'The Church should roar in horror at this desecration, Christ is being mocked as He was during His Passion, the crowds of humanity are shouting ‘we want Barabbas’ not God’s Divine Son.'
(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Joseph Strickland has denounced a scene depicting the desecration of the Blessed Sacrament in the popular Apple TV+ show "Your Friends and Neighbors," starring Jon Hamm.
The sacrilegious scene from Season 1, Episode 6 of the critically acclaimed series depicts two characters breaking into a Catholic church, with Hamm's character then removing the sacred hosts from the tabernacle and bringing them back to a pew, where the pair consumed them as a snack.
In a Tuesday X post, Strickland emphasized that the Church should "roar with horror" in reaction to the blatant mockery of Our Lord depicted in this scene, comparing it to the crowds in Jerusalem yelling "We want Barabbas" during Christ's Passion.
"The Church should roar in horror at this desecration, Christ is being mocked as He was during His Passion, the crowds of humanity are shouting 'we want Barabbas' not God’s Divine Son," the bishop wrote.
In another egregious scene from the episode, the male character mockingly distributes the Eucharist to the woman on the tongue and says “I absolve you” while making the sign of the cross over her like a priest.
READ: Popular Apple TV+ show depicts desecration of Holy Eucharist, mocks the true presence
According to Catholic teaching and tradition, the Communion hosts used at Mass undergo transubstantiation – that is, become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, not regular food to be eaten as a “snack” like the scene depicted.
In a subsequent disturbing scene, Hamm’s character placed the ciborium, which still contained Communion hosts, on the ground as if it were trash, as the characters began engaging in sexual activity in the pew before they were interrupted by a priest entering the church yelling a profanity.
Mockery of Our Lord’s true presence in the Blessed Sacrament has become common in pop culture. One recent apparent mockery of the sacrament was a 2024 video that featured Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and pro-abortion filmmaker and influencer Liz Plank. The governor fed a Dorito chip to Plank in such a way that seemingly mocked the distribution of Holy Communion.
READ: Catholics rebuke Gov. Whitmer for video where she gives a Dorito like it was Holy Communion
To respectfully voice your concerns:
Apple CEO Tim Cook
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Apple Headquarters
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Following the publication of this article, Bishop Strickland published an article on this subject on his Substack site, which we reproduce here in full.
Something unspeakably vile took place other day – a scene aired on a streaming platform (Apple TV+) in the show “Friends and Neighbors” portrayed actors breaking into a Catholic church, stealing the consecrated Hosts from the tabernacle, mocking the Eucharist as “the Body of Christ,” dipping the consecrated Host in jam like a snack, simulating Communion, and then committing a sexual act in the pews.
This is not art. This is not edgy satire. This is sacrilege – brazen, calculated, and demonic.
The Holy Eucharist is not a symbol. It is not a dramatic prop. It is not cultural furniture for a godless script. The Most Holy Eucharist is Jesus Christ Himself – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. To violate Him in this way is to crucify Him anew.
As the Apostle warns:
“Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord” (I Cor. 11:27).
The silence of Catholics in the face of such desecration would itself be a sin. We cannot, and will not, be silent.
To the producers and platform executives who permitted this blasphemy: You have desecrated the holiest mystery on earth. What you treat as entertainment is what the saints and martyrs died to defend.
To the faithful: I urge you to pray in reparation. Offer a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Attend Mass. Pray the Rosary with the specific intention of making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so grievously wounded again.
And yes, I urge you to remove your support from platforms that mock and defile our Lord. If they will not stop, we must walk away. Christ is not for sale. His Church is not for spectacle. And His Eucharistic Heart is not a script device for ratings.
Let us remember the words of Pope Pius XII:
“The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.”
We see it now in full display. But we also know this: “God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7). He will not be silent forever. And until then, His Church must not be silent either.
Let our cry rise to heaven with the voice of the Psalmist:
“For the zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon me” (Ps. 68:10).
To Christ in the Eucharist, we offer our sorrow. To the world, we offer our witness. To the perpetrators: we say – repent, for the day of mercy is still open, but it will not be forever.”
Christ remains in the tabernacles of the world. Hidden, humble, waiting – and still wounded. Let us now draw close and console Him.
