Thanks. Can We Have the Oscar Now, Too?

I doubt this will turn out to be the "earth-shattering rupture" that some are predicting, but it is nice to read that Oscar-winning writer and director Paul Haggis has broken publicly with the Church of Scientology, the paperback religion that's so wacky it makes Mormonism seem plausible.

The Wrap reports:

In a scathing letter to the church's celebrity contact, Tommy Davis, Haggis accused the church of hypocrisy and lies, especially regarding its decision to support the anti-gay-marriage proposition on the California ballot last year, Prop 8.

"I told you I could not, in good conscience, be a member of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated," Haggis wrote, referring to support for Prop 8 in the church's San Diego branch. "You promised action. Ten months passed. No action was forthcoming."

He added: "The church's refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent."

The Prop 8 support was not Haggis's only complaint about the church, however.

He accused Davis of lying in a CNN interview about church policy regarding the requirement that members distance themselves from any family members who oppose Scientology.

"I saw you deny the church's policy of disconnection," he said. "I was shocked. We all know this policy exists."

This stinging indictment would be far more compelling, however, if Haggis hadn't won his Oscar for "Crash," the derivative piece of crap that robbed "Brokeback Mountain" of its rightful Oscar glory. Still, I like his style even if it still brings me back to the same question all of these type of things do: WHAT were you doing with these people in the first place?