Vatican joins protest over Israeli TV show's satire of Christianity
By Bryan Cones
Created 02/20/2009 - 14:10
By John Thavis Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican protested what it called a "blasphemous" satire of Christianity on an Israeli TV network.
The late-night program broadcast in mid-February included joking suggestions that Mary was impregnated by a school friend at the age of 15 and that Jesus died at a young age because he was fat.
A Vatican statement Feb. 20 said the program had "ridiculed -- with blasphemous words and images -- the Lord Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary." It expressed support for Christians and Catholic leaders in the Holy Land who had denounced the broadcast.
"Such a vulgar and offensive act of intolerance toward the religious sentiments of believers in Christ must be deplored," the Vatican statement said. It noted that the religious figures satirized, Jesus and Mary, were themselves "children of Israel."
The Vatican said its nuncio in Jerusalem, Archbishop Antonio Franco, had received assurances from the Israeli government that it would take steps to prevent such programs in the future and would try to obtain a public apology from the television network.
In an earlier statement, the Assembly of the Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land condemned the segments, calling them "horrible offenses" and asking the authorities to investigate the incident and "take the necessary actions in order to put an end to such horrible desecration of our faith."
The bishops said the segments were a symptom of problems plaguing Israeli society such as intolerance, lack of respect and inherent hatred.
"It is unconceivable that such incidents have to occur in Israel, which hosts some of the holiest shrines of Christianity and which relies to a great extent on pilgrimage from Christian countries," they said. "Such programs have nothing to do with freedom of expression, art and entertainment. They can only work against national integration and harmony in our society."
A group of Christian lawyers began an online petition urging Pope Benedict XVI not to visit the Holy Land in May.
"The pope should not come to a nation which does not respect Christianity," said Salim Kubti, a lawyer and chairman of an umbrella organization representing Christian courts.
Lior Shlein, host of the TV show, said the segments were in retaliation for the statements by ultratraditionalist Bishop Richard Williamson of the Society of St. Pius X and other Christian clerics denying the Holocaust.
"If they deny the Holocaust, we will deny Christianity," Shlein said in a preface to the first segment that depicted Jesus as an obese man who could not have walked on water. The second segment described Mary as a promiscuous teenager and showed an extremely pregnant woman in pink underwear patting her exposed belly.
The only Christian member of the Israeli parliament, Hana Sweid, then filed a complaint with the legal adviser of the government, charging Shlein with violating an Israeli law that prohibits offending religious sensibilities.
Shlein apologized on his Feb. 18 program.
Kubti said the apology was not sufficient and lawyers were waiting to see the reaction to Sweid's complaint before deciding on their next step. He said they had been approached privately by the television station and Shlein regarding compensation and were negotiating for an educational program or series about Christianity, Islam and Judaism to be aired to promote religious tolerance.
Contributing to this story was Judith Sudilovsky in Jerusalem.
Posted on Fri, Feb. 20, 2009
Vatican irked by `blasphemous' Israel TV show
By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press Writer
The Vatican said Friday it has formally complained to the Israeli government about a private Israeli TV show that ridiculed Jesus and Mary in an "offensive act of intolerance."
In Israel, the television station assured the Israeli foreign ministry that the segment would not be shown again and that its host, well-known Israeli comedian Lior Shlein, had apologized.
In the program, Shlein sarcastically denied Christian traditions - that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus walked on water - saying he was doing so as a "lesson" to Christians who deny the Holocaust.
It was a reference to the Vatican's recent lifting of the excommunication of a bishop who denied 6 million Jews were killed during World War II. The rehabilitation sparked outrage among Jews.
A statement from the Vatican press office said its representative in Israel complained to the government about the segment, which was broadcast recently on private Channel 10, one of Israel's three main TV stations, during Shlein's late-night comedy talk show.
In the clip, the Vatican said, Mary and Joseph were "ridiculed with blasphemous words and images" that amounted to a "vulgar and offensive act of intolerance toward the religious sentiments of the believers in Christ."
In the show, Mary is said to have become pregnant at 15, thanks to a schoolmate. It said Jesus could never have walked on water because "he was so fat he was ashamed to leave the house, let alone go to the Sea of Galilee with a bathing suit."
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the ministry approached Channel 10 based on the papal nuncio's complaints, and was told the segment would not air again. Palmor said the station's legal adviser had also already sent a letter of apology to an attorney who represents a Christian group who had been offended by the segment.
Palmor said Shlein apologized live on Wednesday, and said he didn't mean to offend anyone. He said the station acted before the papal nuncio approached the foreign ministry.
The clip was a sarcastic response to the Vatican's rehabilitation of Bishop Richard Williamson, who said in an interview broadcast on Swedish state TV that no Jews were gassed during the Holocaust and that only 200,000 or 300,000 Jews were killed.
The Vatican's rehabilitation of Williamson sparked outrage that only abated after Pope Benedict XVI met with Jewish leaders at the Vatican last week. During his audience, the German-born pope issued a strong denunciation of anti-Semitism and said it was unacceptable for anyone - particularly a clergyman - to deny or minimize the Holocaust.
The Vatican has demanded that Williamson, a member of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, recant before he can be admitted as a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church. On Thursday, the government of Argentina, where Williamson had been living, ordered him expelled within 10 days. It cited an immigration problem but also said his comments about the Holocaust had profoundly insulted Argentina, Jews and all of humanity.
The British-born Williamson had already been removed as director of the society's La Reja seminary. He has apologized for causing distress to the pope but has not recanted. He has said he would only correct himself if he is satisfied after a review of the evidence, but has said that would take time.
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Associated Press writers Amy Teibel in Jerusalem and Ariel David in Rome contributed to this report.