The Jewish magazine the Forward has an article on the controversy over “The Passion.” It seems to clear up many of the objections and erroneous information that’s been flying around of late. The role of the interfaith panel and its connection to the US bishops’ conference has been clarified as well as what the conference says about the panel’s conclusions about the film.
There is also some information about the rumors that Gibson used some mystics with anti-Semitic leanings as sources. A priest who translated the script into Aramaic said the script is completely in line with Catholic teaching and that he found nothing of Ann Catherine Emmerich or Mary of Agreda in it.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I think criticizing something that’s not even out, that we have no idea what’s even in it, makes no sense. Now if we knew for sure that Mel was playing fast and loose with the story, like turning John the Evangelist into a woman, that would be easy to spot and protest. But complaining about anti-Semitic content when we don’t even know whether it’s in there is pretty ridiculous. Wait until it comes out and then start complaining.
