"It is as it was."

Of course, he said it. This is nothing less than papal politics. Popes don't endorse things! Here is the latest statement from the Vatican and if you read Vaticanese, you'll understand what's really being said here.



From the V.I.S.:



"After consultation with the Holy Father's personal secretary, Archbishop

Stanislaw Dziwisz, I can confirm that the Pope has had the opportunity to

see the film, 'The Passion of the Christ'. The film is the cinematographic

recounting of the historical fact of the passion of Jesus Christ according

to the Gospel accounts.



"It is the Holy Father's custom not to express public judgments on

artistic works, judgments which are always open to diverse evaluations of an

aesthetic nature."