Write for God

Father Corridan was the subject of "Waterfront Priest"

The great actor Karl Malden died yesterday at 97. During his long career on film, TV and the stage, he created memorable characters. None was as alive as Father Barry, the activist priest in Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront. (Father Barry’s sermon in the hold of a ship is one of my favorite screen moments. I reproduced his lines here.)

USA Today, that sorry excuse for a newspaper, asked in today’s edition if Father Barry’s sermon is “too preachy for us today.” That’s right:  a great film scene in which a priest talks about the love of God for his people is to be discussed as “too preachy” at a time when people so badly need hope and love. Here’s the selection of Father Barry’s speech presented for discussion:

…You want to know what’s wrong with our waterfront? It’s the love of a lousy buck. It’s making the love of the lousy buck — the cushy job — more important than the love of man! It’s forgettin’ that every fellow down here is your brother in Christ! But remember, Christ is always with you — Christ is in the shape-up. He’s in the hatch. He’s in the union hall. He’s kneeling right here beside Dugan. And He’s saying with all of you, if you do it to the least of mine, you do it to me! …

Preachy or the kind of preaching the world really needs right now? The screen Father Barry was based on Father John Corridan, a real Jesuit priest who took on mob corruption as part of his pro-labor work on the waterfront. The article added one of the real priest’s sermons as comparison:

I suppose some people would smirk at the thought of Christ in the shape-up. It is about as absurd as the fact that He carried carpenter’s tools in His hands and earned His bread by the sweat of His brow. As absurd as the fact that Christ redeemed all men irrespective of their race, color, or station in life. It can be absurd only to those of whom Christ has said, ‘Having eyes, they see not; and having ears, they hear not.’ Because they don’t want to see or hear. Christ also said, ‘If you do it to the least of mine, you do it to me.’ So Christ is in the shape-up.

I don’t know about you but, if I could find a Catholic church where I could hear a homily like that, I’d be there in a second. Too preachy? Not unless the word of God is too preachy. When you consider what Hollywood offers us, a film that expresses God’s love may strike used to seeing profanity, sex and gore as “too preachy.” That’s their problem, and not ours. It’s no wonder I watch On the Waterfront every few months or so instead of going to the movies these days.