News
What should we do after seeing Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of Christ"? That is the question being asked by Rev. Dr Hans Ucko, who specializes in Christian-Jewish dialogue at the World Council of Churches. He discusses the impact of our reactions to this controversial film in an opinion piece published in French on Friday, 5 March by the Geneva newspaper Le Temps.
In his piece, Ucko reiterates the church's rejection of charge of deicide, and reaffirms a WCC statement deeming anti-Semitism a sin. Although he refrains from direct commentary on the film, he encourages viewers to deal positively with difficult Bible verses, and warns against using them to "sow hate". "It is what we do once we have seen the movie that matters", he says, "the conclusions we draw from it, the teachings we make of it".
The article in French, as it appeared in Le Tempson 5 Maarch, is available at:
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/press_corner/ucko-f.html
Translations into English, German and Spanish are available at:
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/press_corner/ucko-e.html