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Call for US Bishops to Fire Chief Movie Reviewer Renewed as Compass Review Pulled

By John-Henry Westen

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -  In light of the fact that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Office for Film and Broadcasting withdrew its positive review for "The Golden Compass", Catholic leaders are reissuing a call for the Bishops to fire their film office director.  Harry Forbes, the director of the USCCB, was listed as primary author for the much contested Compass review but was also the author of a December 2005 glowing review for the homosexual propaganda film Brokeback Mountain.

Human Life International (HLI) Leader Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer commented to LifeSiteNews.com on the latest developments.  "I'm very happy of course that the review has been taken down from the bishops' website, so there's no more damage that can be done by that particular review," he said. 

Noting that Forbes also authored the positive review of Brokeback Mountain, Euteneuer said, "However the bishops need to correct the anomaly of having someone on staff who speaks in their name making these kinds of reviews of movies."

The HLI Leader added: "It's a scandal and I renew the call that this man should resign or be fired." 

Similarly, Pete Vere, co-author of an about-to-be-released book on Golden Compass author Philip Pullman, was pleased that the USCCB review was withdrawn, but called for a clarification from the US bishops since the review was put out in their name.

"There has to be something put in place that this doesn't happen again," said Vere.  "With Harry Forbes, it happened with Brokeback Mountain, and now its happened with Golden Compass."

Vere, author of Pied Piper of Atheism, (available here: http://www.AtheismForChildren.com ), added that "The purpose of a Catholic film review is to inform Catholics and especially parents who have an obligation to oversee the moral upbringing of their children, not to promote movies that are based on source material that is openly undermining our Christian faith."  He concluded, "If a Catholic movie review office is not going to provide Catholic commentary and if its not going to assist parents and Catholics in discerning and filtering the popular culture, it really has no reason to exist."

To express concerns contact:

James Accurso, Assistant Director of Communications in the office of USCCB President Cardinal George informed LifeSiteNews.com that concerns should be sent to the USCCB office of communications:
commdept@usccb.org
(202) 541-3000

USCCB President
Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I.
Archdiocese of Chicago
155 E. Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-751- 8200
mfox@archchicago.org

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