Friday, November 09, 2007

Oratory Schola in anti-Catholic Film


Having been rather scathing about the use of Westminster Cathedral for Elizabeth: the Godlen Age, I read in the Catholic Herald today.



It also emerged last week the choir of London's leading traditionalist church had performed on the soundtrack of another anti-Catholic" film, "The Golden Compass".



The Golden Compass is the film of Philip Pullman's notoriously anti-Catholic book Northern Lights.

Added later - Do see comments for clarification.

9 comments:

Fr Justin said...

The Schola pertain not to the Oratory, but to the London Oratory School (a comprehensive school). It is not the Oratorian fathers who are at fault here, but the responsibles at the school. The Schola runs entirely independently of the Oratory itself, though it does sing at Mass there on a Saturday night.

Anonymous said...

i wish they wouldn't!

Anonymous said...

Well done, Father, except for three things! The Oratory is not a traditionalist church. The schola is not the O.'s choir. And the Golden Compass film has been deliberately cleaned up to make it less specifically anti-Catholic. Apart from that, not bad analysis!

Fr Ray Blake said...

Address complaints to:
Mr D Thompson,
Catholic Herald...

Fr Ray Blake said...

Oliver,
The report was in the CT.
Your third point, have a look at Pulman's work it would need more than just cleaning up, it is riddled with aetheism and anti-Catholicism.

Anonymous said...

It is also anti calvinist,all the references to Geneva etc, have you read the books, or just reviews of the book?

Anonymous said...

Whoops! When I wrote "less" I think on reflection I should probably have written "more". The film is less anti-Christian and anti-religion, so as to appeal to evangelical Protestants in America. But the baddies are still "the Magisterium", and the moral is still that authority is bad and doing your own thing is good. The best line on the whole sorry mess must surely come from Nicole Kidman, who took the view that "It can't be anti-Catholic because it's got ME in it." Faultless logic there! Perhaps the "Schola" at LOS are thinking the same thing.

Fr Ray Blake said...

"have you read the books,"

Yes, one is all I could take, absolutely dreadful, and they are aimed at children.

Physiocrat said...

It seems to me a mistake for a Catholic choir to contribute to making this kind of thing.

But events can take strange turns, in this case it could bring people into church, just to hear the music of course, but then there are many who have come to mock and fallen on their knees.

Which assumes, of course, that Catholic churches are presenting a liturgy which could bring mockers and the curious to their knees. And that seems to suggest that the worst damage is done not by mockers and atheists but by the worms in the apple who have worked to destroy the liturgy. Can't blame Philip Pullman for doing that.

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