Catholic priest calls for One Direction ban in the Philippines

A Catholic priest has appealed to government officials in the Philippines to ban British boy band One Direction from the country.

The What Makes You Beautiful hitmakers are not slated to perform in the Philippines until March, 2015, but Father Conegundo Garganta has launched a campaign to keep the band members away from the nation because he feels they are bad influences, according to the Manila Times.

He says, "Do not lead (the youth in) the wrong direction... Why admit poisonous influences? There is enough poison in our society. Parents should stop their children from buying the expensive concert tickets of (drug addicts)."

Garganta's statement comes a week after a video of bandmates Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik joking about cannabis culture while appearing to puff on a joint in a car in Peru leaked online.