News show boycotted in New Zealand after 'South Park' episode airs

Published: 2006-04-13

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (CNS) -- More than 2,400 Catholics from around New Zealand have made a public commitment to boycott an evening news program after a partner station aired a controversial episode of "South Park." The "Bloody Mary" episode, which depicts a menstruating statue of Mary, aired on C4, a youth-targeted music channel and partner station of TV3, one of two networks in the country. Both TV3 and C4 are owned by Canada's CanWest. The Catholics boycotted the news on TV3 to express their disapproval. Peter Grace, a layout assistant editor for the New Zealand Catholic, offered to run the names of participants in an advertisement in a national newspaper, The New Zealand Herald. The ads were running April 9, 16 and 23. In February, New Zealand Catholic bishops and other religious leaders called the episode "derisive, outrageous and beyond all acceptable standards of decency and good taste." The episode was first was shown Dec. 7 in the United States and aired in New Zealand Feb. 22.

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