MOVIES - Sept. 26, 1988

Swiss bishops on Friday described Martin Scorsese’s film “The Last Temptation of Christ” as obscene. Pierre Mamie, bishop of Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, said in a statement that Scorsese had wanted to show another side of Christ “but had lost his bet.” The statement, approved by other Roman Catholic bishops, described the film as “boring and devoid of mystery and poetry.” Mamie said some scenes in the film, due for release next month in a number of Swiss cities, were “obscene and unbearable.” A spokesman for Switzerland’s Federation of Protestant Churches declined to comment, saying the film was too bad to warrant publicity.