German church’s televised ‘slime Jesus’ provokes fury on right

Tue, 13 Jan 2026

Christmas Eve live broadcast showed holy child portrayed by female performance artist writhing in sticky rice paper

A Roman Catholic diocese in Germany has expressed regret over a televised Christmas Eve mass featuring a portrayal of the newborn Christ by an adult woman covered in sticky rice paper that was described by some critics as “slime Jesus”.

The broadcast on ARD television from St Mary’s in Stuttgart showed a manger in which a female performance actor was huddled up in a foetal position and covered with sticky rice paper.