Catholic League member Paul McCarthy of Massachusetts has submitted a resolution to be presented at the November meeting of the Walt Disney Company. McCarthy, who owns 22 shares of Disney stock, is asking shareholders to ratify a resolution that calls for the establishment of a religious advisory committee. The resolution, which comes in the wake of the Disney-Miramax movie “Priest,” states that films which express religious bigotry “could have a negative impact on the Disney operations because of consumer boycotts and stock holder divestiture.”
The concluding statement is as follows: “Therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Directors establish a committee to review current filmed entertainment policies. Said committee will consult with religious leaders of various faiths and develop guidelines to assist film production and distribution operations on way to avoid religiously bigoted material. The guidelines formulated by this committee should be made available to all shareholders within six months of the completion of this meeting. Information deemed proprietary may be omitted and the cost may be limited to a reasonable amount.”
William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League, offered the following remarks:
“The Catholic League vigorously supports the shareholder resolution submitted by Paul McCarthy. It is our hope that this will send a much needed wake-up call to Disney officials. Religious bigotry, like all forms of hate, not only foments ill-will, it corrodes the fiber of the social order. It is regrettable that stockholders in the Disney company have to recall the organization to its founding principles. But it would be more than regrettable-it would be a travesty-if Disney officials were to ignore the resolution altogether.”
The Catholic League is the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization. It defends the right of Catholics-lay and clergy alike-to participate in American life without defamation or discrimination.
