The Liz Smith Column | 04/27/2009 12:00 am

Liz Smith: Mel Gibson's Wife – A Hellish Fate?

Also from Our Gossip Girl, Peggy Rometo – she’s got talent! … Dominick Dunne battles for a cure.

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed,” said Albert Einstein.

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I don’t mind stealing a great idea or item from the wowOwow.com site because I am one of the founders of same. So here goes, just in case you missed it. The fate of “Britain’s Got Talent” discovery Susan Boyle has been settled! If you don’t believe it, log on to wOw and see what our resident psychic and astrologist, Peggy Rometo, has to say. It’s very reassuring in all phases except it seems to believe that the appealing Miss Boyle won’t get married anytime soon. If you missed these predictions, you’ve got to see them!

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I note that a lot of skeptics on the wOw site did not much like it the other day when our sainted founder, Joni Evans, raved about Peggy Rometo and how great she is. The fact is – Peggy “is” great. She’s one of the most down-to-earth lovable persons I’ve ever met. I couldn’t adore her more as a human being. Whether she can foretell the future or put us in contact with our dear departed, I don’t know. I am a natural-born skeptic. But Joni, one of the most realistic and hard-hearted and brainy people I know, devoutly believes in psychics.

wOw’s Peggy Rometo

It doesn’t make me a bad person that I don’t. I still can enjoy Peggy Rometo’s company because she is so attractive and charming. I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. And, if you missed her predictions about the life and career of Susan Boyle, force yourself to go back and read them. So much fabulous fun!

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The ubiquitous Dominick Dunne is back from Bavaria after some unusual medical treatment there and already has segued back to the Dominican Republic for more stem-cell reception. (It was in the DR that Dominick, standing in a long line, waiting for a lost passport, dropped the exquisite name of designer Oscar de la Renta. The latter is practically a god in the DR, where he once hailed from before his spectacular success in U.S. fashion. Anyway, because of Oscar, Dominick is now a VIP with portfolio in the DR and this has given the fashion designer a huge chuckle.)

I hope Dominick will reappear soon in his usual space in Vanity Fair and also return to the environs of his Connecticut River Valley home. For sure he will be here for the bow of his novel which he has just finished. Listen, I hope he sticks around forever because he stands up for victims and he is one of my favorite people.

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Wait a minute! Some people have taken umbrage that I wrote Mel Gibson had said he regretted his wife would go to hell because she believed in a different religion than he did. (Even though, he added, “she IS a much better person than I am.)

OK, he didn’t use the word “hell,” but since he is a devoutly conservative Roman Catholic and earnestly believes in hell, heaven and purgatory – then isn’t it splitting hairs to try to discern or suggest that he meant something other than “hell”?

And we all know Mel is the one who is going to heaven.

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Peggy Rometo seems very open and knowing to me, and there are people with very highly attuned 6th senses, just as there are natural artists/musicians/athletes…and she seems to be one.

Actually Liz, MSNBC reported that Gibson intimated his wife was going to cross through the Pearly Gates:

"Mel Gibson is "Catholic" in only a loose sense - he belongs to a movement of "Old Catholics" who reject everything that has happened in the Roman Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council, including that Council and all the popes that have been elected. This means that Gibson holds to much older views of Catholicism and religion, which means that the thinks his own wife will go to Hell because she’s not a Catholic (not that he really is either).

MSNBC reports:

Gibson was interviewed by the Herald Sun in Australia, and the reporter asked the star if Protestants are denied eternal salvation. “There is no salvation for those outside the Church,” Gibson replied. “I believe it.” He elaborated: “Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She’s a much better person than I am. Honestly. She’s, like, Episcopalian, Church of England. She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff. And it’s just not fair if she doesn’t make it, she’s better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair. I go with it.”

There’s a poll there which asks "Is Mel Gibson one bead short of a full rosary" - I voted "yes" and encourage you to register your opinion as well. The responses are largely in the "yes" direction, and I wonder how much of that is due to the story in question here. It’s pretty morbid to devoutly follow a religion that teaches the person you love dearly will spend eternity suffering torment simply because they don’t belong to a particular church - and despite the fact that you think of them as being a better person than you.

In essence, Gibson believes that heaven is a place for members of a particular sect regardless of how good they are and that "better" people are denied heaven. It should tell us something about the quality of his character that he would worship such a god."

By Suzanne de Cornelia on 04/27/2009 1:23 am

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No wonder Mel Gibson drinks. His brain thinks in circles. I’m dizzy…

If he’s from the old church, doesn’t that mean he’s not supposed to marry a non-Catholic?

By Laura Ward on 04/27/2009 2:32 am

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"It’s pretty morbid to devoutly follow a religion that teaches the person you love dearly will spend eternity suffering torment simply because they don’t belong to a particular church - and despite the fact that you think of them as being a better person than you."

Morbid indeed. And interesting that he follows a book (the new testament) that says that a "believing" man or woman married to an "unbeliever" will "redeem" them, yet still thinks his "saintly" wife is going to hell. Ahh, fanatics, you gotta "love" ‘em…

By Rachel F on 04/27/2009 9:22 am

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Gibson is a Fundamentalist Catholic, and being a Fundamentalist is what it is, and so is Mel! In other words, I agree he’s a ‘bead short of a full rosary’.

I have also noticed though, that people who have had to deal with addictions, like alcohol, drug, sex, whatever, tend to gravitate towards Fundamentalism and Mel Gibson seems to fit that mold.

By DeBúrca obj on 04/27/2009 10:30 am

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Actually, the Fundamentalism, addictions like alcohol, drugs, sex are all the same substitute ‘spirits’ for having an authentic one of your own. A person with a healthy spirit isn’t needy of another one.

By Suzanne de Cornelia on 04/27/2009 11:05 am

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exactly, it is trading one addiction for another.

By DeBúrca obj on 04/27/2009 11:21 am

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That’s Gibson intimated his wife was "not" going thru the Pearly Gates. One of these days I’ll learn to edit.

By Suzanne de Cornelia on 04/27/2009 1:53 am

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I knew what you meant, Suzanne. Too bad about Gibson. Something must have happened to him along the way to stardom, because when he started out he seemed to be sane. In the "Year of Living Dangerously"––a splendid film with a great sound track––he was so good, so young, and still had two feet on the ground.

Re: Peggy R.: She looks like a lovely person and from your testimony and Joni’s she’s tops. That, however, does not encourage me enough to read her posts. I did read her interview with Wow, per instruction from Liz––try it, you’ll like it––but I cringe, especially when I come to the pain on her back is indicating that… Sorry, not my cup of tea.

Woody Allen’s film, "Vicky, Christina, Barcelona" I found vapid and silly. I was sorely disappointed as Allen’s films can be so good (especially if he’s not in them). Penélope Cruz is delightful, but her performance in "Elegy", which I loved, was perfect.

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 04/27/2009 10:10 am

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Oh leave them alone. They managed to make it through many more years of marriage than the average American does. He hasn’t trashed her. He does say what we learned as Catholics pre-Vatican II in 1963. I don’t know why he clings to that any more than I know why the Saudis don’t let women drive. But I would point out he is one man who has absolutely no influence on public policy in the United States. If he is an ass he is an ass. So be it. So was WC Fields.

And as you all condemn his very conservative Catholic faith, you are happy to see our President bow to the Saudi King who won’t let women drive in his country. Yes, I know, Bush kissed him on the cheek. That pissed me off too. If you were consistent you would be apalled by both. But you are not. Because you don’t give a rats ass about women. All you care about is your agenda.

I’m pretty sure that Mrs. Gibson will come away with a settlement that would make Princess Diana if she were alive blanche with envy. I don’t doubt she deserves it. I don’t doubt that he will pay it.

Sad the marriage ended but clearly he is an alcholic who has struggled for years. At least he didn’t leave a young girl to die in a pond at Martha’s Vineyard.

By Teresa Kerwick on 04/27/2009 2:56 am

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I totally agree with your remarks. Oh yeah, according to some Mel is the evil in America today. I wish they would just leave him alone. I think all the backlash is coming from those who were offended by his movie The Passion of Christ. Well, if he Mel is going to hell, so will the rest of us because we all have our own issues. Mel’s issues just proves that he is human like the rest of us. I just don’t believe some people.

By A Amedee on 04/27/2009 7:47 am

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I agree with you, A, that some of this is backlash/jealousy because of Passion.

What is amazing to me, while reading the posts and the posts of the other at least TWO posts from Liz on this subject, is how intolerant people are to Mel based on his religious affiliation. I am not a fan of the Catholics, but I am a fan of the Constitution of the US, which grants us freedom of religion. Last I checked, that included Catholisism, or does that only include Kabbalah and Scientology?

By nanchan u on 04/27/2009 9:19 am

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Oh you are right about that, Nanchan!

The people who love to hate Mel should back off. I can’t image every aspect of their lives to be any better than his. They should really leave him alone and let him deal with his problems with whatever dignity he has left. What is marriage for anyway? Many of us seem to forget that marriage is for better or worst. Some people tend to stay in a marriage when things are good. The moment things turn sour, they pack-up and leave. Supportive spouses don’t do that sort of thing. Hillary Clinton stuck by Bill Clinton during his extra Presidential activities, The President of the United State of all people; and yet some people seem to forget Mel is just a movie star, a celebrity and a human being. I pray he finds the strength to deal with his alcohol problem.

By A Amedee on 04/27/2009 9:49 pm

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Exactly Nanchan…that’s what happens when you believe in Jesus Christ in Hollywood…AND have the nerve to make a more successful movie than theirs...you get a huge TARGET on your back.

Its no wonder he has a drinking problem…with all of this crap…it would be more surprising that he doesn’t.

By Kelly In Texas on 04/28/2009 11:49 pm

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Teresa, I must say yours is the most sensible comment I’ve read in awhile. You swing left, and right in your commets. I like that. And like you said, leave them alone. And I’ll add, for goodness sake!

By Cheryl Mitchell on 04/27/2009 8:04 am