He keeps investing his "Passion of the Christ" money into the church he built in Agoura Hills, Calif.
Last year, Gibson parked another $8.2 million in his AP Reilly Foundation, the tax-free entity that takes care of his Holy Family Catholic Church.
Gibson's church is not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church because it does not acknowledge the authority of the pope or the Vatican or the doctrine known as Vatican II. Gibson and many of his fellow congregants are Holocaust deniers, as is Gibson's father, who has been known to contribute to neo-Nazi publications.
Gibson, nevertheless, perseveres. According to a federal tax filing obtained exclusively by this column, the foundation now has $30 million in its coffers, up from $22 million last year.
The church sits on about 11 acres of land owned by the Foundation and worth around $3 million, according to public documents. Let's put this into perspective. Los Angeles Catholic Big Brothers and Big Sisters only has $1.6 million in its till. The Malibu Roman Catholic Church, which is recognized by the archdiocese, supports 600 families. It has a fraction of Holy Family's budget. But Holy Family is said to accommodate about 70 families altogether. That's quite a difference. Thanks to "The Passion of the Christ" and his anti-Semitic rant last year when he was arrested in Malibu, Gibson is no longer a significant Hollywood player. But he obviously has money, and he is using it as he sees fit.
1 comment:
I hate Roger Friedman. He's always posting ridiculous stuff about Mel. "Passion" money is what enabled him to become a bigger player. He doesn't have to rely on studios to get his movies made now. What's Friedman talking about? This is the same man who invaded Mel's church and got kicked off the premises from Mel's son. He's so rude and invasive.
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