BILL MAHER - HBO MONOLOGUE ANGERS CATHOLICS

HBO MONOLOGUE ANGERS CATHOLICS

A profanity-laced monologue by comedian Sarah Silverman in which she calls on the Catholic Church to sell the Vatican and feed the hungry -- has infuriated the Catholic League, the nation's largest lay Catholic organization. The monologue, which first appeared on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher and has since gone viral via YouTube, was described as a "filthy diatribe" by the organization, which observed that the Catholic Church "feeds more of the poor than any private institution in the world." On the other hand, the Rev. James Martin, culture editor of the Jesuit magazine America , wrote that Silverman's suggestion should not be dismissed. "Perhaps Ms. Silverman, in her postmodern, potty-mouthed way is on to something -- like Jesus was," he said, when he urged his followers to sell their possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. "Sell the Vatican? Well, maybe not everything but perhaps a statue or two?"

16/10/2009