JourneyOnline
The dean of Manchester Cathedral says he is not satisfied with an apology issued by the Sony Corporation for using a representation of the interior of the cathedral as a backdrop for a violent video game.
"We asked Sony to withdraw the game. It has refused to do this. We asked Sony to make a substantial donation to community groups nominated by the cathedral. It has refused to do this," the cathedral’s dean, the Rev. Rogers Govender, said in a statement.
In the video game, "Resistance: Fall of Man", humans battle aliens in a ruined cathedral that resembles Manchester Cathedral in north-west England.
In its apology issued on 6 July, Sony said the cathedral would never be used in future video games. The company said it considered the matter closed.
"It is clear that the connection between the congregation and the cathedral is a deeply personal and spiritual one. As a result, it is clear that we have offended some of the congregation by using the cathedral in our science fiction game," said David Reeves, Sony president of computer entertainment in Europe.
"It was never our intention to offend anyone in the making of this game, and we would like to apologise unreservedly for causing that offence, and to all parts of the community whom we might also have offended," Reeves continued.
In his statement, Govender acknowledged the apology but did not say whether it had been accepted. He urged Sony to sign up to the cathedral’s "sacred digital guidelines". These call upon the computer game industry and retailers to develop a code of good practice that includes supporting the work of those resisting the culture of gun crime.
(c) Ecumenical News International
Photo : WORLD NEWS
