<nettime> porn vatican

[Ana Viseu <aviseu@oise.utoronto.ca>]

Mixing sound

A Vatican festival is mistakenly broadcast over Italian TV with porn-movie
soundtracks.

By Jack Boulware


Sep. 20, 2000 | Each year in mid-September the Roman Catholic Church
celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the Venerable Cross, which
honors the fourth century finding of the Lord's Cross and its recovery
from Persian captivity in the seventh century. Thanks to modern
technology, this year's Vatican festival was televised live to millions of
viewers across Italy, Spain and Latin America. Also thanks to modern
technology, the broadcast of 20 cardinals celebrating Mass and leading
prayers was accidentally accompanied by the soundtracks of hardcore-porn
films.

According to news reports, Italian broadcasting company RAI had intended
to send audio and video from the festival to its satellite, to be bounced
to Catholic audiences around the world. But a satellite TV company in
Luxembourg managed to mix up the audio portions of the broadcasts of the
Vatican festival and the Fantasy Channel -- playing the soundtracks of
"Stacey and the Hunt" and "Babes Illustrated" during the festival
broadcast. For two hours, millions of Roman Catholics watched video of
cardinals singing hymns and praying, set to the orgasmic moaning and
caterwauling of porn stars like Shyla Foxxx, Kaitlyn Ashley and Caressa
Savage. Conversely, male viewers of the Fantasy Channel, sitting on sofas
with their pants to their ankles, were treated to porn that featured holy
incantations.

"The film soundtrack was transmitted, and it was really hardcore stuff,"  
said Deric Botham, managing editor of Television X, which produces the
Fantasy Channel. "It could not have been worse."

Reaction from the Vatican was uncharacteristically subdued, considering
its views on pornography. "It sounded like a very unfortunate mistake,"
said a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church.

Perhaps God does exist.

http://www.salon.com/sex/world/2000/09/20/vatican/index.html


-------------------------------------
Tudo vale a pena se a alma nao e pequena.
http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~aviseu



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