Two Catskill (N.Y.) Public Library employees have quit and six area churches are circulating petitions to protest a September 30 screening of The Last Temptation of Christ as part of the library’s Banned Book Week program.
The 1988 film, which portrays Christ as fantasizing about a married life with Mary Magdalene, was banned in several countries and drew large-scale protests outside theaters when it was released in the United States.
The Friends of the Catskill Library says it won’t cancel the screening because it has a responsibility to raise the issue of censorship, the Associated Press reported September 19. “This is actually creating a good civics lesson,” said Library Executive Director Andrew Dancer.
Church officials object to showing the movie at a publicly funded institution. “Anyone has a right to watch the movie,” said Keith Warner, pastor of the Catskill Wesleyan Church. “But this is a public library, and it is here to serve our community.” Warner also questioned scheduled library showings of The Exorcist and Lolita.
Posted September 25, 2000.