Militant Catholics in Italy have begun defacing publicity for
Larry Charles and
Bill Maher's documentary swipe at religion, "Religulous," ahead of the pic's Feb. 13 opening here.
Large stickers with "shame" and "no to atheism" have appeared in posters across big cities, with a group calling itself "VeraLiberta'" (Real Freedom) claiming the credit.
Rafaelle Carcano, head of the country's largest atheist group fumed: "I don't know this group but they're springing up like mushrooms and getting ever more invasive. This is an outrageous attack on freedom of expression."
But appropriately for the helmer of satirical films such as "Borat" and now "Religulous," Charles has greeted the vandalism with an ironic thumbs-up.
"I'd like to thank these amateurs from the (Spanish) Inquisition for their help in promoting the movie," he drawled.
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