At last night’s Academy Awards, Martin Scorsese’s Silence was passed over by Hollywood, which refused even to nominate his astonishing film about Jesuit missionaries in Japan for an Oscar, other than one lone nomination for cinematography. Perhaps more surprisingly, Scorsese’s Silence was also overlooked — nay, even scorned and denounced — by much of the Catholic and Christian community. Brad Miner, formerly National Review’s literary editor, thundered: “Scorsese’s Silence is not a Christian film by a Catholic filmmaker, but a justification of faithlessness.” The Christian Post review called it “deeply disturbing — and potentially hazardous to one’s spiritual health.” Church Militant said the film “pushes
