Church Denies Banning Fifty Shades Of Grey

The Catholic Church has not weighed in to ban a cinema from showing ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, contrary to reports.

A recent front page article in the Inishowen Independent claimed that the clergy had stepped in over plans to show the film, not allowing it because of its sexual content.

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But the owners of the Buncrana Cinema in Buncrana, County Donegal, have now gone on record to say that it was not the fault of the church - which owns St Mary’s Hall, the building the cinema occupies – that it won’t be showing the adaptation of the erotic best-seller.

Taking to its Facebook page, the owners said: “The real reason we aren’t showing ‘50 Shades of Grey’ is because the distributor didn’t give it to us!

“Unfortunately as a small community-run cinema we don’t have the capacity to run 4 shows a day, 7 a days a week! Anything else you hear is made up!”

Parish priest Father Francis Bradley echoed the sentiment.

“I don’t know the operating of the cinema at all,” he said.

“It’s a free world in which people make decisions themselves. The parish would have an interest in what would happen there, but the cinema makes its own decisions.”

As to whether he was planning to see the movie himself, he added: “It is not something that I would recommend.

“There is enough violence in the world without people indulging in more violence. If you are asking my recommendations, I’d say no.”

The film, said to feature sex scenes running over 20% of its running time, and which stars Irish actor Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, is out on February 13.

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Image credits: Universal