Catholic history is full of repentant sinners, and as of now, that list might have grown by another prominent entry. Actor Shia LaBeouf, after turning himself more into an art project rather than an actor over the past years, has followed up on his own advice and converted to Catholicism while preparing to play St. Padre Pio in an upcoming movie. LaBeouf told Bishop Barron in an interview that it was the experience of the Latin Mass that contributed greatly to his conversion. Left-wing media representatives are starting to fume.
After a promising start to a Hollywood career with performances in the Transformers and Indiana Jones franchises, LaBeouf then started to distance himself from the usual career path laid out for top billing actors and turned to a mixture of independent films and his own projects as a performance artist, which increasingly sidelined him from mainstream Hollywood. After a couple of run-ins with the law, alcoholism, and domestic abuse allegations, LaBeouf found himself on the verge of committing suicide, as he admitted in another interview with Jon Bernthal.
But things started to turn around for him when he landed the role in the upcoming biographical movie on the life of Padre Pio, the Italian mystic and Capuchin priest. To prepare for the role, which LaBeouf at first treated simply as a way to revive his career, he visited and stayed at a Capuchin monastery for several weeks. It was during that time, a time which he referred to as “rock bottom” that, as he said, God “tricked” him by appealing to his ego to get him to find faith.
The former self-declared agnostic LaBeouf stressed, however, that it wasn’t scripture alone, even though he found it to be very revealing, but traditional Latin Mass that affected him so deeply “because it feels like they’re not selling me a car,” as opposed to masses “with guitars” that try “to sell me on an idea.” Latin Masses, said LaBeouf, feel “like I’m being let in on something special.” LaBeouf described his lifestyle of the past as “disgusting” and “depraved,” but managed to “let go” of his feeling of unworthiness, as the example of other sinner’s redemptions gave him hope that he, too, would have “permission” to embrace God.
At times, the recently converted LaBeouf even seemed to be more traditionally oriented than Bishop Barron, who explained some of the criticism levied at the Latin Mass. But to LaBeouf, the liturgical differences between the Latin Mass and modern liturgies were born out of a “yearning to activate the public in an artificial way.” He attributed their failure to “bureaucratic activation” by rules that were set by the reformers. He went on to describe the Latin Mass as “putting the agency on the priest to be fully activated,” which in turn was “supposed to activate the laity.” LaBeouf also pointed to Mel Gibson as a guiding figure in his conversion process. Gibson, whose traditional Catholic attitudes created problems for his career, had also advised LaBeouf on where he could find a proper Latin Mass.
While Conservatives and Traditional Catholics alike rejoice about this miraculous conversion of LaBeouf, who only a few years ago shouted down Trump supporters during his “He will not divide us” art project, left-wing outlets are starting to campaign against his reorientation as a traditional Catholic. Slate published an extensive piece warning against traditionalists “who love the TLM (The Latin Mass)” as “deeply toxic,” and accusing them of “uncompromising positions on gay marriage, divorce,” and even pointing to “Rad Trads” as “idolizing the crusades, making vile comments about Jews and Muslims, and spreading conspiracy theories that decry the infiltration of the church by evil forces.” Not to pass final judgment on LaBeouf, Slate said that the actor “may not be aware that he is diving into a culture war by speaking about his love for the Latin Mass,” but adds that “his ignorance is a little hard to defend.” Together with his apparent closeness to Mel Gibson, who is a red flag for progressives all over the Hollywood landscape, LaBeouf better be well rooted in his faith by now, as the outrage over his statements in the coming days and weeks might add a new level of pressure so far unbeknownst to him.
During LaBeouf’s stay at the Capuchin monastery, many Catholics approached him and said about his upcoming portrayal of Saint Padre Pio: “Don’t get it wrong. He’s the only one we have.” Audiences will soon be able to find out, as the movie Padre Pio will premiere in Venice at the Film Festival on September 2nd. International release dates have not been announced yet.
