Catholic group calls out Tim Cook, Apple TV+ for show's 'Eucharistic desecration'
A Catholic group is calling out Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple TV+ in a letter demanding an apology and removal of a "Eucharistic desecration" scene in one of its shows.
"As the nation’s largest lay Catholic advocacy organization, we write to express our concern about a blasphemous anti-Catholic scene in the Apple TV+ show, Your Friends and Neighbors," CatholicVote said in a Monday letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.
"Episode 6 of the series depicts two characters breaking into a Catholic church," the letter, signed by Josh Mercer, vice president of CatholicVote, reads. "The male character steals Eucharistic hosts from the tabernacle, which they eat as a snack. The man flippantly remarks about how they are eating the Body of Christ. The man feeds a host to the female character and feigns blessing her. Then they begin engaging in romantic activity in the pews before the pastor walks in, and they flee the church."
Mercer, who is also requesting a meeting with Cook to discuss how the company can promote "true diversity and tolerance," called the scene "sacrilegious," and asked Cook if he would be tolerant of similar content mocking the Islamic or Jewish religion. CatholicVote's website called it a "shocking depiction of Eucharistic desecration."
"As Catholics, we have believed for 2,000 years that the Eucharist is not simply a piece of bread," Mercer wrote. "It is the body, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. The practice of taking communion was instituted by Christ himself at the Last Supper. Receiving the Eucharist at Mass is, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it, 'the source and summit of the Christian life.'"
He also highlighted a statement on Apple’s website, which appears to value supporting those from various walks of life, stating, "At Apple, we create a culture … with a North Star of dignity, respect, and opportunity for everyone. Because we’re not all the same. And that remains one of our greatest strengths."
Mercer also pointed to a 2015 op-ed from Cook where he opposed discrimination against those who provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Cook wrote that, "I have great reverence for religious freedom… Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love."
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CatholicVote has also launched a petition with 169,596 signatures and counting asking signers to tell Apple leadership that they "won’t stand for blasphemy."
"Apple's shameless depiction of blatant sacrilege inside a Catholic Church is a direct attack on what Catholics hold most dear," Mercer told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"We solemnly believe that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ; this fundamental truth is the source and summit of our Catholic Faith," he added. "We cannot stand by while Christ and His Church are casually mocked in the name of ‘entertainment.’ We call on Catholics to join us in demanding that Apple take down the blasphemous episode and issue an apology. We await Apple's response to our letter and hope it makes amends for its offensive actions."
Fox News Digital reached out to Cook and Apple for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.