New Zealand bishops join fight against South Park episode

A South Park episode that riled U.S. Roman Catholics last year is now causing a stir in New Zealand.

The episode, entitled "Bloody Mary," is scheduled to air later this week ona channel owned by the localTV Works network.

New Zealand's Roman Catholic bishops issued a letter Sunday urging parishioners to boycott the channel and its sponsors.

The letter, which was published in New Zealand and read at Sunday masses, called the South Park episode "ugly and tasteless."

"Making known the extent of our offence might give them pause to consider that press freedom is not a licence to incite intolerance or to promote hated or derision based on religion, race or gender," the letter read.

The episode revolves around a nearby town's discovery that a statue of the Virgin Mary has begun bleeding. The event is dubbed a miracle and the people flock to see the statue, including Pope Benedict XVI, who ultimately pronounces that the statue ismenstruating.

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights condemned the initial broadcast of the episode in the U.S. in December.

The religious group was particularly incensed that it debuted the day before the Catholic Church's Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have won Emmy Awards for their provocative cartoon, which revolves around a group of foul-mouthed fourth graders living in a small town in Colorado.

However, they have also drawn criticism for their irreverent lampooning of current events and international figures. On the popular animated program, the pair have satirized everyone from Osama bin Laden to Jesus.

New Zealand's TV Works is a subsidiary of CanWestMediaWorks, which is majority owned by Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications.

"We absolutely expect there's segments of society that would be offended by the program," Rick Frisen, the chief operating officer of TV Works, told the Associated Press.

He said if Catholics think they might be offended by the upcoming episode, they shouldn't watch it.

South Park airs on Comedy Central in the U.S. and the Comedy Network in Canada.