Mel Gibson Says All Pedophile Priests Need to Be Removed from Catholic Church
'Institutions are as good or as bad as the people in it running it'
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Actor and director Mel Gibson has called for the Catholic Church to undergo a "housecleaning" after years of pedophile scandals and sexual abuse cases.
Gibson, a Catholic, said that a "behind the scenes" cleanup would help to restore the church's standing.
Gibson is also about to star in a faith-based biopic, Father Stu.
The film, due for release this April, follows the life of Father Stuart Long, a boxer who became a priest and inspired countless people during his journey from self-destruction to redemption.
Gibson said that the movie was an effort to reframe the church as a place for good.
"[We need to] get back to basics," Gibson explained.
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"Of course, it's lamentable all the stuff that's gone on," Gibson continued.
"Like any institution, it's capable of being corrupt.
"And, you know, it is sad to see, but as always, I don't think it's the institution that's at fault," he said.
"I think it's a lot of people they get in it.
"Institutions are as good or as bad as the people in it running it.
"It is having a bit of a rugged time right now, and my question is, who's hiring [the bishops]?" Gibson asked.
"I don't think it's Jesus. Is it [Pope] Francis?
"Who's hiring Francis?
"Is it Pachamama? [An Inca Goddess]"
Gibson believes, as a Sedevacantist, that since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958 or Pope John XXIII in 1963, all subsequent popes are not true popes or Catholics.
"There was nothing wrong with the Catholic Church before Vatican II's reforms," Gibson said.
"It didn't need to be fixed.
"It was doing pretty well."
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"I think there's going to need to be a housecleaning," he said, noting that a cleanup would help the church's image.
"It is going to have to come back to some sort of equilibrium in the future."
This is not the first time Gibson spoke out against certain aspects of the Catholic church.
Last year, Gibson spoke out against the Second Vatican Council and endorsed the Coalition for Canceled Priests.
As The Daily Mail reported:
The group was formed in the Chicago suburbs last year to advocate for clerics it says have been unfairly removed from the Roman Catholic ministry by bishops for expressing opinions seen as controversial by the church.
None of the 20 or so priests the coalition supports has been charged with a crime, and some have received no explanation for their exile.
"[Bishops] passively sit by and tolerate any kind of nonsense, but if one of their priests utters something that resembles orthodoxy, well, then they spring into action," Gibson said last year.
"They reprimand him and they bully him and do their best to cancel him."
