VATICAN CITY, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The Vatican lodged a formal protest Friday with Israel over a television show that joked about Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
In the show, which aired this week on the commercial channel TV 101, a host joked that he could deny that Mary became pregnant while a virgin or that Jesus walked on water because Christians deny the Holocaust. The host was referring to Bishop Richard Williamson, a traditionalist recently reinstated in the church by Pope Benedict XVI after years of excommunication who has made statements denying the Holocaust.
The Vatican, in a statement, said the program used "blasphemous words and images," the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
''The authorities promptly assured they would intervene to stop such broadcasts and obtain a public apology from the broadcaster,'' the statement said.
Pope Benedict's upcoming trip to Israel was officially announced this week. He has ordered Williamson to repudiate his claim that Jews were not killed in gas chambers by the Nazis.
