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USCCB Changes Rating on Brokeback Mountain to Morally Offensive

By John-Henry Westen

WASHINGTON, DC, December 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The United States Conference of Bishops Office for Film and Broadcasting has altered their rating for the homosexual propaganda film Brokeback Mountain after a story by LifeSiteNews.com pointed out that the office's praise for the film was completely inappropriate. (see the LifeSiteNews.com story: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/dec/05121503.html )

While the glowing review remains, the USCCB office's rating for the film has been altered to the most severe rating - "O" for morally offensive from "L" which denotes that it is appropriate for a limited adult audience.  Moreover, the author of the review of the film published on the USCCB's news service Catholic News Service, Harry Forbes, has removed his name from the article, which is now listed as published "By Catholic News Service".

See the new version here: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/movies/05mv682.htm
And the old version from Google's cache here: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:CBNmIUiHLl4J:http://www...

A LifeSiteNews.com reader contacted USCCB President Bishop William Skylstad who according to the LifeSiteNews.com reader said "Oh, the rating has to be changed to 'O'".

The review, which was yesterday attributed to Forbes, still entices Catholics to see the film. "Director Ang Lee tells the story with a sure sense of time and place, and presents the narrative in a way that is more palatable than would have been thought possible," says the article.  "The performances are superb. Australian Ledger may be the one to beat at Oscar time, as his repressed manly stoicism masking great vulnerability is heartbreaking, and his Western accent sounds wonderfully authentic."

All that for a movie which is being hailed as the best-ever promotion for sodomy.  A Newsweek review of the film states: "Brokeback feels like a landmark film. No American film before has portrayed love between two men as something this pure and sacred. As such, it has the potential to change the national conversation and to challenge people's ideas about the value and validity of same-sex relationships."

Tead Behr, a Christian movie reviewer points out these facts about the film: (It uses) "about 58 obscenities (including ,many "f" words), 15 strong profanities, one light profanity, and references to urinating; two extreme scenes of bloody violence include shot of castrated man and man's head is beaten bloody until he is dead, and scenes of violence where men fight and wrestle in a rough way, and homosexual sodomy scene plays almost like a homosexual rape; very strong sexual content includes depicted homosexual and heterosexual sodomy (with a hint of sadomasochism during one or more homosexual scenes), depicted homosexual kissing and groping, depicted intercourse between married couple, and implied intercourse and almost intercourse with women who are shown topless; upper female nudity in several scenes, full male nudity in bathing scene, rare male nudity, and upper male nudity; alcohol use and drunkenness; smoking; and, lying, men cheat on wives, sexual "repression" is seen as evil, family arguments, divorce, and negative portrayal of heterosexual fathers." (see the full review here: http://www.movieguide.org/index.php?s=reviews&id=7031&am... )

However, Forbes or someone who describes themselves as the editor of the CNS movie review on the film explains away the switch in rating.  "Because there are some in this instance who are using the L rating to make it appear the church's -- or the USCCB's -- position on homosexuality is ambiguous, the classification has been revised specifically to address its moral content," says the now unsigned review.

The note also says: ""Brokeback Mountain," originally rated L (limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling), has been reclassified O -- morally offensive. This has been done because the serious weight of the L rating -- which restricts films in that category to those who can assess, from a Catholic perspective, the moral issues raised by a movie -- is, unfortunately, misunderstood by many. "

To express concers:
Msgr Maniscalco, Director of Communications Dept USCCB 202-541-3000 (USCCB) ask for Communications Dept. (Msgr. Maniscalco)
Or  Msgr William Fay General Secretary.

USCCB President Bishop William Skylstad
509-358-7305

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