A Croatian bishop banned the showing of a Serbian comedy about gays which was to be shown in a temporary cinema owned by the diocese in Dubrovnik, Catholic authorities said on Thursday.The Parade, an unlikely hit in the homophobic Balkans, tells of a gay couple trying to organise a pride parade in Belgrade, was also banned because of its treatment of the 1991-95 Yugoslav wars, the diocese said.
Bishop Mate Uzinic ruled that the movie cannot be shown because of its theme "which is against Church's position regarding homosexuality."
He added that the movie also treats all sides in the Balkan conflict on an equal footing, whereas "Dubrovnik suffered a lot" as it was besieged and shelled by Belgrade-controlled Yugoslav forces.
The Parade topped the box office in Serbia in 2011, drawing an audience of 300 000. Another 200 000 people have watched it in Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia and Montenegro.
In the film the gays enlist a shady war veteran to protect their parade. He in turn calls on his former buddies and adversaries from the Yugoslav wars to help him: a Croatian, a Bosnian Muslim and a Kosovo Albanian.
Dubrovnik mayor Andro Vlahusic said the movie will be shown once the Adriatic resort's usual cinema, which is being renovated, reopens in about three weeks.
The Catholic Church plays an important role in Croatia where almost 90 percent of the population of 4.2 million is Roman Catholic.