[dd74]

As you may or may not know, Gibson is a heavily, heavily conservative Catholic. So conservative is he, that he does not recognize the new Vatican - complete with its "reforms." He is resolved to produce and have the world view this film, and would probably show it w/o the Pope's blessing - though there are some who say the Pope never even saw "Passions."

Additionally, Gibson's rumored edit of the movie's final print supposedly constituted little more than a few lines of dialogue. But Jewish groups still call the film biased and racist even with editing. The religious hostility within the film is embedded into the story - i.e. part of its theme.