Catholic League Wages Jihad On Golden Compass

Concoct-a-controversy organization, the (Rent-a) Catholic League are asking cinema-goers to boycott the new fantasy film The Golden Compass, claiming it is "candy-coated atheism." The $150 million New Line movie, which stars Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, opens on Dec 7th. Written and directed by Chris Weitz (whose previous credits include About A Boy), the film is based on the first installment of English author Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

Pullman's stories are set in a parallel universe where witches, magical creatures, and animal spirits walk the earth alongside humans, who are governed by a sinister religious organization called the Magisterium, which some have likened to the Roman Catholic Church. A good against evil battle takes place over the course of the books, which culminates in the death of God at the hand of a child.

Ironically many Christians, including Church of England leader, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, have come out in support of Pullman, claiming his books attack oppressive dogma, rather than religion itself. Despite deliberately playing down the questions of religion in the adaptation of the book to film in an attempt to placate more religious American audiences, the Catholic League are still concerned the film will serve as a gateway to Pullman's literature. They accuse the author of having twin goals "to promote atheism and denigrate Christianity. To kids."

A statement on their website says, "The Catholic League wants Christians to stay away from this movie precisely because it knows that the film is bait for the books: unsuspecting parents who take their children to see the movie may be impelled to buy the three books as a Christmas present. And no parent who wants to bring their children up in the faith will want any part of these books." The league are also flogging a pamphlet entitled "The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked" for $5 via their website.

In an interview with the BBC, Pullman dismissed the leagues accusations as "absolute rubbish" saying, "I am a story teller. If I wanted to send a message I would have written a sermon."

The Catholic League, who have a long history of getting upset about things, previously called for a boycott of The Da Vinci Code. The fim went on to top box office charts here in America and grossed $758 million worldwide in 2006.

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