London, England, Sep 23, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The British Broadcasting Corp. has scrapped the animation series “Popetown”, following the petition signed by more than 6,000 Catholics.
The cartoon featured a fame-hungry nun, corrupt cardinals and an infantile pope, who bounced around the Vatican on a pogo stick.
Though the program was commissioned for the digital channel BBC3, executives decided yesterday that it was too offensive to broadcast.
"Despite all the creative energy that has gone into this project and the best efforts of everyone involved, the comic impact of the delivered series does not outweigh the potential offense it will cause," said BBC3 Controller Stuart Murphy.
Portsmouth Bishop Crispian Hollis, who led the protests, welcomed the decision.
"It was obviously going to be a controversial program," he said. "Any attempt to belittle or diminish [the Pope’s] status as the leader of the Catholic Church is totally unacceptable, and not only to Catholics."