NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      NEW YORK (CWNews.com) - The Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights called on the Fox Network on Friday to apologize to Catholics for a skit on the show "Mad TV" depicting a priest groping two women.

      "It is one thing to poke gentle fun at a priest, quite another to set him up as a depraved cleric," Catholic League president William Donohue said. "The language used was deplorable and it makes absolutely no difference ... that it was a late evening show. There is no legitimate time slot for Catholic bashing." Fox said the skit, which aired on April 25, was part of an ongoing joke about a character who makes "politically incorrect" statements. Fox issued this statement it attributed to the show's producers: "We respect the Catholic League's work to combat religious bias. Comedies like 'Mad TV' use social satire to expose cultural stereotypes rather than to perpetuate them."

      The skit portrayed guest star Lou Diamond Phillips as the priest who visits actress Nicole Sullivan, portraying the Vancome Lady, in the hospital. The Vancome Lady hurls insults at the "priest" while making references to child molestation and drinking.