Hollywood director and actor Mel Gibson raised the need of the Catholic Church's "housecleaning" during an interview last week on his health update after battling with COVID-19 in December 2020.
Extra asked Gibson on his being a Catholic together with upcoming movie "Father Stu" co-star Mark Wahlberg in the face of the church's "beating" for the past years.
"The Catholic Church has taken a bit of a beating in the press over the last several years. You're a faithful member of it, so is Mark Wahlberg. Is this a concerted effort by the two of you guys to get back to the good?" Extra's Billy Bush asked.
Gibson replied that the issue is "lamentable" but stated that it is a common phenomenon among "institutions." He nonetheless pointed out the need for some "housecleaning" for every member of the church.
"Back to basics...Of course, it's lamentable all the stuff that's gone on. 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," Gibson 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. I think there's going to need to be a housecleaning. It is going to have to come back to some sort of equilibrium in the future," he continued.
Previously, Christianity Daily reported that Gibson will be teaming up with Wahlberg for the movie, "Father Stu," that will be a directorial debut of Gibson's partner, actress-screenwriter Rosalind Ross. "Father Stu" is scheduled to be released this April 15. The movie is based on the life of a former "troublemaker" who became a priest: Fr. Stuart Long.
"This is just a very personal story about a guy named Stuart Long. Just kind of a guy who was a good boxer and he was kind of a wild boy, but he had a few lessons along life and they sort of put him on a certain course where he chose to become a man of the cloth. It is kind of a redemption story," Gibson revealed.
Prior to discussing "Father Stu," Gibson shared with Extra that he has fully recovered from being infected COVID-19 and is actually busy "juggling" new projects. Gibson is currently working on the sequel of "The Passion of the Christ" along with "Lethal Weapon 5," "Last Looks," and "Wildbunch."
"Last Looks," which is for release this Friday, is said to be a murder-mystery about a 60s British TV star Alastair Pinch. The role required Gibson to smoke despite being a non-smoker for the last ten years. Gibson disclosed that they had him use a non-nicotine variety that tasted like "oregano" so it won't be addictive.
"I make sure that they don't give me the stuff with the nicotine so it actually tastes like you're smoking oregano, but it doesn't addict you at all. Because I've been on the wagon. I haven't had a cigarette in 10 years. So I'm really proud of that. I don't need to go back to that habit," Gibson shared.
Bush also asked Gibson what is "the great life lesson" from him. Gibson shared that life is a matter of "searching" wherein the "very act of searching yields some good fruit." Bush went on to ask, "What do you do every day that is beneficial to you?"
"Man, I get up every day and I realize I'm not in control of this whole thing. And no matter what happens, I just ask for the grace to be able to deal with and to deal with it well, and to accept it," Gibson replied.
