Gibson Film Passion to debut on 2,000 Screens

The movie, whose dialogue is in Latin and Aramaic, covers the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ and has come under fire from some Jewish groups who claim its story could foment anti-Semitism by tying Christ's death to Jewish authorities.

But Catholic and Protestant groups, as well as biblical scholars, have defended the film, saying it sticks closely to accounts of the crucifixion as told in the New Testament. Pope John Paul saw the movie in December and told his longtime Polish secretary Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, 'It is as it was,' meaning he considered it an authentic portrayal of Gospel accounts, a Vatican source told Reuters.

Even though Gibson is a high-profile actor and Oscar winning director of films such as Braveheart, Passion of Christ could not find a major motion picture studio that would distribute it due to the controversy.