Passion of the Christ creator, Mel Gibson, is apologizing for events that led to his arrest Friday on alleged drunk driving charges and for statements he made to sheriff’s deputies. Entertainment website TMZ.com says the arrest report accuses Gibson of saying “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” and asking the arresting officer “Are you a Jew?” The Los Angeles Times says it has independently verified the report’s authenticity. In a statement released over the weekend, Gibson issued an apology for his “belligerent behavior” and claimed that he suffers from what he called “the disease of alcoholism.” The statement says: “I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable.” Jewish groups are fuming over Gibson’s reported remarks. Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center says, “If that’s what he said, even under intoxication, it clearly shows that Mel Gibson has a problem with Jews.” The head of the Anti-Defamation League, which complained that The Passion of the Christ had anti-Semitic overtones, calls Gibson’s apology for Friday’s incident “insufficient.”
- AP

Australia is trying to figure out how to keep Muslim criminals from being radicalized in prison and emerging as potential terrorists. Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock says, “We have seen an increase in extremist Islamic activity in some of our prisons,” and notes that “there have been cases overseas where individuals have turned to extremism while in prison and have undertaken later terrorist attacks following their release, or have encouraged others to do so.” Officials cited Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who emerged from jail as an Islamic radical to become head of al-Qaida in Iraq before he was killed in a U.S. bombing attack, and Richard Reid, who spent time in a British jail and is serving life in an American prison after trying to explode a bomb concealed in his shoe on a flight from France to the U.S.

-AP

(AgapePress) - The homosexual activist group Soulforce plans to march on the headquarters of a prominent Colorado-based pro-family ministry this weekend. Organizers, who have dubbed the July 22 event “The 1000-Watt March,” expect at least a thousand homosexuals and lesbians to converge on the Focus on the Family campus and pray for its founder, Dr. James Dobson.

Soulforce members claim Focus on the Family, along with other Christian groups, engage in so-called “spiritual violence” against homosexuals and deny them justice. The homosexual group accuses Focus of being “one of the world’s primary sources of defamation against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people and same-gender families” and of disseminating misinformation that encourages bias, discrimination, and violence against homosexuals.

But Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman for the Colorado Springs-based pro-family ministry, says it has never condoned any type of violence against homosexuals and, on the contrary, has reached out to them in love. Despite what some people may say or think, he asserts, Focus is not the type of organization “that says, ‘Okay, if your son or daughter comes out of the closet and says that he or she is gay, disown them, throw them out of the house, don’t talk to them again.’”

The emphasis of Focus’ ministry to homosexuals, Schneeberger explains, “is on equipping parents, friends and loved ones to love the child, the friend, the co-worker [who is ‘gay’ or lesbian], the way that Jesus would; but also, at the same time, not compromising their own faith principles.”

Actor Chad Allen, an outspoken homosexual activist who recently starred in the Christian-themed movie The End of the Spear, will be leading the march to the Focus on the Family headquarters. The march will also feature Broadway celebrity Billy Porter and Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Soulforce is describing the two-mile protest march to the Focus on the Family campus as a “justice march.” The group hopes the event will bring attention to what it calls the “anti-gay dishonesty” of that Christian organization. But Schneeberger contends that it is the homosexual group’s leaders, not the pro-family ministry, that has shunned honest and open dialogue.

“A year and a half ago,” the Focus spokesman notes, “when [Soulforce representatives] wanted to meet with Dr. Dobson, who was out of town and could not do it, we suggested, rather than have a private meeting, let’s have a public forum, held in a public place, and invite people from the public, and let’s debate the issue from both sides.” Soulforce, however, “refused to participate in that,” he says.

“We believe this is a public issue,” Schneeberger continues. “We believe this is an issue that affects the lives of all Coloradoans. That’s the kind of debate we’re interested in having.” However, he says Focus’ efforts to talk privately with Soulforce representatives have been rejected in the past.

As part of its outreach to homosexuals and others touched by the issue of homosexuality, Focus on the Family presents several “Love Won Out” conferences around the U.S. each year. These events are designed, according to the ministry, to promote the truth “that homosexuality is preventable and treatable — a message routinely silenced today,” and to let people know that freedom from homosexuality is possible.

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