BY EMILE SHANNON (Irish Independant)

FOLLOWING weekend demonstrations against a Brooklyn Museum art exhibition, hundreds of Catholic protesters staged a rally yesterday at another venerable arts institution, where a controversial film about fallen angels premiered.

Singing, praying and holding aloft placards that read "Stop blasphemy," the demonstrators gathered outside the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts, where the movie Dogma was shown as part of the prestigious, New -York Film Festival.

In Dogma, Academy Award-winning actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play two fallen angels who are scheming to get back into heaven. The film, directed by Chasing Amy director Kevin Smith, also stars Linda Fiorentino and Selma Hayek, as well as comedian Chris Rock as a hitherto unknown 13th apostle.

"We are here to tell people that we're looking for more respect and love, and less criticizing of each other's faith," said Bev Santini of Garden City, New York. "We're praying for Michael Eisner and Disney and Miramax so that they stop ridiculing Christians and Catholics in the world," she said. Disney is Miramax's parent company, but the film is being released by Lion's Gate which distributed last year's Oscar-winning film Gods and Monsters. Miramax Films' Bob and Harvey Weinstein bought Dogma from Miramax, which backed the film's production, and Lion's Gate agreed to distribute it. Officials at Disney, Miramax, Lion's Gate and the film festival could not be reached for comment.

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, which joined the Catholic League and others rally, said in fliers that the film "mocks everything we hold sacred – God, the Church, the Mass and Mary's virginity. It condones what we condemn murder, obscenity, violence, profanity, drugs, drunkenness and rebellion!"