Isn't it about time someone in the Church in this country just said "Enough, let's not pay the license fees". Why should Catholics pay for public service broadcasting that does very little other than disparage the Catholic Church. Why subsidise our enemies? It is about time the Church joined the increasing number of politicians who are debating whether or not we need the BBC.
Mark Thompson, the BBC director-general, may be a devout Catholic, but the corporation is doing little to make Pope Benedict XVI feel welcome ahead of his first state visit to England and Scotland in September.
Mandrake can disclose that the BBC is planning a 90-minute drama which will take as its premise what would happen if the Pope were to go on trial for covering up sex abuse perpetrated by priests.
A BBC spokesman denied any knowledge of the project, but Paul Gilbert, who works in the corporation's drama department, admitted to me that he had for the past two weeks been involved with the "development" of a project with the working title of The Pope on Trial. He said it was "too early" to talk about casting or on what channel it was envisaged the drama would be broadcast. The Pope, who has pledged to rid his church of "filth", has already been subjected to an investigation by the Radio 4 programme The Report into allegations that he covered up abuse. The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, believes sections of the BBC are pursuing an anti-Catholic agenda. He had earlier been irked when the BBC had attempted to broadcast Popetown, a cartoon which mocked Pope John Paul II.
23 comments:
How about writing to the BBC warning them that it is a criminal offence to incite religious hatred?
Thank God I live in Poland, and don't pay for their lies and pornography
The license fee is extreme - almost as much as the tax disk for keeping your car on the road - at least when you get in your car you know there's a road to drive on, but finding something, if not edifying, at least entertaining is like panning for gold at a local waterworks outlet. It's a good thing the Pope refused to interview with BBC and Radio 4 as clearly it would have been accepting the invitation from the proverbial spider. Since the new government is pledging to send less people to prison maybe it would be safe to boycott and since the majority of people disdain the tv licence if Catholics could started a campaign to boycott perhaps the anti-catholic rhetoric would die down.
Perhaps the BBC could conduct a similar operation, in reverse, by polling viewers with question: 'Should the papacy be abolished?'?
Well, I'm going to wait until the visit (want to watch it!) and see if this stuff is as bad as it sounds. If so, I'll get rid of the telly and stop paying the licence fee. Maybe I'll send the TV set to the Director-General – great if he had lorry loads arriving!
Have just – today – had a notice through the door saying that the BBC want to do a documentary about my street. So now the dilemma is - do I participate? Maybe they'll film during the papal visit, when my enormous flag will be hanging out of the window!
No taxation without representation would suggest that those taxed by the BBC should elect its governing body. At present it is governed by people of whom successive PM's have approved.
Just about all the content of the BBC has gone so far down the pan that one must suspect that there is a deliberate plot,they are either angling for a rise in the Licence fee or they want to flog it off.
The BBC has been taken over by ne'erdowell Activists,we send our Soldiers across the World to fight our so-called enemies to protect our freedoms but the REAL ENEMY is here and in positions of power.
Isn't the Tatchell "documentary" to be shown on Channel 4? Or is he getting to do one on the BBC as well?
Might the constant harrying be in part because the Catholic Church is seen consistently to "roll over" when attacked and is, therefore, considered an easy target?
Yes, that's bullying all right. But that's the way bullies are.
The perception of the Church by most journalists is basically of the Dan Brown variety. Who is telling them different? Name one Catholic spokesperson who comes out fighting. A little of Our Lord in the Temple wouldn't go amiss.
As for the BBC DG being a "devout Catholic", it's a journalistic cliché. Catholics are always reported as devout, even when they manifestly aren't.
Frankly, the effrontery of the man asking the Pope to do Thought for the Day, whilst knowing what else was on the boil, is breathtaking.
They really hate this Pope don`t they ? Maybe one day they will appreciate him, his goodness and his message
Just clicked on BBC HardTalk's interview with Archbishop Nichols.
The BBC do not care about the truth.
I lasted about 5minutes and switched off after Stephen Sackur's ignorant comments about then-Cardinal Ratinzger.
From Terry: "They really hate this Pope don`t they?"
This is the best summary I think. Yes, they really do hate the Church and the Pope. It does not matter what defence is offered, they have their agenda will not move from it.
So what happens if you refuse to pay the license? I've heard of warnings and inspections. What can they do?
Michael Petek suggests writing to the BBC.
I wrote to the BBC Catholic Director General, Mark Thompson, in April to complain about the biased coverage of matters concerning the Catholic Church. I received a reply from the BBC Complaints department refuting my accusations.
I was told that the coverage of any story "is a judgement call rather an exact science" and "some people may disagree with them."
The letter went on: "The BBC is committed to honest, unbiased reporting and is determined to remain free from influence by outside parties, whether political or lobbyist.....Impartiality forms the cornerstone of BBC News and Current affairs....The BBC does not seek to denigrate any view, nor to promote any view. It seeks rather to identify all significant views, and to test them rigorously and fairly on behalf of the audience."
The letter said all the right things one would expect from an independent broadcaster of integrity. Why did I not believe a single word of it? If the Corporation really is committed to honest, unbiased reporting then it will have to undertake a massive clean out among its news staff. The only way that a change 'may' come about is if the BBC were inundated with letters of complaint. You can be sure that if they do not receive letters then they will not change.
Natasa
I think the threat is a 1000pound fine for non payment.
Well said Father!
6 years ago we got EWTN. This helped us to gradually wean off TV altogether until we got rid of our telly 4 years ago. We have not looked back. Here a few benefits -
1. Quality time for prayer.
2. Quality time for building our marriage.
3. Quality time for developing friendships.
4. Increased attention span and awareness of God's Presence. This flows into prayer, conversation, musical appreciation, love of Creation and research.
5. Growing capacity for free thinking and discernment.
6. Freedom from all the blasphemy, anti-Christian bias, abortion and contraception advertisements, violence, impurity, relativism, promotion of greed, subliminal messaging, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), social engineering and false presentations of 'News'.
7. Freedom from having to pay out your own money to support all of the points in No. 6 above.
Be warned however - anyone who bucks the trend will be hounded by the TV Licence Authority 'Enforcement Team' who just cannot believe that someone would not have a TV.
To these people one's word of honour is not good enough.
If you then defend the right of the English to refuse entry to outside agencies in order to defend the rights of family privacy you will certainly be harassed by these people sending threatening red letters demanding entry into your home to search for a TV.
Indeed they will also come to your home and try and get in. Stand up to them with polite firmness and reasoned argument and you can eventually win a 2 year reprieve from such interference.
Welcome to post-Christian England...
God bless
Alan and Angeline
A few people have done prison time for not paying fee or the later £1000 (highest area of criminal activity for women apparently is non payment of the fee!):
http://www.spiderbomb.com/tv/womenprison.html
Here's a facebook page for a boycott but doesn't look like anyone visits it:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9646713055
The rules are as these:
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-legal-framework-AB16/
A TV Licence is a legal permission to install or use television receiving equipment (e.g. TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and DVD/VHS recorders) to watch or record television programmes, as they are being shown on TV. This applies regardless of which television channels a person receives or how those channels are received.
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ103/
If you use the BBC iPlayer to watch BBC programmes after they have been broadcast either to download or via streaming on demand then you will not need a TV Licence.
ie: BASICALLY, DONT WATCH OR RECORD ANYTHING FROM A LIVE BROADCAST (using ANY device): THEN YOU'RE CLEAR, AND BY NOT HAVING A LICENSE, YOU'RE ACTIVELY CONTRIBUTING TO CHRIST'S MISSION ON EARTH!
Father
Sonia is right. Even if you had a Secam tv that could receive only French programmes you would have to get a UK licence. But at least the coverage of his visit to France was good.
It was also good, a few years back, to see JP II in his sermon in Lourdes repeating that life should be respected from conception till its natural end. The congregation kept interrupting with applause before he finished so he restarted his sentence. That way he showed that he knew what he was saying.
Any chance of the same coverage from the BBC?
Allen and Angeline
1984 is here. If you haven't a TV, you're antisocial, because you can't be so easily indoctrinated.
When our 1st child was born, we binned the TV. If there was indoctrination to be done, then we would do it.
Just cancel the licence and stop answering the door.Friends will always phone first.
Shame on you,English people.
Luiz
Brazil
Don't have a television and don't pay the license fee. Why would you do otherwise?
Post a Comment