Bishops' president blasts 'South Park' episode lampooning Mary

Published: 2005-12-19

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. bishops blasted a recent episode of the cable television comedy "South Park" that he said showed Mary in "a tasteless and ugly fashion." In a Dec. 14 letter to Tom Freston, co-president and chief operating officer of Viacom International, parent company of Comedy Central, the cable channel that shows "South Park," Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., said the channel showed "extreme insensitivity" in choosing to show the episode. The episode, which first was shown Dec. 7 and had repeat showings in the week following, was titled "Bloody Mary." During the episode, a "South Park" character claims to have been sprayed with blood from a bodily orifice of a Virgin Mary statue. When Pope Benedict XVI investigates in the show, he declares that she was merely menstruating. The episode's premiere date came the day before the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation for Catholics.

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