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Editorial: Faith and Values Event Raises Doubts

The Resource Team for Faith and Values launched their first event last week when they showed the movie “Doubt.” After the movie, Professors Gary Luter and Ryan Cragun facilitated a discussion on the film. A good portion of The Minaret’s editorial staff came to the movie, and we discussed the film. We believed it was…

Minaret Staff
2 minutes

The Resource Team for Faith and Values launched their first event last week when they showed the movie “Doubt.” After the movie, Professors Gary Luter and Ryan Cragun facilitated a discussion on the film.

A good portion of The Minaret’s editorial staff came to the movie, and we discussed the film.

We believed it was unfortunate that the discussion at the end focused on the homosexual impulses that appeared to be exhibited by the priest in the movie. Not only that, but then citing a statistic that 1 out of 6 Catholic priests are homosexual.

We understand that values constitute a mutual respect between people, and possibly agreeing or disagreeing on a particular viewpoint is something that may occur. The movie was definitely thought provoking and The Minaret recommends that every student see the film.

The discussion afterwards definitely had good points, and those were all pertaining to the film. However, no one on the panel fought for the church. The church has to have something to say about the film.

We understand that we cannot focus solely on one viewpoint and allow only certain panelists to be available, but in an effort to facilitate the potential for a student to grow in a particular faith or reinforce a particular value, there needs to be a more well-rounded discussion.

The resource team is a great addition to the network of organizations which are truly excited about the opening of the Sykes Center for Faith and Values. We hope that they are able to create a large following and use the time before the opening to instill a faith and reinforce the values of the UT students.

Many people do not think that the world is a terrible place, but some do. Whether it is the occasional disrespect for their fellow student or the viewpoint of another, faith and values are extremely important.

We cannot live our lives on a daily basis without the foundation of our faith and values, whatever they may be, being shaken every once in a while.

The world we live in on campus and certainly the world we will live in off of campus test our faith and values. As students graduate, learning the necessary things to make sure our faith and values are strong should be of the utmost importance. Sometimes these are the last things learned in a person’s life, yet it must be difficult to live life to the fullest without them.

  1. Unapologetic Catholic

    “We believed it was unfortunate that the discussion at the end focused on the homosexual impulses that appeared to be exhibited by the priest in the movie. Not only that, but then citing a statistic that 1 out of 6 Catholic priests are homosexual.”

    This is not surprising given the orientation of the moderators. Instead of condemning the church, why not attend this Sunday and see what it is really all about!

  2. Joe Sclafani

    As a member of the Resource Team (but speaking as an individual and not as a representative), I appreciate The Minaret’s concern that all points of view be presented at our events. We are aware of the need to try our best to allow all voices to be represented in every activity. However, the movie “Doubt” was not so much about the Catholic Church and its most recent sordid scandals, but rather a great human drama. The film’s main point involved issues of certainty vs doubt, the importance of a person’s faith, and how we live to stay true to ourselves. There were any number of themes intended to inspire discussion – how have religions changed over the past few decades (certainly Catholicism has undergone an internal revolution); what steps do parents take to protect their children and plan for their futures (in the film the mother had decided to make compromises which she thought were for the best); what is the role of adults who work directly with children and how much do we need to be careful about who works with them (important in light of recent teacher-student sexcapades); and many other topics. I regret that we could not have discussed the film for a longer period of time.
    In closing, let me add that I am a regular go-to-church Catholic who has been angered and disgusted by the actions of too many bad clerics. I have no problem calling these people out. I regret that the Church’s reputation has been stained but those are the wages of sin. “Doubt” is not an anti-Catholic or anti-homosexual film; it only uses those backgrounds to tell a larger story.
    I hope to see many more students at our next events.

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