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I just re-watched Priest after 12 years, and I think it is even more powerful and relevant now it was then, given the scandals in the Catholic Church and the rise of religious militancy and fundamentalism in the world.

While occasionally teetering on the brink of preachiness and soap opera, Priest is saved by tight direction and very fine acting. It effectively shows the humaness of people in the Church, as opposed to how some would have you believe.

As a person not all attached to organized religion, I obviously find much to approve of here. But the strength of Priest is that someone who loves the Catholic Church for what is really is, the teachings of Jesus, and not what cruel, irrational and ignorant human beings have made of it will find much to be enriched by here. Priest is not anti-Catholic at all, not in the true sense of the word. Rather, it is anti human folly.

Of course that segment that is fundamentalist and inflexible, who cannot imagine - horrors! - that a Priest could be gay have and will continue to express their moral outrage and call this "hate speech."

As a final note, I also happened to read Roger Ebert's inexplicible review of Priest. If I hadn't seen his name on it, I would think it was written by Michael Medved. Since Ebert is generally religion neutral and very gay positive, I simply don't understand his outrage at all - very puzzling indeed. And he gives Mel's hideous Passion of the Christ, one of the most immoral and disgusting movies ever made (again most especially if you ARE religious) a perfect 10.

You need to have watched a few BBC dramas, and like the style in order to really appreciate this film. It may seem slow in the eyes of viewers used with the American cinema approach, but I tremor to the thought of how Hollywood could have spoiled this film, and I am happy that the script fell in Brits hands first. 'Priest' is a complex film, dealing with hard issues of incest and homo-sexuality, but first with the conflict between the priest mission as a moral leader and the Procustian laws of the Catholic church he needs to obeye by. The ideological content may be controversial for many, it was partly for me as well, but I cannot help admiring the well kept balance, the dramatic tension, and the masterful way the excellent team of actors is filling the roles. I wonder how comes that Linus Roache is not a bigger star after having made this film about one decade ago. He certainly deserves to be in the same line as some of his generation colleagues who have succeeded that well in American and world cinema.

Yes, the film is controversial, you may not agree with some of the ideas and it looks sometimes as a cinema manifest, but it is still a good and human film. I less liked the final, which is the only place in the script where art logic seems to surrender to the religious concepts. 9/10 on my personal scale.

a challenge to viewer. because it is one of the films who seems present all in a too honest manner. because it seems have too many themes. because it seems not convince in real sense. in fact, it is a very simple story about vulnerability, faith and courage. about instinct, pray and sufferance. about Christ and wold. nothing new. but enough to be provocative. and this is the basic virtue of it. then, the performance of Linus Roache who gives to the father Greg beautiful nuances who saves the character out of clichés. story about people in delicate situations, about painful secrets and about the impact of truth, it is difficult to see "The Priest" if you are out of the theme. to define it as a film about homosexuality and incest is too easy and far to be enough. or correct. because it is a film about vocation and responsibility, weakness and the choices changing everything. and not the young priest or the young woman are the heroes but the others. and not exactly the others but theirs reactions. a film about vulnerability. one of the most impressive. and useful. maybe, for define yourself.

Insightful movie. Makes you reflect a lot on the reality of those who embrace celibacy as priests. There are issues in today's world that affect priests and their commitment as ministers in the Church that this movie brings out very well. It might have been considered a very provocative movie when it came out, but it honestly reflects Church reality in some countries. It makes you realize the humanness of priests and the emotional, moral and spiritual problems they grapple with. I liked the ending the best - the only one in the Church capable of forgiving and accepting the gay priest, was the young girl who had been abused by her father and who had confided in the priest. Very touching and realistic.

Father Greg Pilkinton (Linus Roache) is a young, dedicated, idealistic and yet conservative (comparing to his colleague, Father Matthew Thomas, played by Tom Wilkinson) priest who has recently arrived in his new parish. He works hard with total faith and devotion. Soon after moving in to Father Matthew's house, he discovers that Father Matthew has been having a relationship with his maid. Later on, a school girl, Lisa (Christine Tremarco) confesses to him that her father has been sexually abusing her, Father Greg faces his inner struggle on whether to reveal the truth to the authority, or remain silent in order not to break his vow.

Confused and frustrated, Father Greg goes to a pub and meets Graham (Robert Carlyle) and later they have sex. They are to stay in an on-and-off relationship. Now Father Greg must confront his human desire and his sexuality. Eventually, he also has to deal with his being arrested while making love in a parked car and the devastating consequences.

This film challenges the entire system. Must a priest (or a nun) remain celibate? Should we leave out non-heterosexuals for being Catholics or whatever? Must a priest remain silent when hearing a serious problem or even an about-to-be-committed crime (which happens all the time in Northern Ireland) and do nothing? Can all priests honestly give themselves away completely to God and refrain from letting their human emotion, human desire flow? Don't some priests become child molesters because they've been trying to repress their human desire for too long (this seems outside the subject. On the other hand, not all priests commit such a crime)? Should we refuse to show compassion towards certain people simply because they are different from us and that their life styles are 'not accepted' by society or the usual moral standard? Still, who is the hypocrite here? Father Matthew's relationship with his housekeeper has never been revealed. If otherwise, he would be rejected, too. He leads a double life. Being a 'liberal' priest and breaking his vow of celibacy at the same time. But WHO are the hypocrites? Aren't we all?

'Priest' is not about a story of one priest. It's about any one priest. And the movie is compelling and well-made. One thing for sure, the Roman Catholic Church would not be pleased with this film.