Olmert apologizes for Virgin Mary television spoof

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday said he feels regret, sorrow and disapproval for a comedy show that mocked Christian theology and offended the Vatican.

Government spokesman Mark Regev said Olmert told ministers at a cabinet meeting Sunday the comedy segment was in stark contrast to good relations between Israel and Christians worldwide.

Broadcast recently on a late-night show on the private Channel 10 TV station, the segment mocked the belief that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus walked on water.

The skit was a sarcastic response to the Vatican's rehabilitation of a Catholic bishop who denied the Holocaust took place. The host later apologized for causing offense.

The Vatican issued a statement Friday calling the segment a vulgar and offensive act of intolerance.

In the sketch, Mary is said to have become pregnant at 15, thanks to a schoolmate. It said Jesus could never have walked on water because he was so fat he was ashamed to leave the house, let alone go to the Sea of Galilee with a bathing suit.

The foreign ministry said the segment wouldn't be shown again and that its host, well-known Israeli comedian Lior Shlein, had apologized.

	Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he feels regret and disapproval over a comedy skit presented by Lior Shlein, left.