In one scene in “Father Amaro’s Crime,” directed by Carlos Carrera, the namesake character, played by actor Gael García, has relations with young Amelia, played by actress Ana Talancón, protected by the mantle of the Virgin Mary.
In another scene, a fanatic religious gives her ailing cat a host as medicine.
The Mexican bishops’ conference published a statement to publicly protest the film’s content, “which constitutes an offense to the religious beliefs of Catholics and mocks the most sacred symbols of the Catholic community.”
“Freedom of speech does not authorize the denigration of persons or institutions by generalizing exceptional events or situations,” the statement says. It was signed by Archbishop Luis Morales Reyes and Bishop Abelardo Alvarado Alcántara, president and secretary-general of the episcopal conference, respectively.
