Apparently, not even the Catholic bishops are orthodox (or censorious) enough for the N.Y.-based Catholic League.
The Catholic bishops’ reviewer says the Church in the film is “very much fictionalized.”
The Catholic league says its not quite fictionalized enough.
“Philip Pullman’s books do not portray a ‘very fictionalized church,’ one that is ‘a stand-in for all organized religion.’ They portray the Catholic Church. That is why he uses the term ‘Magisterium,’ (for the evil empire),” said the League.
The League says that the USCCB reviewers were “wrong” to say that it was ‘a bit unfortunate’ that Pullman chose this term Magisterium for the evil empire. “He deliberately chose it because his target from the very beginning has been Catholicism, not anything else. It was Pullman who said that ‘I’m trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.’ Not to accept what the man says about himself shows no respect for his integrity,” said the League.
The article, published on Lifesite.net, draws a parallel to “Brokeback Mountain,” which the bishops’ reviewed positively but later changed “after a LifeSiteNews.com readers issued numerous concerns to the Bishops Conference.” [sic]
Read all about it.