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ANGELA MERKEL

Bishop slams violent Easter TV lineup

The Archbishop of Munich, Reinhard Marx, has spoken out against the decision by private German broadcasters to show violent action movies over the Easter holidays.

Bishop slams violent Easter TV lineup
Bruce ain't the Easter Bunny. Photo: dpa

Among the films being aired by broadcasters such as Sat.1 and RTL are the Bruce Willis vehicle “Die Hard,” action movie “Sudden Death” and the 2005 remake of “King Kong.”

“I don’t watch things like that, and such broadcasts are in no way suited to the message of Easter,” Marx told Bild am Sonntag. He appealed to the nation’s television viewers, saying he hoped that people would “choose programmes more in keeping with the Easter holiday.”

According to Marx, it’s not just the media executives who are to blame for flouting customs in Germany that would favour more suitable, family-oriented fare during holidays such as Christmas and Easter. The country’s Christian-rooted parties like Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) are also responsible for this erosion of values, he said.

“The CDU has supported private broadcasters in the belief that the quality of television would improve,” Marx said. “I was always sceptical. The free market doesn’t always guarantee quality.”