Friday, August 03, 2007



Freedom of Speech 3, Catholics Still Nil

The Catholic Church has lost its appeal against the Broadcasting Standards Authority's decision on the infamous "Bloody Mary" South Park episode. The BSA had ruled that broadcasters' right to satirise religion was protected by the BORA's affirmation of freedom of expression, and that the Catholic Church was "entitled to no greater degree of protection than any other institution in our society". The High Court upheld that decision, and furthermore ordered that the church pay CanWest's costs.

It's good to see the courts taking a strong line on freedom of speech issues. As for the church, its high time they realised that we are no longer living in the middle ages, and that they can no longer use the law to force people to take them seriously.

I'll link to the decision when it appears on the Ministry of Justice site.