Mel Gibson
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those outside the Church … I believe it. Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She's a much better person than I am. Honestly. She's, like, Episcopalian, Church of England. She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff. And it's just not fair if she doesn't make it, she's better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair. I go with it." When he was asked at Willow Creek church whether John 14:6 is an intolerant position, he said that "through the merits of Jesus' sacrifice… even people who don't know Jesus are able to be saved, but through him." Gibson told Diane Sawyer that he believes non-Catholics and non-Christians can go to heaven.
In May 2007, Mel Gibson flew to Hermosillo, Mexico, where he attended a Tridentine Mass during which grandchildren of his friends and two of his children
received the sacrament of Confirmation, administered by Archbishop emeritus Carlos Quintero Arce. The same Archbishop Arce consecrated Gibson's private traditional Catholic church in February, 2007.
Gibson's traditionalist Catholic beliefs have been the target of attacks, especially during the controversy over his film The Passion of the Christ. Gibson stated in the Diane Sawyer interview that he feels that his "human rights were violated" by the often vitriolic attacks on his person, his family, and his religious beliefs which were sparked by The Passion.
Gibson has been called everything from “ultraconservative” to “politically very liberal” by acquaintance William Fulco. Although he has denied that he is a Republican, Gibson is often referred to as one in the press, and WorldNetDaily once reported that there was grassroots support among Republicans for "a presidential run" in 2008.
Gibson complimented filmmaker Michael Moore and his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 when he and Moore were recognized at the 2005 People's Choice Awards. Gibson's Icon Productions originally agreed to finance Moore's film, but later sold the rights to Miramax Films. Moore said that his agent Ari Emanuel claimed that "top Republicans" called Mel Gibson to tell him, "don’t expect to get more invitations to the White House". Icon's spokesman dismissed this story, saying "We never run from a controversy. You'd have to be out of your mind to think that of the company that just put out The Passion of the Christ."
In a July 1995 interview with Playboy magazine, Gibson said President Bill