A British television station which aired an advertisement for a crusade by American evangelist Morris Cerullo has drawn a heavy fine because the ad denounced gays and lesbians. The ad is also barred from future broadcast.
The ad was called "Christian Warfare", and it described homosexuality as "an abomination" while implying gays and lesbians should not hold high office, which the Independent Television Commission found "prejudice(s) respect for human dignity," according to the Web site PlanetOut.
The ITC hit the British Christian Channel so hard because it had received two previous formal written complaints for Program Code violations and extensive ITC guidance, according to the PlanetOut Web site.
The ad also said "Satanic hordes have occupied the principal palaces of power in Europe," while its criticism of abortion and divorce laws were found by the ITC to violate British standards for political impartiality, PlanetOut says.
