Constantine's Sword

Why are intolerance, violence and war so deeply ingrained in religion?

Why did the Cross become a rallying symbol for persecution of Jews, Muslims, and others?

How does one man who loves the Church confront its history of crusade and conquest?


Thursday, March 27 at 7:00PM
Flavin Family Auditorium
School of Management 137
UMass Amherst

Free for UMass students, staff and faculty;
$8.00 general admission. Wheelchair accessible.


James Carroll, a former Catholic priest, is on a journey to confront his past and uncover the roots of religiously inspired violence. Focusing on Christian antisemitism as the model for all religious hatred, the film brings to life the history of religious intolerance, tracing it as a source of the fanaticism that threatens
the world today.


CONSTANTINE'S SWORD, the latest film by Oscar-nominated director Oren Jacoby, explores the dark side of Christianity, following acclaimed author and former priest James Carroll on a journey of remembrance and reckoning.

Carroll, a National Book Award winner and columnist for the Boston Globe, is a practicing Catholic whose search for the truth leads him to confront persecution and violence in the name of God—today and in the Church's past. He discovers a terrible legacy that reverberates across the centuries—from the Emperor Constantine's vision of the cross as a sword and symbol of power, to the rise of genocidal antisemitism, to modern-day wars and conflicts sparked by religious extremism.

At its heart, Constantine's Sword is a detective story, as Carroll journeys into his own past and into the wider world, where he uncovers evidence of church-sanctioned violence against Jews, Muslims, and others. Visiting the Air Force Academy, he exposes how some evangelical Christians are proselytizing inside our country's armed forces, revealing the dangerous consequences of religious influence on American foreign policy.

Warning of what happens when military power and religious fervor are joined, Constantine's Sword asks
the timely question: Is the fanaticism that threatens the world today fueled by our own deeply held beliefs?

Film Talk!

A discussion after the film will be introduced by visiting scholar Dr. Philip A. Cunningham—a member of the advisory committee on Catholic-Jewish relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and a contributing editor to jcrelations.net, the resource website of the International Council of Christians and Jews.

Biography of Philip A. Cunningham

This program is presented by the Office of Jewish Affairs in collaboration with the Newman Catholic Center, The Ark Five-College Episcopal Center, and the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival.


For more information...

jcrelations.net, the website of the International Council of Christians and Jews (of which our guest speaker, Dr. Philip Cunningham, is a contributing editor. This website is a tremendous resource for all aspects of Christian-Jewish relations, including historically important documents such as the Second Vatican Council's "Nostre Aetate" which changed the face of Catholic-Jewish relations.

Constantine's Sword (official film web site)

Devout Catholic answers call to challenge church
Los Angeles Times, 6/22/07

Bio: writer/producer James Carroll

Bio: director/co-writer Oren Jacoby

Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival
(March 23-April 17, 2008)

Newman Catholic Center
Fr. Doug McGonagle or Ms. Chris Clark
(413) 549-0300

The Ark Five-College Episcopal Center
Rev. Chris Carlisle
(413) 549-5929

Office of Jewish Affairs
Larry Goldbaum
(413) 545-9642


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