Catholic Church and theatre
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Many bishops, priests, and monks have strongly condemned theatrical amusements, and they even declared the actors to be "instruments of Satan", "a curse to the Church", and "beguiling unstable souls"[when?].[1]: 11 The Roman Catholic Church believed[when?] theatre caused people to "indulge themselves in amusements which its fascinations interfere with the prosecution of the serious work of daily life. Anything pleasing or appealing to the lower nature, the "sensual appetites", were considered as temptations as dictated in the Lord’s Prayer "Lead us not into temptation"[1]: 38 which one must avoid in order to lead an ideal Christian life.
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According to the Catholic Church, one must eat and drink for strength and not for gluttony and drunkenness, rest and sleep to the glory of God and not to sink into indolence and sloth nor to become the masters instead of the servants of the body, and amusements are the most dangerous temptations and the worst impulses,[1]: 35 for otherwise many Christians will relax their ordinary strictness "for the sake of the cause," and that having once obtained a "taste of the nectar, they will continue to drink it".[1]: 66 The Church instead encouraged Christians to strive to please their neighbours for good edification rather than pleasing oneself.[1]: 43
Even exclusively Catholic countries were tolerant of the church-goers: ordinary theatrical amusements was tolerated and the Church allowed the general population to patronize the theatre. In most of those countries, theatres were even allowed to be opened on Sunday evenings when the popular plays are put on the boards. However, during Lent, the Catholic Church would dissuade or even prohibit the people from going to the theatre, and in some countries, where the civil law was controlled by the Catholic Church, the theaters were closed during Lent.[1]: 9–10 [when?]