Catholic groups demand complete ban on the play and legal action taken against cast and crew.Catholic groups have intensified their protest to stall the staging of the controversial play Agnes of God, scheduled to hit the stage at south Mumbai’s NCPA on October 5.The play was earlier scheduled to be staged at Sophia Bhabha Auditorium today but was cancelled because of these protests.Protesting against the special NCPA screening organised by the makers, the religious groups have demanded a complete ban on the ground that their religious statements were hurt. Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Catholic Secular Forum said, “We want to ensure that the play is not staged at all and we have called for a complete ban. The government issues a certification for staging plays and we have written to the government to cancel that certification so that this play cannot be staged anywhere else”. The reason for anger, said Dias, is that the play ‘mocks his religion’.“We want a public apology and a case registered under Section 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) against the cast and crew,” said Dias. Citing the banning of other works that have purportedly hurt religious sentiments, he questioned, “Why ban Satanic Verses or M F Hussains’ work and do nothing about anti-Christian media? We don't want any other religion to be targeted but who will prevent it? We have censoring for obscenity and violence. Isn't religion also important?”A delegation of six other catholic groups has sought a meeting with Minister Eknath Khadse to ensure that the NCPA staging is cancelled.Incidentally, the play is also being produced in Hyderabad and Kerala and is scheduled to be staged on October 9.The script is at the centre of the controversy as it is said to be inspired by a true story that shows a young nun giving birth and insisting that the child was the result of an Immaculate Conception. The play has been directed by Kaizaad Kotwaal. The original play by John Pielmeier was also adapted into a 1985 film of the same name starring Jane Fonda, which won several Academy Award nominations.After the controversy arose, Kotwaal tweeted that he was “facing threats of arrest, imprisonment, harm to body and property for staging Agnes of God”. He was also reportedly pursuing police protection for himself and the lead cast, including his mother, Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, who is playing one of the main roles.The Archdiocese of Bombay and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) have also lodged a protest. “The claim that the plot is based on a true story does not absolve the producers from their duty of being vigilant so that they do not create a generalised caricature of respected religious persons. This would be a great disservice to society. We strongly protest against this,” said a statement from the Archdiocese of Bombay adding that ‘the play distorted Catholic religious concepts such as Immaculate Conception and Virgin Birth, and hence tend to ridicule tenets of our faith without understanding their meaning’.Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, president of the CBCI, in his letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs said that, “The reason why the Catholic Church is against the play is that it is a wrongful portrayal of lakhs of our clergy who are committed to a life of celibacy.”