The Catalan bishops, through the Tarragona Episcopal Conference, have joined the reproaches of TV3 and the program Está passant directed by Toni Soler for the broadcast of the parody of the Virgen del Rocío that has led to a request for rectification and apology for part of the Junta de Andalucía and accusations of "supremacism" by various political parties, also in Catalonia.
In a statement, the bishops of Catalonia express their rejection of a parody that, in their opinion, hurts the sensitivity of many people "and particularly that of all believers who, under this invocation of the Virgin Mary, keep their faith and traditions religious".
"Public television must respect all beliefs, maintaining the religious neutrality that corresponds to it and respecting the feelings of believers, not hurting with this type of gags that exceed the sense of humor and the dignity of faith of so many people," they point out.
The considerations of the Catalan prelates come after the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, yesterday called for respect and consideration after the controversy. The minister opined to questions from journalists that in matters related to "religious, ideological feelings or how each one understands life", "respect and consideration" is always relevant. If some type of responsibility were derived from any action or conduct, "it will be the competent bodies that determine if it has any significance from a legal point of view," he added.
The reactions have followed one another throughout Holy Week. One of the last was that of the president of Aragon, Javier Lambán, who yesterday from his Twitter account called the parody "miserable and in bad taste" and criticized the "arrogant and stupid" attitude of "those individuals who look that way to the rest of the Spaniards". Likewise, he sent his solidarity to the Andalusians who have felt offended.
Specifically, Está passant broadcast a parody in the form of an "interview" with the actress Judit Martín, dressed as the Virgen del Rocío, with a doll in her hands that pretended to be the baby Jesus, in which she complained with a marked Andalusian accent about the showiness of the suit. "I haven't been able to get laid properly for 200 years!" he said, before trying to flirt with one of the show's presenters, Jair Domínguez, while comedian Toni Soler acknowledged that he didn't know "what to say to not screw it up" with that theme: "We are in a minefield".
