THE CHAIRMAN of the Slovak Bishops Conference (KBS), František Tondra, called on priests and members of the Roman Catholic Church not to distribute, use, or sell unofficial or pirated video or DVD copies of Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, the news wire SITA wrote.
In response to the information that priests and other religious activists had publicly screened the movie in churches, schools, or pastoral centres across Slovakia, Tondra asked priests not to violate the copyright law and the seventh commandment, which forbids theft.
"It would be contradictory to commit, with this film, the sins for which Christ died," said the KBS chairman.
He added that the experience of the film was different when seen in a cinema and when the copy was of good quality.
He urged fans to take advantage of group discounts for parishes or to wait until the film came to television.
Compiled by Beata Balogová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
