety mentions that Judge was an alcoholic and homosexual without mentioning that he was sober for 23 years, and celibate. If this poster had actually viewed the film, Saint of 9/11, he'd know this. But frankly, it sounds like he has a personal ax to grind against Fr. Judge.

Mychal Judge was a disobedient priest who got so big that his order couldn't discipline him. Franciscans generally aren't their own boss, especially men who are both alcoholic and homosexual. Fr. Mychal went where he wanted, spent money the way he wanted, and set his own schedule doing whatever he pleased.If Fr. Mychal had really been a friend to black people, he might have used his office as Fire Department chaplain to address discrimination in hiring in the lily-white FDNY. There's a real moral issue there, especially since so many of New York's firefighters don't live in New York. He wouldn't have been quite so popular if he'd shown some genuine spiritual leadership.He's a hero of our distinctly unheroic times. I don't expect the Vatican to put a rush on canonizing him. They don't often do that for people with a unique spiritual vision that's at odds with Church teaching.

This film was a major letdown. I rented it with high hopes that it would actually portray a faithful Catholic priest in a positive role. Rather, the film concentrates heavily on the ALLEGED homosexual orientation of Fr. Judge. According to the site HTTP://www.catholic.org/featured/ headline.php?ID=19 Fr. Judge was not homosexual at all.Since the orientation of this man is in question it would make sense to concentrate on his public life and all the good he did, which the movie makers do for the first 50 or so minutes. The second half of the film is nothing more than gay propaganda. (I don't mind it so bad but they need to be straight, no pun intended, on their motives with the film.

This quote comes from a Fransiscan Brother for whom Father Mychal Judge was a mentor.The people interviewed for this documentary are not the erudite, intelligent and moral but for the most part the dregs of society, the lost souls and the outcasts. Sure NYFD guys and fellow priests are there but the stories told about him in this film are mostly by drunks, addicts, the homeless, sick and the poor.This film is a reminder of what being a Christian is actually about without the preaching and proselytizing. While 9/11 is featured at the beginning of this film and again toward the end (Father Mychal held a Mass for many NY Firefighter on September 10 from which most of the film of him as a priest is taken), the documentary is really about a man and his works.