Yesterday, the Catholic League issued a news release regarding two upcoming anti-Catholic films, “The Magdalene Sisters” and “The Crime of Father Amaro.” The former movie was purchased on Monday by a Disney subsidiary, Miramax, and the latter is being released by Samuel Goldwyn Films. Michael Eisner, who heads Disney, will meet with company investors in New York on Friday.
The Catholic League has previously criticized Miramax for such anti-Catholic films as “Priest,” “Butcher Boy,” “Dogma” and “40 Days and 40 Nights.” League president William Donohue commented today on the significance of Eisner’s unusual visit to New York:
“In 1995, the Catholic League pressured Disney/Miramax to change the release date of ‘Priest’ from Good Friday to another date. In 1999, we pressured Disney to put the arm on Miramax by getting its subsidiary to find another distributor for ‘Dogma’; Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who run Miramax, were forced to buy the movie back from Disney. At that time we also asked Disney to dump Miramax, and while they did not, they nonetheless distanced themselves from another Weinstein attack on Catholics. This time we are asking Eisner, and Disney investors, to finish the job.
“Peter Mullan, who directs ‘The Magdalene Sisters,’ has rightly been branded the Leni Riefenstahl of today; this is in reference to Hitler’s favorite director. Mullan has, among other things, accused the Catholic Church of being indistinguishable from the murderous Taliban.
“Disney’s stock has plummeted 32 percent in the past year. No wonder Eisner is worried. But with Miramax’s latest move, Disney’s moral stock has just hit a new low. If Eisner isn’t worried about this now, his investors will be soon: the Catholic League will embark on a relentless protest of Miramax’s latest attack on Catholicism. The most honorable and sensible thing that investors can do on Friday is to convince Eisner to finally show the Weinstein boys the gate.”
