The Catholic Church has been a subject for humor, from the time of the Reformation to the present day.
Examples of fairly mild burlesque of the Church in the twentieth century include material by humourists such as the Irish comedian Dave Allen and the comedy show Father Ted.
Traditional fears about the Roman Catholic Church were burlesqued by Monty Python in their Spanish Inquisition sketch (first aired September 22, 1970) in which hapless victims of the Spanish Inquisition are threatened with the 'comfy chair' and other such innocuous implements of torture.
Another sketch by Monty Python featured a song "Every Sperm Is Sacred" (1983) which is a satire of Catholic teachings on reproduction which forbid masturbation and contraception by artificial means. The sketch is about a Catholic Dad (played by Michael Palin), his wife (Mum, played by Terry Jones) and their 63 children, who are about to be sold for medical experimentation purposes because their parents can no longer afford to care for such a large family. When their children ask why they don't use contraception or sterilization, Dad explains that this is against God's wishes, and breaks into the song "Every Sperm is Sacred". The real punchline comes a bit later, where the song and dance is observed through a window and a Protestant (played by Graham Chapman), after observing the large family's song and dance, briefly describes this "typical Catholic" situation to his wife (Eric Idle). He goes on to remark how, as a Protestant, he could down to the store and unashamedly buy a condom, and that way, "because I'm a Protestant", intercourse is not bound to pregnancy, and therefore, available to them any time they wish. He also derides the Catholic family for their numerous progeny, noting they have good family planning, only siring two children. The wife remarks that that is the same number of times they have had intercourse.
Irishman Dave Allen (1936–2005) was the host of several comedy series broadcast on UK TV from the 1960s to the 1990s. The most controversial was called Dave Allen at Large, which broadcast 1971–79 on UK TV. The programmes consisted of an introductory standup routine by Allen leading to handsomely mounted sketches that continued on the themes touched on in the opening monologue. The comedian's trademark debunking of religious, especially Catholic, ritual throughout each episode made for minor controversy which, coupled with some quite frank material, earned the show a somewhat risqué reputation. His later comedy series continued in the same vein and included sketches showing the Pope (played by Allen) and his Cardinals doing a striptease on the steps of St Peter's; aggressive priests beating up their parishioners and other priests; priests who spoke like Daleks though electronic confessionals; and an extremely excitable Pope who spoke in a Chico Marx type accent as he ordered Allen to "getta your bum outta Rome!" [1]
The Father Ted series, broadcast on Channel 4 on UK television from 1995–98, follows the exploits of three Roman Catholic priests who preside over a parish on Craggy Island off the Irish coast. The reasons for their exile, which are hinted at across several episodes, appear to stem from a mixture of incompetence and embarrassing conduct: Father Dougal McGuire due to his stupidity and incompetence (with particular regard to the "Blackrock Incident", which is never further elaborated on, although Bishop Brennan mentions "the strings I had to pull to stop the Vatican getting involved"); Father Jack Hackett because of his alcoholism and implied womanising, which caused severe embarrassment to the Catholic Church (a "wedding in Athlone" is mentioned); and Father Ted Crilly for alleged financial impropriety. Ted insists he was innocent, regularly claiming that "the money was just resting in my account", and that it was "a perfectly legitimate monetary transfer". The senile Father Jack is notorious for the economy of expression and intent revealed in his catchphrase "Drink! Feck! Arse! Girls!" Their superior Bishop Brennan also has skeletons in his closet. In one episode it is revealed that he has a mistress and a son. This satirical shaft seems to refer to the real-life scandal surrounding Eamon Casey, former Bishop of Galway, whose domestic circumstances were similar to Bishop Brennan's.
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights condemned the "Bloody Mary" episode of South Park for its treatment of the Virgin Mary. They demanded an apology to Roman Catholics and that the episode "be permanently retired and not be made available on DVD." In particular, they also demanded that Joseph A. Califano, Jr., a member of Viacom's (the parent of Comedy Central) board of directors and a practicing Catholic, issue his own statement of condemnation. [2] Califano did later release a statement calling the episode an "appalling and disgusting portrayal of the Virgin Mary", and pledged to have it reviewed by Viacom's president and CEO, Tom Freston. Bishop William Skylstad, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, sent a letter to Freston saying the network showed "extreme insensitivity" when it aired the episode. [3] When Comedy Central re-aired all the episodes from South Park's Fall 2005 season on December 28, 2005, "Bloody Mary" was noticeably absent from the broadcast. Comedy Central responded to e-mail inquiries about the fate of the episode with the assurance that "Bloody Mary" has not been retired and would not be pulled from the DVD release. [4] However, screen captures from the episode are still missing on Comedy Central's press site and the South Park section of comedycentral.com. [5]
In a 2006 interview with Nightline , South Park co-creator Matt Stone said when asked if he felt more sympathy (if any) for Catholics (for Bloody Mary) or Scientologists (for the episode Trapped in the Closet, another Season 9 episode regarding religion that had been temporarily pulled from re-runs for insensitivity), he said his sympathy lay with the Catholics.[ citation needed ]
Luis Buñuel was a fierce critic of the perceived pretension and hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic Church. Many of his most famous films demonstrate this:
Robbie Coltrane portrays a naive priest who is made Pope in a corrupt mafia-controlled Vatican in the comedy film The Pope Must Die (1991). The plot alludes to the Roberto Calvi scandal and the Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories. Coltrane had previously donned clerical vestments in Nuns on the Run (1990). Earlier in his career Coltrane had also created a television comedy character known as 'Mason Boyne' - a spoof Scottish Presbyterian Orangeman - who was rabidly anti-Catholic to the point of painting over the leaves on plants with orange paint.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an international group of mostly gay men who frequently mock Catholicism and promote safe sex and AIDS awareness, hold anniversary parties and parades on Easter Sunday. Their use of Catholic symbolism is considered offensive by some.
Tom Lehrer, a well known humorist in the 1960s (and, coincidentally, a Harvard professor of Mathematics), gently satirised the Catholic Church in his song 'The Vatican Rag' which he claimed was an appropriate response to the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council as published in 1965.
Father Dougal McGuire is a character in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. Created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, Dougal was portrayed by comedian Ardal O'Hanlon for the programme's three series. The character is a childlike, simple-minded Roman Catholic curate exiled to Craggy Island, a small island off the coast of Galway.
Pope Benedict XVI was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as pope occurred in the 2005 papal conclave that followed the death of Pope John Paul II. Benedict chose to be known as "Pope emeritus" upon his resignation, and he retained this title until his death in 2022.
Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement encompassing members of the Catholic Church and offshoot groups of the Catholic Church that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–65). Traditionalist Catholics particularly emphasize the Tridentine Mass, the Roman Rite liturgy largely replaced in general use by the post-Second Vatican Council Mass of Paul VI.
Edmund Casimir Szoka was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Until 2006, he was President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, having previously served as Bishop of Gaylord from 1971 to 1981 and Archbishop of Detroit from 1981 to 1990. Szoka was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988.
Emmanuel Milingo is an excommunicated former Roman Catholic archbishop from Zambia. He was ordained in 1958; in 1969, aged 39, Milingo was consecrated by Pope Paul VI as the bishop of the Archdiocese of Lusaka. In 1983, he stepped down from his position as Archbishop of Lusaka after criticism for exorcism and faith healing practices that were not approved by church authorities. In 2001, when Milingo was 71, he received a marriage blessing from Sun Myung Moon, the leader of the Unification Church, despite the prohibition on marriage for ordained priests. In July 2006, he established Married Priests Now!, an advocacy organization to promote the acceptance of married priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
The Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction—an archdiocese—of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese covers a portion of Southeast Texas, and is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province covering east-Texas. The archdiocese was erected in 2004, having been a diocese since 1959 and the "Diocese of Galveston" since 1847. It is the second metropolitan see in Texas after the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
Popetown is a French-British adult animated series and sitcom, billed by its producers as "Father Ted meets South Park". The series was internationally controversial, and was not screened by BBC Three, the channel which commissioned it.
"Red Hot Catholic Love" is the 87th episode of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on July 3, 2002. It was selected No. 2 on the "10 South Parks that Changed the World" list, and was also part of "South Park's Dirty Dozen". In the episode, Father Maxi travels to the Vatican to confront the growing problem of Catholic priests molesting children. Meanwhile, Cartman discovers that it is possible to defecate from the mouth.
The Diocese of Paterson is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northern New Jersey. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Newark.
"Bloody Mary" is the fourteenth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 139th overall episode of the series, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on December 7, 2005. In the episode, Randy loses his driver's license for driving under the influence and is ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, where he becomes convinced that alcoholism is a potentially fatal disease. Meanwhile, a statue of the Virgin Mary starts bleeding "out its ass" and Randy believes that he can be "cured" if it bleeds on him.
The Diocese of Dallas is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in North Texas in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
"The Passion of Saint Tibulus" is the third episode of the first series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. Originally airing in 1995, the episode was rebroadcast on BBC2 in 2008 in tribute to Geoffrey Perkins.
"Kicking Bishop Brennan Up the Arse" is the sixth episode of the third series of the religion-themed sitcom Father Ted, and the 23rd episode overall. It originally aired on Channel 4 on 17 April 1998; its story continues from the previous episode, "Escape from Victory". In the episode, Father Ted Crilly must kick his strict and overbearing superior Bishop Brennan in the buttocks as a forfeit set in the previous episode by Father Dick Byrne for cheating at a football match.
William Stephen Skylstad is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Spokane in Washington State from 1990 to 2010. He previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Yakima in Washington State from 1977 to 1990.
Relations between Algeria and the Holy See have been tensions in the relationship in recent years due to criticism of the Algerian government by the Vatican and increasing restrictions imposed on Algerian Catholics.
The media coverage of Catholic sex abuse cases is a major aspect of the academic literature surrounding the pederastic priest scandal.
Robert John Brennan is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York City since 2021. Previously he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York from 2012 to 2019, and as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus in Ohio from 2019 to 2021.
Joseph Vincent Brennan is a prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Latin Church Diocese of Fresno in California since 2019. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 2015 to 2019.
Steven Joseph Lopes is an American Catholic prelate. He is the bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, a community for clergy and laypeople who celebrate according to the Anglican Use within the Catholic Church.
Mark Edward Brennan is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who is bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia. He was installed on August 22, 2019. Brennan previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland from 2017 to 2019.
