New Paulist film looks at how people react to tragedy

Published: 2008-03-10

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Imagine losing a loved one suddenly to death. In a murder. Maybe a mass murder. A bombing, perhaps. Could you find it in you to forgive the killer, even if the killer hasn't sought forgiveness? That's the big question. It also happens to be the title of a new film that asks that big question. Paulist Father Frank Desiderio, the head of Paulist Productions and executive producer of the 63-minute documentary "The Big Question," said he had been wanting to make a film about forgiveness for some time. Then he was invited to a Templeton Foundation retreat on the correlation between religion and science; people from several disciplines, including scientists and spiritual leaders, were invited. That retreat proved to be the genesis of "The Big Question." "It's been a spiritual journey for me," Father Desiderio said during a March 7 interview with Catholic News Service in Washington, where "The Big Question" was to be screened during the Washington Independent Film Festival.

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