The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-01-14
a Lvthsrants cemmesfs
On The Lvsher Film

fr~-~-~~g 49, ~N@~~AAA-
Go see the Martin Luther So
Try ~ and then ask questions.
so ends q letter in the People
Forum of Monday evening, crit
Ecizing the Luther finn. II Is Ia,
hope Of this writer that eyeryon,
would do just that, ''see the Luth
Ter film and then ask questions.
The Martin Luther film wa,
referred to as q motion pictur,
that Is unhistorical and unbihlical.
la serious study of the facts show,
this 10 be untrue. II is no NOR,
|unhistorical or unbiblicaI than ar,
the writings Of certain Catholic his
|tOrians, for Roman Catholic docu
|ments were used as source mater
iaI for both the dialog and the &C
ton Of this film. The script Is the
work Of nine writer's including
church historians and tfeologians
II was studied and checked for ac
curacy by outstanding churchmer
and scholars in America and Ger.
many. A former Augustinian monk
and priest, now Lutheran pastor
of Frankfort, Germany, was used
as a technical advisor along with
other German Roman Catholic
technicians.
A Roman Catholic film reviewer
gave this evaluation in tie Hamil.
ton (Ontario) Spectator on Novem.
Der 2, 1858: "For this is an Honest
film. II treats controversial sub
ject with kid gloves, yet never in.
suits the intelligence; it sets OUT
the story of Luther's Life win &C,
curacy but pardonable discretion;
also it was screened in Germany
and has about It an authentic leu.
tonic ring. Any educated Catho-
lie viii admit the decadence Of his
church during the Middle Ages.
The Reformation was not just a
rising Of city states against the
Holy Roman Empire; 1t was a pro
test against a. corrupt power which
sold mdnlgences and ibishoprics tt
the highest bidder; whose princes
fathered nlegitimate children art
whose priests played on the super
stitions Of a gullible p0pulace
Whatever ones religious convic
tions = and this reviewer is him
self a Roman Catholic - the facts
are there. / would like to suggest
here that there is little to offenC
the Catholic movie-goer, for thi:
life Of Luther is told with a quiet
dignity and without prejudice.
There are pious Catholics in thi:
film, as there are also hot-headec
and destructive reformers." Writ
ten by q Roman Catholic film-re
viewer.
The letter in Peoples Forum al
so states, Catholics know that al
indulgence is not directly sold, an.
none OF them ever directly bough
any" Let's look at the record
Lets see what Catholic historians
have to say ON this matter. Prof
Karl Adam, writing in a bool
which bears the "Nihl Ohstat'
and the "Imprimater of ArcMbiS
hop Cushing of Boston" (''One ant
Holy" 1851, Sheed and Ward)
writes page 22): "From the mid
Idle of the fifteenth century tn
Popes began to distribute indul
gences for the dead. The Legate
Peraudi, in connection with am in
dulgence granted by Pope Sixtu
nv to Louis XII for the whole o
France, announced that the indul
|gences could be made certainly ef
|fective for any soul in Purgatory
even IL the person gaining it wa
in a state of moral sin, so loni
as the indulgenced work ii. e. mon
ey payment) was performed. In th'
prevailing low state of clerical ed
|ucation, preachers of the indul
gence (such as Dominican Tetze
for i1stance) eagerly seized on Pc
raudi's announcement, so tina
many preachers really adopted
as their favorite tag, your casl
mo sooner clinks in the bowl thar
|ouf of Purgatory jumps the soul.
On the next page Prof. Adams con
|tinues: at is unnecessary to EN-
|phasize how much this hideou
|simoniacal abuse of indulgence
corrupted true piety, and how in
|dulgences were perverted to
|blasphemous haggling with God
Night fell ON the German Church
a night that grew deeper and dark
er as other abuses attached them
selves to the excessive cult of re
lies and the practice of indulgenc
les"
The claim was also made tina
The film really never goes int,
the positive doctrines of Lutheran
ISM" Through his work at tn
time of the Reformation Martil
Luther gave to the Lutheran
Church its distinctive character
its three great principals as clear
lly set forth in Holy Scriptures
Faith alone, Grace alone, Scrip
lures alone. Luther film clearl
showed that Luther and those WIN,
lproudly bear his name as Luther
ans firmly believe that man is saw
ed by faith in Jesus Christ, and
lis nv faith alone 1.-THE inst shat