On May 2, Catholic League member Paul McCarthy of Massachusetts submitted a resolution to be presented at the November meeting of the Walt Disney Company. McCarthy, who owns 22 shares of Disney stock, asked shareholders to ratify a resolution that calls for the establishment of a religious advisory committee. The resolution stated that films which express religious bigotry “could have a negative impact on the Disney operations because of consumer boycotts and stockholder divestiture.”
The resolution came in light of the uproar surrounding the Disney-Miramax movie “Priest” in which the League called for a boycott of vacations to Disney World and Disneyland as well as all Disney products.
The resolution concluded by saying: “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 ways 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.”
Dr. Donohue commented on the resolution, saying: “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 would be more than regrettable-it would be a travesty-if Disney officials were to ignore the resolution altogether.”
