The other cartoon protest

[Davey Boy 2.0]

Apologies if someone's posted this already

AP:

A South Park cartoon episode showing a bleeding statue of Virgin Mary and deplored as offensive by Roman Catholics drew an audience six times bigger than normal when it aired in New Zealand, the broadcaster said yesterday.

Hundreds of protesters prayed round a statue of the Virgin Mary in the northern city of Auckland Wednesday night as the TV network broadcast the satirical cartoon. The episode had gained notoriety after airing previously in the United States.

The Bloody Mary episode dismayed Roman Catholics by showing a statue of Mary bleeding, taken to be a miracle by the animated characters but dismissed by the show's Pope Benedict as menstruation.

It drew strong protests in New Zealand after TV Works confirmed that it would air the program.

The screening attracted 210,000 viewers, more than six times the usual audience, TV Works' chief operating officer Rick Friesen said. "I expected a bit of a rise, but not that much," Friesen said.

As the episode aired, more than 350 people staged a protest outside TV Works' headquarters in Auckland. Many clutched Bibles and crosses as they recited the rosary and gathered round a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Catholic priest Rev. Leo Doyle led the protesters as they recited the Lord's Prayer and sang hymns. He used his final prayer to ask God to bless "those responsible for this cartoon" and to "enlighten them and strengthen them to see how much harm they can do."

[fluffhead77]

i love south park...I'm sure it won't be too long until they parody the turban bomb

[Gateaux]

South Park is excellent. The Christopher Reeves Stem Cell episode is still one of my faves of all time!!

[backbacon]

at least it got a bunch of people out of the house on a wednesday night.