Passion 'prompts arson confession'

The film has been criticised for its brutal scenes

Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of Christ is said to have prompted a Norwegian neo-Nazi to admit to two arson attacks against squatters.

After watching the film, Johnny Olsen, 41, is reported to have confessed to police about the 1990s attacks in Oslo.

The film has already moved a Texan man to confess to killing his pregnant girlfriend.

It portrays the final hour of Christ's life, and gives a brutal depiction of his death on the cross.

Mr Olsen's lawyer Fridtjof Feydt said his client had been concerned about reconciliation and redemption for a while.

"The trigger that made him go to police and confess was that movie," he told Reuters news agency.

Texas confession

Police charged Mr Olsen with arson after his confession at the weekend.

No-one died in the fire-bombings in 1994 and 1995 during a wave of street fights between neo-Nazis and anarchists.

Oslo's Lutheran bishop Gunnar Staalsett has condemned the film as glorifying sadism and torture.

"This does not change my view of the film in the slightest," he told the Norwegian daily Verdens Gang on Monday.

Earlier this month, Texan Dan Leach, 21, told police he killed his pregnant girlfriend Ashley Nicole Wilson, found dead on 18 January after watching the film.

Anti-Semitic

Mr Leach said he made it look as if the 19-year-old had committed suicide. He went to police on 9 March and was released while they investigated his claim.

Mr Leach was arrested on Tuesday and is being held on $100,000 (£55,500) bail.

The controversial film is a US box office hit and is now out in the UK where nine UK churches block-booked 3,300 seats at cinemas to enable their congregation and non-church-goers to see the film.

The film has prompted heated debate about whether it is anti-Semitic.

Gibson has denied anti-Semitism, saying he has tried to stick to the story as told in the Bible and insisting his film is aimed at highlighting Christ's "huge" sacrifice.