A new film into which Mel Gibson has poured over US$25M is causing contention among Christians and Jews even before its release scheduled for next March, according to an article in the New York Times.

The Passion, is a retelling of the final hours of the life of Jesus Christ and according to some religious scholars who have read the script, is anti-Semitic.

Part of the concern is centered around Mel's religious beliefs, which are rooted in a Catholic sect referred to as Catholic Traditionalism, which (according to the NY Times report, as I was unable to find anything definitive on the subject) rejects Vatican II and every Pope since then as being overly liberal.

One thing is for certain, though, a film like this with no current distributor is certainly getting quite a bit more publicity because of the Mel connection.