Anne Catherine Emmerich was a 19th century German nun whose bloody visions of Jesus's death served as a principle inspiration to Mel Gibson when he made his movie "The Passion of The Christ.” Now, it looks like she will be beatified, which means that her violently antisemtiic visions will be given legitimization.

According to Reuters:

The Vatican says Pope John Paul II will beatify Emmerich for her virtuous life, not her best-selling book, but the October 3 ceremony will further publicise her Passion accounts that some critics denounce as medieval and anti-Semitic. "Beatification will almost certainly be interpreted as approval of them," Father John O'Malley, a church historian, wrote disapprovingly in the U.S. Jesuit weekly America.

So the Vatican denies that there is any implied legitimization of Emmerich’s visions, but that simply isn’t a tenable position to adopt. There are lots of people who could be beatified, but the choice of this one is deliberate and the connections are undeniable. Her visions may not be the primary reason for her beatification, but their role cannot be ignored.

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• Roman Catholicism
• Antisemitism