Pope has not given blessing to Gibson flick
The Pope has not endorsed Mel Gibson’s controversial Biblical epic The Passion of the Christ, the pontiff’s secretary said.
Published reports over the past month said John Paul gave his approval after a screening in his apartment in early December by saying, “It is as it was.”
The film’s producers said the quote was given to them by the papal secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz.
In its report, the Catholic News Service quoted Dziwisz as saying, “That is not true.”
The news service said Dziwisz told them that the pope “does not make judgements on art of this kind he leaves that to others, to experts.”
The film, on the last hours of Jesus’ life, is scheduled to open on February 25 – Ash Wednesday, the first of Lent.
After a series of screenings in Rome, several top Vatican officials have praised the film and rejected complaints by some Jewish leaders who say the film suggests the Jews were responsible for the crucifixion.
Church officials said two screenings were held for John Paul so the ailing 83-year-old pontiff did not have to sit through the entire production.
The film’s producers said the pope’s opinion was relayed by Dziwisz, who watched with John Paul.
The Vatican press office, which usually states the official positions of the pope, has repeatedly declined to confirm or deny the alleged papal endorsement.
“This office never comments on the private activities of the pope,” Joaquin Navarro-Valls, John Paul’s official spokesman, said today.
