Did you know that priests would not give absolution to actors? 
This as recent as St Jean Vianney in the 1800's.
What did they know/believe that we don't?
Ave María:
Do you have more info on this? Was it some kind of pastoral regulation or just one of those generally accepted rules without a decree from their superiors?
This topic interests me because I've always suspected that there is something inherently wrong with the acting profession. An actor is pretending to be something that he is not (which is at least proximate to lying), even if the role they are playing is virtuous.
I've read somewhere that in ancient (non-Christianized) Rome, acting and prostitution had basically the same reputation. I also remember reading that theater plays (not only the lurid ones) were forbidden in the Papal States under Pope St. Pius V or Pope Paul IV (can't remember which one, one of those 'heavy-handed' popes from the Counter Reformation).
This is from St. Alphonsus' sermon for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost "On the education of children":
Parents should prohibit to their children all games which bring destruction on their families and on their own souls, and also masks, scandalous comedies, and certain, dangerous conversations and parties of pleasure.
It's interesting that something seemingly innocuous as a mask must be banished from a home where children are growing up. The saint and doctor of the Church knows better.
Topic: The history of tv, theatre, concerts come from idol worship of false gods (Read 1012 times)