The Passion of the Christ producer Stephen McEveety
Disputed papal endorsement
On December 5, 2003, Passion of the Christ co-producer Stephen McEveety gave a rough cut of the film to Archbishop Stanisław Dziwisz, the pope's secretary. Pope John Paul II watched the film in his private apartment with Archbishop Dziwisz that night, and later met with McEveety and Jan Michelini, an Italian and the movie's assistant director. On December 17, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan reported John Paul II had said "It is as it was", citing McEveety, who said he heard it from Dziwisz. Noonan had emailed Joaquín Navarro-Valls, the head of the Vatican's press office, for confirmation before writing her column, surprised that the "famously close-mouthed" Navarro-Valls had approved the use of the "It is as it was" quote, and his emailed response stated he had no other comment at that time. National Catholic Reporter journalist John L. Allen Jr., published a similar account on the same day, quoting an unnamed senior Vatican official. Reuters and the Associated Press independently confirmed the story, citing Vatican sources.A dispute emerged a few days later, when an anonymous Vatican official told Catholic News Service "There was no declaration, no judgment from the pope." But Allen defended his earlier reporting, saying that his official source was adamant about the veracity of the original story. Columnist Frank Rich for The New York Times wrote that the statement was "being exploited by the Gibson camp", and that when he asked Michelini about the meeting, Michelini said Dziwisz had reported the pope's words as "It is as it was", and said the pope also called the film "incredibile",  an Italian word Michelini translated as "amazing". The following day, Archbishop Dziwisz told CNS, "The Holy Father told no one his opinion of this film." This denial resulted in a round of commentators who accused the film producers of fabricating a papal quote to market their movie.
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