A National Public Radio skit poking fun at presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has outraged Catholics because it blasphemes the Eucharist. After receiving hundreds of phone calls and emails, the distributor has apologized.
The offensive “joke” was part of a show called “Fair Game with Faith Salie,” broadcast on Utah National Public Radio station KCPW. In the broadcast, a voice announces a “Huckabee family recipe” supposedly leaked by political opponents.
The skit goes as follows: “Tired of bland unsatisfying Eucharists? Try this Huckabee family favorite. Deep-Fried Body of Christ—boring holy wafers no more. Take one Eucharist. Preferably post transubstantiation. Deep-fry in fat, not vegetable oil, ladies, until crispy. Serve piping hot. Mike likes to top his Christ with whipped cream and sprinkles. But his wife Janet and the boys like theirs with heavy gravy and cream puffs. It goes great with red wine.”
In response, the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights said his organization had lodged a complaint with KCPW. The Catholic League wants to know who wrote the skit, which it called “an assault on Jesus.”
The news director of KCPW responded to offended Catholics on the station’s
website. “I can see where the outrage is coming from, but the skit was meant to poke fun at Mike Huckabee’s Southern roots and his problems with obesity. That’s not my interpretation, that’s why they wrote it.”
The Utah station did not originate the show and does not have editorial control over it. The host of the offensive skit is apparently Catholic herself. She said she did not intend to make fun of Jesus.
An official from Public Radio International, the parent organization of the show, has pulled the skit from their website and apologized.
NPR Huckabee Skit Offends Catholics
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