Wednesday February 25, 2004
The Passion of the Christ – Numerous Positive Stories Counter Harsh Critics
See below long list of titles and quotes that tell completely different story than the critics
Updated April 19, 2004
The Passion is praised below by:
Evangelist Billy Graham, Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson, Campus Crusade for Christ Founder Dr. Bill Bright, prominent US columnist Cal Thomas, Lorna Dueck, co-host of 100 Huntley St., Lebanon’s Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, Moscow Russian Orthodox Bishop Yegoryevsk Mark,
Pope John Paul II, Washington, D.C. Cardinal McCarrick, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Vatican Congregation of the Clergy, Archbishop John Foley, the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Father Di Noia of the Vatican’s Doctrinal Congreation, Fr. Benedict Groeschell, The bishops of the Philippines, Cardinal Pell of Australia, New York’s Cardinal Egan, Father Thomas Williams, dean of the school of theology at Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University of Rome, Father Thomas Rosica, organizer of World Youth Day 2002 and producer of Salt & Light Television, columnist Fr. Raymond DeSouza,
Rabbi Daniel Lapin,Rabbi March Gellman, Matt Drudge of the very prominent Drudge Report(Jewish), Syndicated movie reviewer Michael Medved (Jewish),
Connecticticut Governor Rowland,
leading US movie critic Roger Ebert, David Klinghoffer of the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, Richard Corless in Time magazine, Barbara Simpson in WorldNet Daily, Brent Bozell, President of the Media Research Centre, Los angeles entertainment exec Mark Joseph, Keith Fournier, Kathryn Jean Lopez, of National Review, First Things magazine, Town Hall columnist Linda Chavez, Michael Novak, John-Henry Westen editor of LifeSiteNews.com, Detroit Free Press movie critic Terry Westen, Deal Hudson -publisher of Crisis Magazine, Louis Hobdon in the Calgary Sun, Ralph Winter and Mark Joseph in National Review, Ramesh Ponnuru in National Review, US syndicated columnist Anne Coulter
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Box Office Gross Receipts to Thursday May 27 – $609.4 Million (U.S. and Overseas)
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=daily&id;=passionof…
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See LifeSite introductory article at:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/feb/04022501.html
Washington Cardinal McCarrick Moved to Tears by The Passion
I found myself swept up in the awesome story of love and sacrifice that we all know so well and that was portrayed so movingly. After the film is over, there is a long series of credits, mentioning just about every name of anyone who was involved in the production. I was glad for those few minutes. They gave me a chance to come back from the emotions of that awesome narrative and as the house lights went on again to relocate myself in the world of today. I found the presentation of the passion of Jesus to be powerful and moving. For anyone who has meditated on the events of those terrible hours, it was a meditation come to life. I cried a little; I closed my eyes at the somewhat overdone scenes of the brutality of the Roman soldiers; I followed the wonderfully sensitive portrayal of Mary with concentration and affection; I was deeply touched by the portrayal of the centurion’s conversion at the cross. All of us came away from the theater silent and reflective and needing time to sort out our thoughts. I did not find it anti-Roman or anti-Semitic.
https://www.cathstan.org/news/03-25-04/5.shtml
Passion Movie News – April 2/04
AsiaNews sources report that pirated version of the Passion are being shown throughout Beijing in small group and parish settings. A non-Catholic youth told AsiaNews, “My only intention was to practice my English by watching the film. Instead, however, the movie really struck me. I can’t believe that someone would sacrifice himself for others, even to the point of dying for them,” he said. “I want to learn more about Christianity,” the youth added.
And a man in Arizona confessed to a burglary after watching the film.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/apr/04040210.html
Another Passion-Inspired Confession – March 30/04
A Norwegian man says that watching Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ motivated him to confess to two bombings he committed in the 90s.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04033006.html
Michael Medved – The Passion of the Christ already has changed Hollywood forever
https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-03-14-m…
‘The Passion of the Christ’ a hit in Beirut, Damascus
Lebanon’s Maronite church has described it as “impressive” and found it not to be anti-Semitic. “It is very sad, extremely impressive,” commented Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the spiritual head of the Maronite church. “We don’t see any anti-Semitism there.”
https://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=9408
A Texan man who killed his 19-year-old girlfriend confesses after seeing Mel Gibson’s the Passion of the Christ
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04032606.html
Moscow Russian Orthodox Bishop Praises The Passion
Meanwhile in Russia, Russian Orthodox Church leaders are predicting that the Passion will bring many viewers closer to God. The Passion opened in theatres in Moscow Thursday. “For those who know little about Christ, but want to know more, for those who are not used to going to church on a regular basis, this film may really become a revelation and help them become closer to God,” Bishop Yegoryevsk Mark, deputy head of the external liaison department of the Moscow Patriarchate, told the Interfax news source on Thursday. “Its purpose is to break the atrophy of human insensitivity and to get through to people’s hearts,” Bishop Mark said.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04032606.html
Pro Baseball Players Renting Theaters to Show Passion to Teammates
Houston shortstop Adam Everett was one of those who went with his team to see the movie. “It was powerful,” Everett said. “I don’t know if there’s another word to describe it. If you didn’t come out of there teary-eyed, I felt like there was something wrong, because I came out of there teary-eyed. Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz said most of his teammates went to the movie the night Smoltz rented the theater, and he thinks “The Passion” will continue to have a significant impact on those who see if for a long time.
https://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=17964
The Passion as seen by Dominican Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, OP
For me, Jim Caviezel’s portrayal of Christ elicited tears wrung from the heart which, I soon understood, was beating as one with Mother Mary’s and with all the women portrayed in the film: Mary Magdalene, Veronica, Claudia, the weeping women. Would I advise everyone to experience this movie, even those who have no Christian background? My answer is “yes” without hesitation. I submit this movie has the power to resonate in all hearts because it is the greatest Love story.
https://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=44712
Argentine Bishops Passionate About Gibson’s Film
“I loved the film,” Archbishop Rubén di Monte of Mercedes-Lujan said. It is fantastically made; it reflects the things on which one has meditated so many times on the passion of Jesus and responds to what the sacred Scriptures tell us.” He added: “I hope it will do much, much good and that we will not be ensnared by sterile discussions over who it attacks or does not attack, who it justifies or does not justify, but that we will take advantage of it spiritually because this should be the objective of those who go see this notable film.” “I confess that it made an impression on me and moved me profoundly,” added Archbishop Maulión, who is president of the bishops’ Commission for Social Communication. “What is more, I would say that it shook me spiritually and not only me. After seeing it, together with other brother bishops, we agreed that it shook us.”
Fr. Benedict Groeschell Finally Speaks; Thankful for The Passion Movie
Groeschel says “I had seen the movie, ‘The Passion’ before I had my accident. How many times the haunting scenes (of Christ’s agony) brought me consolation and hope when things were very dark”.
https://www.franciscanfriars.com/fr.%20glenn%20letters/frglen…
Pope Doesn’t Find The Passion Anti-Semitic
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04031103.html
Gibson’s Book Soars to No. 2 on New York Times’ List
https://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/3/11/162637.shtml
Mel Gibson Film ‘5th Largest Opening in History’
https://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/2/26/210824.shtml
Philippine bishops endorse Gibson film “Passion of the Christ”
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales told reporters “I think I would recommend it to every Filipino to see it who believes in goodness and accepts the reality of evil,”
https://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN200403104510.html
Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal – ‘It Is as It Was’- Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” gets thumbs-up from pope.
Note: further investigation by Noonan and others confirms that the Pope did say this after seeing the film but his comment was not intended to be an official comment and thus the Vatican will not confirm it.
https://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=1100044…
Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal- ‘Passion’ and Intrigue –
“I found myself moved and inspired by the film, which isn’t about hatred but love, and love’s continuing war with evil. It is a film that engenders awe, gratitude, and no small amount of self-examination”.
The story of the Vatican and Mel Gibson’s film gets curiouser
https://www.opinionjournal.com/forms/printThis.html?id=110004…
Cardinal Egan: Flock to ‘The Passion’
It’s good that we see that movie because that movie tells us about the greatest prayer, the greatest sacrifice that was ever made,” he told the congregation Sunday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
https://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/3/1/122621.shtml
Evangelist Billy Graham Reviews Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’
“After watching The Passion of the Christ, I feel as if I have actually been there … The film is faithful to the Bible’s teaching that we are all responsible for Jesus’ death, because we have all sinned.”
“A Lifetime of Sermons in One Movie” says Preacher
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/nov/03112604.html
Dr. Dobson’s Open Letter on The Passion of Christ
I believe it is among the most powerful and important ever made…I can say that, in addition to being faithful to the essentials of the biblical account, it is easily the most heart-wrenching, powerful portrayal of Christ’s suffering that I have ever seen…I believe the real problem the liberal establishment has with this movie is that it has the audacity to portray Christ as He really was – not only as a historical figure, but as the Savior of mankind. That is an offense to the postmodern sensibilities of our morally relativistic culture.
https://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36973
Campus Crusade For Christ Founder Praises The Passion
The late Dr. Bill Bright – who co-founded Global Pastors Network, or GPN, and Campus Crusade for Christ – praised the film shortly before his death. Bright, who co-founded Global Pastors Network, and Campus Crusade for Christ, praised the film in a letter. “This movie will forever change your view of God Himself, and what He did for us all on that dark day in history as He endured an ignominious trial and hung on the cross” he wrote.
https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=362…
Rabbi Daniel Lapin – Why Mel owes one to the Jews
“The Passion will become famous as the most serious and substantive biblical movie ever made. It will be one of the most talked-about entertainment events in history”.
https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=370…
Rabbi Gellman, Others Say Gibson Film OK
Rabbi Marc Gellman of Temple Beth Torah in Melville, N.Y., a member of the syndicated national column and TV show called “The God Squad,” called the film a work of “stunning beauty and daring violence that forces all of us to grow up and learn to accept people who tell their own stories.”
https://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/2/24/224229.shtml
David Klinghoffer, Los Angeles Times -‘The Passion’ follows the Scripture
But like the Christian Gospels that form the basis of Gibson’s screenplay, Jewish tradition acknowledges that our leaders in first-century Palestine played a role in Jesus’ execution. If Gibson is an anti-Semite, so is the Talmud and so is the greatest Jewish sage of the past 1,000 years, Maimonides.
It’s unfair of Jewish critics to defame Gibson for saying what the Talmud and Maimonides say, and what many historians say.
https://www.dhonline.com/articles/2004/01/09/news/religion/re…
Poll Reveals “The Passion of the Christ” Does Not Foster Anti-Semitism
Dr. Gary Tobin, president of ICJR, told CNSNews that “…so far the Passion of the Christ is not producing any significant anti-Jewish backlash.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04031606.html
Michael Medved – Crucifying Mel
Says The Passion is “an audacious work of art that represents by far the most compelling cinematic adaptation of a Biblical story ever attempted by Hollywood.” Also notes that “Jack Valenti, the former aide to President Lyndon Johnson who has served for almost 40 years as president of the Motion Picture Association of America, hailed The Passion as one of the greatest movies he had ever seen, and a sure bet as an Oscar contender.”
https://www.leaderu.com/popculture/crucifyingmelgibson.html
Keith Fournier – Gibson Movie Not Remotely Anti-Semitic
After seeing “The Passion” Fournier wrote, “it was an encounter, unlike anything I have ever experienced. In addition to being a masterpiece of film making and an artistic triumph, ‘The Passion’ evoked more deep reflection, sorrow and emotional reaction within me than anything since my wedding, my ordination or the birth of my children. Frankly, I will never be the same.”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/oct/03103104.html
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times’ – The Passion of the Christ ****
“I was moved by the depth of feeling, by the skill of the actors and technicians, by their desire to see this project through no matter what”. He calls the movie “awesome.”
https://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/cst-ftr-passion24.html
Karthryn Jean Lopez, National Review – Mel Gibson, Feminist: One of the truths in The Passion of Christ
In a day when “Take Your Rosaries Off My Ovaries” is an often-heard chorus in mainstream abortion debates, Mel Gibson’s understanding of women and his articulation of their unique mission could have remarkable repercussions.
https://www.nationalreview.com/lopez/lopez200312020843.asp
First Things on Gibson’s Passion
…it is hard to imagine anyone coming out of Gibson’s movie with an appetite for a religiously politicized passion. If anything, this is the definitive post-passion-play passion. The film is so enthralling that perhaps some viewers will have to remind themselves that it is just a movie and not a substitute for the New Testament, …the best movie ever made about Jesus Christ.
https://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0403/opinion/hittinger…
Cal Thomas on The Passion: It’s showtime
“Now that Gibson has made a film mostly in line with what the Bible says, he is treated as an infidel and bigot by many of his peers… Go and see this film. It might change your life.”
https://www.townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/ct20040223.shtm…
Breakpoint:The Passion of the Christ, A Viewer’s Guide
…we believe that for most Christians, the experience will be an overwhelmingly positive one. The Passion of the Christ is both a great work of art in its own right and a work that directs our minds and hearts toward our Redeemer. To watch this re-enactment is to gain a deeper understanding of what Jesus suffered for our sakes. Sometimes, even the most powerful story loses some of its impact when we’ve been reading it all our lives. A film like this helps us to see it in a fresh way that inspires praise and gratitude to the God who gave His life for us.
https://www.pfm.org/BPtemplate.cfm?Section=BreakPoint_Home&Te…;
Vatican’s Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos and Archbishop John P. Foley Give Strong Endorsement to “The Passion”
Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy said, “I hope all Christians will be able to see it, and all people everywhere.” He said the film is “…a triumph of art and faith… I am confident that it will change for the better everyone who sees it, both Christians and non-Christians alike.”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/sep/03091506.html
Father Di Noia of Vatican’s Doctrinal Congregation says Passion Brilliant
Seeing this film will be an intensely religious experience for many people. It was for me. Stunning cinematography and consistently brilliant acting, combined with the director’s profound spiritual insight into the theological meaning of the passion and death of Christ — all contribute to a production of exquisite artistic and religious sensitivity. Anyone seeing this film — believer and unbeliever alike — will be forced to confront the central mystery of Christ’s passion, indeed of Christianity itself: If this is the remedy, what must the harm have been?
https://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=45863
Legionary Father Thomas Williams: Objections to The Passion Answered
Fr. Williams is dean of school of theology at Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome and was a theological consultant for The Passion of the Christ. Fr. Williams states of Gibson’s critics, “the picayune quibbles expressed by many of his critics border on the ridiculous. Complaints concerning the languages spoken, the height of the cross, the length of Jesus’ hair, the size of the crowd in Pilate’s praetorium and the placement of the nails in Jesus’ hands seem strangely trivial in the face of the larger message of the film. Comparing the Gospel narratives with Gibson’s rendering, one finds a very faithful correspondence, more so than any other cinematic representation of Jesus’ life to date”.
https://www.ncregister.com/current/0307lead3.htm
Vittorio Messori – “The Passion … for Its Author, Is a Mass”
“On the technical plane, the work is of a very high quality, so much so that previous films on Jesus might seem reduced to poor and archaic relatives.”
https://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=49259
Cardinal Pell on “The Passion”
“There was never any medieval morality play with an impact like this film’s. The finest sermon on Christ I have heard was by an English layman, Malcolm Muggeridge; but that was a pale contribution beside this. Generations of believers will see Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion’ as a classic”.
https://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=49580
Father Thomas Rosica on Mel Gibson’s “The Passion”; National Director of World Youth Day 2002 Weighs in on Film
The film has been produced with stunning cinematography, excellent acting, fidelity to the Scriptures, attentiveness to the theological meaning of the passion and death of Christ, and extraordinary artistic and religious sensitivity. Every single scene is richly created in order to invite the viewer deeper and deeper into the mystery. I really feel that this movie is a masterpiece of religious art of the most powerful genre. As the movie progresses, those who were simply bystanders are drawn into the heart of the story.
https://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=48636
Fr. Raymond DeSouza – Breathing New Life Into Faith
After watching Mel Gibson’s very bloody cinematic rendering of that sacrifice, an Australian priest told me that he will never offer Mass the same way again. He’s right. The Passion of the Christ will remind many Christians that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is the central fact of all history.
https://www.newmanhouse.ca/desouza/feb25.html
Focus on the Family – Misrepresenting Mel
“The Passion of the Christ” opened in theaters today, to the reviews of some critics who just don’t seem to get the point of the film — or, more importantly, the point of the story. …what you see on the screen, through this violence, is Gibson’s depiction of all hell breaking loose. All the fury of hell — and all the holy wrath of Heaven — converged on Golgotha that day. It then stands to reason that it will be more graphic than any other violent movie ever made; this is violence, shall we say, of biblical proportions. It is no more — and no less — than a depiction of the actual price of sin.
https://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/commentary/a0030943.cfm
Connecticut Governor Rowland, commenting on The Passion, sees “explosion of faith” in country. Says the movie “unbelievable” “breathtaking…It shakes you to the core of your soul”.
https://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct–rowland-the…
John-Henry Westen, LifeSiteNews.com Editor – “The Passion of the Christ Review by “
Jim Caviezel’s portrayal of Jesus is by far the deepest and most convincing to date – restrained, yet surprisingly rich in meaning, and rendered with a dignity that can only be communicated by an actor who is, in some mysterious way, living through the story in communion with its central character. Attention to minute detail is evident in the film. The imagery and scenes are so rich, they will require many viewings to take in. Like a great work of art, many brush strokes, which go unnoticed at first, grace the viewer upon subsequent viewings.
https://www.theinterim.com/2004/feb/01gibson.html
Terry Lawson, Detroit Detroit Free Press Movie Writer – Feb. 17/04
Mel Gibson and other ‘Passion’ filmmakers say movie was guided by faith.
“What they will see is the most graphic, brutal and, at the same time, visually beautiful and emotionally affecting movie yet made about the seminal event in the Christian faith: Jesus’ (or Joshua, as he is called in the film’s Aramaic) persecution, arrest, torture and execution for blasphemy”.
https://www.freep.com/news/religion/mel17_20040217.htm
Deal Hudson, Crisis Magazine – Passion, Not Prejudice
“…a powerful witness to the truth of traditional Christianity, precisely that force that liberal elites have been trying to still for decades. It’s Christianity–and especially orthodox Catholicism and evangelicalism–that denies them their total victory in the culture wars. Proponents of abortion, gay marriage, radical feminism, multiculturalism, and postmodernism all harbor a deep fear of the truth claims of Christianity.”
https://www.catholicity.com/commentary/hudson/passionnotpreju…
Lorna Dueck – 100 Huntley St – Who’s directing whom?
“What is undeniably accurate is that the logo we so tritely wear around our necks, and use to adorn our churches and trinkets, is about to sweep into reality through our theatres and we will understand what the cross really meant. I’ll never look at it the same way again.”
Globe and Mail Feb. 11, 2004
Linda Chavez -“I was deeply move by the breathtaking beauty of the film. Yes, beauty”
“Gibson’s film is mesmerizing.”
https://www.townhall.com/columnists/lindachavez/lc20040225.sh…
“Michael Novak – Brother Gibson’s Passion: I went from the theater to the Gospels“
“I have never sat in the presence of a religious film with anything like the power of The Passion”.
https://www.nationalreview.com/novak/novak200402250908.asp
The Jew who would be Mary
It’s a masterpiece. Art, pure art!” says the Romanian Jewish actress Maia Morgenstern who plays Mary.
https://www.jewsweek.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=BlankPage&enDispla…;
Co-star Morgenstern Defends Mel Gibson Film
Muslims, atheists, Christians and Jews worked on the film but race and religion were never an issue, said Morgenstern, 42, who is Jewish.
https://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/7865484.h…
Louis B. Hobdon, Calgary Sun – The Passion of Mel –
Frame for frame it is a masterful film. No one who sees Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ will ever be able to hear or read these passages from the Bible in the same way again. Gibson has made the words visual in the most devastating way. His true genius is that he has infused these horrific images with incredible, searing humanity. To even suggest the film is meant to be anti-Semitic is as foolish as it is cruel.
https://jam.canoe.ca/JamMoviesReviewsP/passionofthechrist-sun…
Matt Drudge ( as reported on CBSNews.com)
After a summer 2003 screening of the film, Internet personality Matt Drudge said in a broadcast report: “It depicts a clash between Jesus and those who crucified him, and speaking as a Jew, I thought it was a magical film that showed the perils of life on earth.”
Ralph Winter & Mark Joseph, National Review – Passion Changes Everything
In St. Louis a 70-year-old teacher who has never — never — been inside of a movie theater is making her plans to attend her first movie ever — Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Why? Because for the first time in history a film has finally emerged that has five key ingredients: Star power, mainstream credibility, controversy, wide simultaneous release and deep resonance with traditionalist Christians. When the dust settles after March 1, many of the rules of the filmmaking business may need revisions. For the first time, the industry will realize the profits that have been forfeited over the years by creating films that were out of sync with the interests of the citizens of the red states.
https://www.nationalreview.com/comment/winter_joseph200402250…
Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review – A Movie and Its Meaning: Mel Gibson’s Passion is for all time
If the film is truly a “success,” one way it will be a success is in drawing evangelicals and Catholics together where they should most be together: in Christ.If we leave this film reminded that this world is not our home but only a way station, then Gibson will have done a mighty work for the Lord.
https://www.nationalreview.com/ponnuru/ponnuru200402201151.as…
The War Against Mel Gibson – Gary North
Now, in a stunning reversal, Mel Gibson has handed us a victory so overwhelming that the Establishment media are in shock. They mounted a full-scale battle against Gibson, beginning almost as soon as he announced his plan to produce the movie. The Left unloaded on him with everything it had. The attempt failed. Why? Why did Hollywood walk away from what instantly became a blockbuster? For the same reason that the studios continue to lose hundreds of millions of dollars producing films that attack religion and morality: its intense hostility to Christianity and the value system it teaches. We should recognize The Passion for what it is: an experiment that has revealed the tip of a very large iceberg of discontent. Hollywood did not want to acknowledge that this iceberg was there. In Europe, the spiritual erosion process is almost complete. But the inheritor will not be Communism. Unless there is a great reversal, the inheritor will be Islam.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north260.html
No shades of gray in Gibson’s ‘Passion’
You either get it, or you don’t. If you have bought into the concept of Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, exactly as the title says, then the film hits you right in the gut. All others come out thinking this a gory, confusing, murky film. Mel Gibson reminds the believer what Christianity is all about.Most other depictions of the crucifixion sanitize the final days of Jesus.
https://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?refere…
Barbara Simpson says Gibson critics are full of “cynicism, anti-Christian bias, liberal politics, hatred of Catholics and their Church, and in many cases, atheism”
https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=373…
Richard Corless – Time Online – Holy Hypocrisies:
The media take their moral outrage out of mothballs to attack Mel Gibson’s Jesus movie –
Critics of the film haven’t been content with saying they hate the film… most of them hadn’t seen it when they spouted off. Instead, they wrap their bludgeons in Scripture, or historical citations, or obscure pronouncements from a religious hierarchy, or dark threats of the harm a movie can do. Some of them seem to have have a cell-phone connection to the Throne of Heaven. How many billions do the movie and TV moguls make each year portraying, in a manner that doesn’t even attempt to be edifying, human suffering, mutilation and humiliation—for cheap thrills or cheaper laughs? This is, after all, a business that hires actors and directors who happen to be drug addicts, spouse-abusers and convicted felons. Gibson’s criminal rap sheet is clean. A lot of movie people don’t respect Gibson’s obsession with his Passion project; they are offended by it; fear it. And I’ll bet, since the movie could earn huge profits for Gibson and his distribution partners, they resent it.
https://www.time.com/time/columnist/corliss/article/0,9565,59…
Brent Bozell, President, Media Research Center – Flustered film critics and ‘The Passion’
Media critics of the film “view themselves as the (don’t laugh) moral arbiters of the popular culture. But in the case of ‘The Passion,’ the harshest critics are dead wrong, and every day’s tidal wave of tickets washes away their disbelieving, deconstructing attempts to ruin its powerful effect on American hearts and minds.
https://www.townhall.com/columnists/brentbozell/bb20040305.sh…
Mark Joseph – ‘Passion’ critics retract reviews
Mark Joseph, an entertainment executive in Los Angeles and author of the upcoming book “The Passion of Mel Gibson: The Story Behind the Most Controversial Film in Hollywood History,” said the film industry is in shock. “This town is rocking,” he said, “…wondering what it all means. This is the film everyone deemed unreleasable.”
https://washingtontimes.com/national/20040226-113738-4289r.ht…
Composer of Passion Music Had Strange Experiences While Trying to Complete the Project
“I don’t think I will ever be given the opportunity to write again for a movie as powerful as this one,” “I had all these computers and synthesizers in my studio and the hard drives would go down and the digital picture that lives on the computer with the music would just freeze on his [Satan’s] face. Then the volume would go to ten and it would happen all the time”. “I would be working on a certain scene, like when Mary flashes back to the baby Jesus falling down, and I would see it 20 times, and then I would see if for the 21st time I would just start to weep because it is so elusive, the power of this film.
https://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s04020099.htm
“Catholic Passion Outreach“
A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions about The Passion of The Christ
https://passion.catholicexchange.com/
Hear the audio from EWTN’s first fascinating TV interview of Mel Gibson about the movie
https://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/SeriesSearchprog.asp?Ser…
ABC Interview with Mel Gibson on The Passion of the Christ
https://abcnews.go.com/sections/Primetime/Entertainment/mel_g…
Gibson: Attacks Taught Him Tolerance
https://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/2/24/232119.shtml
Mel Gibson says He Won’t be Deterred from Passion of the Christ Even Though it Might Kill His Career
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/jan/04011405.html
Mel Gibson’s Great Passion: Christ’s Agony as You’ve Never Seen It
https://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=32330
Actor charts course that led him to portray Jesus in ‘Passion’ movie
https://www.archden.org/dcr/news.php?e=54&s;=4&a;=1231
Mel passionate About Pic’s Positive Message
https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u;=/variety/20040…
Mel Gibson’s ‘Christ’ Reveals Crucifixion
https://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/1/25/145119.shtml
“Donohue: ‘Relentless’ Attacks on ‘The Passion’ Will Backfire“
https://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/1/23/175643.shtml
Anne Coulter – Who Would Jesus Kill?
https://www.townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/ac20040311.sht…
Violent film lovers suddenly sensitive
Critics who praised decapitations in ‘Gladiator’ blast Gibson movie
https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=372…
All of a Sudden, Because of The Passion, Newsweek Concerned About Kids Viewing R-rated Movies
https://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/afa/272004jl.asp
Article summarizes praise and fair criticism of The Passion
https://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/filmforum/040226.htm…
Medical Examiner And Crucifixion Expert Describes Exact Way He Says Christ Died
https://www.spiritdaily.com/zugibe2.htm
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