After Apple TV+ released an episode of its show Your Friends and Neighbors that depicted a couple “flippantly” mocking the Eucharist, advocacy group CatholicVote confronted the company, demanding the episode be removed for its “blatant disrespect.”
CatholicVote Vice President Josh Mercer sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook on June 2 and called the episode’s content a “mean-spirited effort to mock Catholicism” because of the scene’s lack of “relevance to the plot.”
In episode six, season one of Your Friends and Neighbors, a couple sneaks into a church and eats the Eucharist “as a snack,” Mercer described.
“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,” Mercer wrote.
The scene culminates with the pastor entering the sanctuary and interrupting the couple’s “romantic activity.”
“It’s disgusting, offensive, and doesn’t really serve any point in my mind for the plot and the characters,” Mercer told The Federalist in an interview. “Any of that dialog or character development could have been done and satisfied without trying to attack the religious beliefs of a billion Catholics.”
This Scene Offends All Christians, Not Just Catholics
In his letter, Mercer explained the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist.
“It is the body, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ,” Mercer wrote. “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.’”
Regardless of doctrinal or congregational background, all Christians should at least be uncomfortable, if not angered, with this mockery of the church, Scripture, and Christian practices, Mercer said.
“You don’t have to believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist to realize this was an offensive scene,” Mercer said. “People have been very supportive, even those who aren’t Catholic, because they realize that an attack on one is an attack on all.”
CatholicVote, in a post on Instagram, called the scene blasphemous.
“To mock the Eucharist is to mock Christ Himself,” the post read.
CatholicVote also deemed the scene an “act of sacrilege” in a recent post on X. This modern equivalent of “the abomination of desolation,” referenced in Scripture and often cited as the pagan sacrifice in the Jewish temple under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, showed “blatant disrespect for the world’s largest religion,” as Mercer wrote.
Is This Respectful and Inclusive?
“For 40 years Hollywood has taken lots of pot shots at Catholicism or Christianity in general,” Mercer said in an interview. “We do have to draw the line somewhere.”
Mercer challenged Cook on Apple’s adherence to its own “inclusion and diversity” values. In his letter, he quoted Apple’s website that promises to promote “culture … of dignity, respect, and opportunity for everyone.” Also on the website, Cook claims conduct is of utmost importance to Apple. “We do the right thing, even when it’s not easy,” Cook says on Apple’s website.
Mercer asked Cook if this new episode of Your Friends and Neighbors supports Apple’s core values and promises.
“Is promoting content which mocks and degrades the faith of Catholics compatible with this ‘culture of dignity, respect, and opportunity for everyone?’” Mercer asked. “Would you permit an equivalent mockery of the Islamic faith or the Jewish faith? We think not. Why is it acceptable to Apple to disrespect Catholicism in this way?”
Christians Must Respond
Mercer said the publication of the scene smears mud in the face of billions of Catholics and reflects poorly on Apple staff.
“Apple itself is a trillion-dollar company. No one said, ‘Now, wait a minute, maybe we shouldn’t do this,’” Mercer said. “No one thought to tap the brakes on this and say we shouldn’t do this? We should just throw people’s face in the mud like this?’”
Mercer petitioned Cook to remove the episode from Apple TV+. He also requested to meet with Cook “to discuss how Apple can foster true diversity and tolerance by ensuring its content is respectful of the religious practices of Catholics.”
In addition to Mercer’s letter, CatholicVote announced a petition for Christians to sign, requesting Apple to remove its disrespectful content. As of publication, the initiative has garnered more than 350,000 participants. Anyone can submit a complaint to Apple on CatholicVote’s website.
Apple TV+ did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment. Mercer said he sent his letter to Cook a week ago but has not received a response.
“I think if they had offended any other organization or any other group in an oasis, they probably would have responded by now,” Mercer said.