Website launched to protest screening of Popetown

Tuesday June 7, 2005

Website launched to protest the screening of Popetown on C4

A website has been launched to protest C4 television's plans to proceed with the broadcasting of the offensive Popetown cartoon.

Popetown disrespects our current Pope Benedict XVI, as well as the memory of our late Pope John Paul II, and all other popes that have gone before. It portrays Catholic Cardinals as corrupt and religious sisters in a disrespectful manner.

Popetown depicts scenes such as the pope having painted a picture using his own feces, and a member of the Catholic clergy becoming sexually aroused while viewing animal pornography.
We are certain that if this cartoon was called "Maori-town" or "Islam-town", and it disrespected those cultures in the same fashion, it would not have even been considered for screening in New Zealand, and rightly so.

This program disrespects Catholic culture. We are not asking for special treatment, we are simply asking for equal treatment and respect.

The website: http://www.jp2.org.nz allows visitors to sign up anonymously to register their opposition to the screening of Popetown in New Zealand, it also outlines the reasons why Popetown causes such offence to Catholics.

We hope that all New Zealanders who believe that it is unacceptable for a person's religious and cultural beliefs to be derided on public television will visit the site and anonymously sign up to express their opposition to the treatment of Catholic culture by C4 television.

Popetown is unacceptable and offensive to Catholics, and we believe that this weekly television mockery is something we should not have to endure just because C4 considers it "edgy".
Our hope is that, for the sake of cultural and religious respect, C4 will do the right thing by New Zealand's thousands of Catholics and reconsider their decision to screen Popetown.

ENDS

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