Literally thousands of incidents involving “creative liberties” with Catholic practices have come to the attention of the Catholic League over the years. Many of them are minor in nature, if not entirely innocent. However, the April 29 episode of the Fox TV show, “Family Guy,” definitely crossed a line.
The program assaulted and demeaned the Eucharist, with references such as “cookies” and “punch” being used when speaking about the Body and Blood of Christ. Such language is unacceptable, even in a cartoon show.
Calling Catholics “wafer-munchers” was also insulting, but nothing was worse than a depiction of the Eucharist being vomited on the church floor.
Also featured was a portrayal of a priest threatening a baby with violence for crying during Mass; church members were shown thinking the baby needed an exorcism.
Innocent jokes about a religion are fine, but it’s out of bounds when a faith is demeaned as horrendously as Catholicism was on “Family Guy.”
This wasn’t the first time the Catholic League has had to deal with “Family Guy.” An episode in December 2005, for instance, disparaged the sacrament of Baptism and the use of Holy Water. An April 2000 episode featured an offensive remark about Holy Communion.
We contacted Peter Liguori, President of Entertainment at Fox Broadcasting, about the situation. We were awaiting a response at press time.
