‘Park’ episode riles Kiwis

“South Park,” already busy with controversy at home (see the Channel Island column, Page E26), is also stirring things up Down Under. New Zealand television network C4 apologized Thursday for showing an episode of the show that featured a bleeding statue of the Virgin Mary.

The show, titled “Bloody Mary,” was screened in early February. Because of the strong reaction, C4 said it would not rerun the episode.

Roman Catholic bishops and church members had condemned the decision to air the show, and Thursday dismissed the channel’s “so-called sincere apology” as “self-serving.”