The Vatican vs. 'New Moon'
The Catholic Church objects to the newest "Twilight" film
Ahead of the weekend's blockbuster opening for the teen vampire fantasy Twilight: New Moon, a Vatican official condemned the movie as a "deviant moral vacuum." The comments from Monsignor Franco Perazzelo, of the pontifical council of culture, came just weeks after the Vatican warned parents that Halloween has an "undercurrent of occultism" and is "absolutely anti-Christian." Should parents be concerned, or is the Catholic Church going overboard? (Watch an ABC report about New Moon's lessons in chastity)
The Vatican is making itself look silly: "The good Monsignor" surely has the best intentions, says Will Heaven in Britain's Telegraph, but he's not helping the Catholic Church. Censoring "childish fiction" like Twilight: New Moon makes the Vatican look out of touch and humorless, which alienates "far more young believers than made-up wizards or vampires ever would."
"Condemnation of the Twilight saga"
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The Monsignor's onto something: It's hardly a surprise that the Vatican would be disturbed by a romance about a vampire falling in love with a high-school girl, says Shannon Bell in The Admonition. But Twilight: New Moon isn't the only example of the "moral vacuum" in today's society. Monsignor Franco Perazzelo could just as easily have thrown in "MTV, American Idol, and the whole lot of reality television programs."
"Vatican: Twilight 'deviant moral vacuum'"
Catholics should love New Moon's message: Apparently nobody at the Vatican bothered to watch Twilight: New Moon, says Jeanne Sager in Strollerderby. If they had, they would have noticed that "old-fashioned" vampire Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, doesn't believe in sex before marriage. "Score one for good messages that fall in line with the Roman Catholic Church."
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