Given the visceral brutal violence in "The Passion of the Christ" and its accompanying R-rating, parents, youth ministers and high school teachers are discerning whether or not to encourage teens to see the movie.

The U.S. bishop's conference has rated the movie an A-III --- for adults, "due to gory scenes of torture and crucifixion, a suicide and some frightening images."

But the phenomenal box office success of the "The Passion" includes ticket purchases by many youth.

R-rated movies normally are not used as an educational tool in Catholic high schools, said Nancy Coonis, superintendent of secondary schools for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Occasionally exceptions are made for films with merit as long as there is parent permission.

But seeing an R-rated movie in a movie theater requires that children under 17 be accompanied by their parent or guardian. Movie theaters are making wide exceptions with "The Passion" and allowing youth ministers and teachers to bring youth with permission from parents.

Nancy Longo, youth minister at St. Bernard Church in Bellflower coordinated an Ash Wednesday parish movie outing for 120 parishioners, including many youth. Prior to seeing the film, Longo used educational resources from www.catholicexchange.com to teach youth about Jesus' crucifixion and sacrifice on behalf of humanity.

Longo said she wanted youth to see the film, so they would "know the deep love Christ has for them, his forgiveness and mercy." The response of the youth was mixed, said Longo, a parent to seven grown children.

"For kids struggling with their faith, the movie didn't help at all," she said. "If you don't understand Jesus' life and mission, it's hard to understand the Crucifixion. I was hoping it would be more of an evangelization tool."

But for youth who are engaged in their faith, the movie helped teens to appreciate the resurrection by understanding more deeply the explicit suffering of God beforehand.

"Everybody's sins --- from the beginning of time to the end of time --- he carried during the Crucifixion. Imagine Jesus' pain and loneliness. How much he loves us and we just turn from him all the time," said Longo. "As a parent, when my kids don't respond to all the love I give them, it hurts me. But I don't stop loving them."

David Lara, youth minister at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Canoga Park, saw the first midnight showing of "The Passion" Feb. 25 and decided not to recommend the film to his youth and their parents.

"I feel that people don't need to see this -- so much blood and flesh ripped apart," said Lara. "That type of graphic violence doesn't make me be more spiritual."

Lara said the film reminded him of the bloody statues of Christ he has seen in his native Mexico. Children are frightened by such gruesome images of Jesus, he said.

"I want us to be more of a resurrected people than a passion people," said Lara. "And this implies that Jesus is real. He resurrected. He still walks with us and continues journeying with us. He didn't stay on the cross."

Alvero Avelar, youth minister at St. Frances X. Cabrini and Ascension Churches in South Central Los Angeles took a group of nearly 30 youth --- some as young as 14 --- and several parents to the film Feb. 28. Many of his youth cried during the film, he said.

"You could hear crying in the movie theater after every blow and strike," said Avelar. "The movie brings Bible scripture to life. It was more than they anticipated."

Immediately following the movie, Avelar said he prayed with his group in the parking lot.

"My prayer was that Jesus loves us, and this is pain he went through," said Avelar. The teens also were given educational movie pamphlets from www. outreachmarketing.com, to promote discussion and reflection.

Seeing the movie helped prepare the youth for their upcoming re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, said Avelar.

"This is a visual generation and they need to see things. This movie did a great job of it," added Teresa Castellanos, youth ministry coordinator at the parishes.

She said that while most youth are desensitized to the continual violence they see in video games and most horror films, "The Passion" offered a different perspective by showing at length the tremendous suffering that results from violence.

Jews and Christians
Castellanos also said she directly addressed the concerns of some Catholics and Jews that the film might portray Jews unfairly and generate anti-Semitic feelings among Christians.

"We talked about prejudice against Jewish people and prejudice against Catholics. And how people believe things about groups that aren't true," she said.

The teens related to the discussion by talking about how South Central youth --- mostly Latino and African-American --- also experience the pain of stereotypes when people believe that they are all involved in gangs, and drugs and drop out of school, said Castellanos.

Loyola Marymount University hosted a panel discussion with Jewish and Catholic scholars March 3 about Jesus' crucifixion, contrasting historical understandings, and varying reactions to the film among Christians and Jews.

The gathering followed two earlier panel discussions in advance of the film at the University of Judaism and at Claremont-McKenna College.

"It's clear that many Jews are very nervous, and rightly so," said professor Jeffrey Siker, LMU's theology chair. By focusing attention on the sacrificial death of Jesus and on those who demanded his crucifixion, concerns have been raised that some of the progress made between Catholics and Jews since Vatican II could be undone.

"Those fears have to be acknowledged on the part of Christians," said Siker.

At Marymount High School in West Los Angeles, Greg Heffernan, who teaches a Scripture course to sophomores, is making extra credit available to students who see the film and write a personal reflection and review. Letters were sent to parents, asking them to decide if they want to give their children permission to see the film and encouraging parents to discuss the movie with their children afterwards.

In class Heffernan emphasizes the historical context in which Jesus lived; Jews were surviving under a ruthless occupation as the Romans expanded and defended prosperous trade routes through Palestine and into India and China.

"Jesus' crucifixion is one of thousands that were done," said Hefferman. "Sometimes students don't appreciate the horrificness of this, and this film raises that awareness."

It was in that historical context that the Roman state appointed the Jewish leadership for the Jewish community, said Rabbi Michael Perelmuter.

"They picked an individual who would collaborate with them and who was pliable," he said. Rabbi Perelmuter teaches Catholic high school students through the Catholic Jewish Education Enrichment Program --- a 12-year learning partnership between the Archdiocese and The American Jewish Committee.

Rabbi Perelmuter, who recently visited Ramona Convent High School in Alhambra, said he emphasizes the richness of the Jewish culture in which Jesus was raised. The program also seeks to implement Nostrae Aetate, the Vatican II declaration against anti-Semitism, which also offers guidelines for presenting passion plays without accusing the Jewish people of deicide.

"'The Passion of the Christ' is a classical medieval passion play done with Hollywood gloss," said Rabbi Perelmuter. Ideally, students attending the film should have a grasp of the Gospels and an understanding of Vatican II, he said, so that they can better reflect on the movie's stark images.

"This is an educational opportunity to deepen the dialogue," said Rabbi Perelmuter. "We have a listening audience of interested students."

Added Heffernan: "A lot of good can come from this --- more films about Jesus, more discussion in families, more people reading Nostrae Aetate, and more dialogue between Christians and Jews."