The spokesperson for the Des Moines Catholic Diocese was one of the hundreds of people to see an advanced screening of the Mel Gibson movie “The Passion of the Christ.” The movie that portrays the death of Jesus and has raised concerns over possible anti-semitism. Ann Marie Cox says she can understand those concerns. She says she can see how there might be confusion or the movie might lead to misinterpretation because she says in some respect there’s a lack of historical context in terms of what was happening with the Romans at that time in history in religion and politics. She says “if the movie hurts Jewish and Christian relations , then it has done a huge disservice.” Cox says she’d hope people would take something positive from the movie. She says if this movie does one thing, she hopes it encourages dialogue and a better understanding of the faith traditions. The violence in the movie has also draw a lot of discussion. Cox says it is intense. She says it was indeed violent. She says “we talk about it frequently that Jesus died for all of our sins. But when you see it portrayed that graphically, it certainly does give a person an opportunity to pause and think more about what that really means.” Some people have come away from the movie saying it had a profound impact on them and their faith. Cox says she’s still letting it all sink in. She says there’s an awful lot of food for thought in the movie and she says it will take her a couple of days to think about all its parts and what she thinks about it. She says it’s certainly a beautiful film to watch with its cinematography. She says there’s a lot of content though to digest. Cox says the Bishop of the Des Moines Diocese saw the movie with three Rabbis Tuesday and then discussed it with them afterward.
