"Bishop 'Sincerely' Apologizes after 'Blasphemy' [against Buddha]"

"Father Jean-François Laco of Sainte-Suzanne, a commune in Réunion, a French overseas department near Madagaskar, preached on Pentecost (May 19) against false religions.

Laco is also a composer and singer. 'I don't believe in that fat, sitting man, the one with a nice belly, who is called Buddha', he preached saying that Buddha statues should not be used for decoration: 'That doesn't bring peace, but rather disorder.'

The video reportedly received 180,000 views and allegedly hundreds of [bot] comments. Réunion has 885,700 people and Laco spoke in a kind of French that can only be understood by locals which means that over 20% of the population has seen the video which is unlikely.

The priest deleted the video but copies of it remained available in the internet.

At the behest of his bishop, he expressed his regret using the usual formulas like 'parts of the sermon had been excerpted' and 'words taken out of the context'.

'If you watch the video of the homily in its entirety, you'll think: He's in his church preaching on Pentecost, reminding Christians to be faithful to God', the priest explained.

Monsignor Pascal Chane-Teng, Bishop of Saint-Denis-de-La Réunion, issued a statement on June 5 in which he 'sincerely' apologised claiming that 'the position of the Catholic Church and the diocese is one of respect for others, their culture and their religious beliefs..."

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