User:Elbolchoz/sandbox

After the National Catholic Office of Motion Pictures was reestablished in 1960, it later became the Office of Film and Broadcasting (OFB). The Office of Film and Broadcasting merged with the National Catholic Office for Radio and Television in 1980. Together they reviewed motion pictures, radio, and television using the same rating scale the original Legion of Decency did in the 1930s and 1940s. They shared the same goal, which was to rid the screen of stories that lowered traditional moral standard and persuaded people, especially young people to accept false principles of conduct. By 1990 the National Catholic Office for Radio and Television collapsed leaving the Office of Film and Broadcasting to review strictly motion pictures. The Office of Film and Broadcasting worked to review every movie in the United States still adhering to the original rating system.

The organization had been run by United States Catholic Conference in their Communications Department but was later joined with the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and renamed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2001. The Office of Film and Broadcasting carried on the same film rating system as the Legion of Decency. The rating “A” meant morally objectionable but falling into the subcategories of AI: Suitable for all audiences, AII: Suitable for adults and adolescents, and AIII: Suitable for adults only. The next ratings were “B”, which meant morally objectionable in part, and “C”, which mean it was condemned by the Legion of Decency. The Office of Motion Pictures began with the intention to rate every motion picture made in the United States and labored for 45 years.

In 2005 controversies grew surrounding the intense rating system and inconsistent reviews, for example, The Golden Compass and The Exorcist, the Office of Film and Broadcasting ultimately shut down in 2010. The USCCB continues to voluntarily provide information and movie ratings for Catholics through the Catholic News Service (1). The Catholic News Service also gives access to archived reviews dating from 2011 and prior.