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Critics apologise to Mel
17/06/2003 08:12 - (SA)
Los Angeles - The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has apologised to Mel Gibson for criticising The Passion before the movie about the final hours of Christ's life is released, news reports said on Monday.
The conference had received copies of the script, which Gibson said was stolen, prompting it to label the movie anti-Catholic. But now, the bishops have apologised and said they would return the scripts to Gibson.
The Jewish Anti-Defamation League has also criticised The Passion as anti-Semitic, but Gibson, who also directed and won two Oscars for Braveheart, defended it in his first public statement on the matter.
"To be certain, neither I nor my film is anti-Semitic," he said. "The Passion is a movie meant to inspire not to offend. My intention in bringing it to the screen is to create a lasting work of art and engender serious thought among audiences of diverse faith backgrounds who have varying familiarity with this story.
This is a movie about faith, hope, love and forgiveness - something sorely needed in these turbulent times."
Gibson is directing the movie, which stars James Caviezel as Christ, in Italy. Its dialogue is to be only in Aramaic and Latin without subtitles.
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South Africa
