A Roman Catholic diocese in Germany has apologized after a Christmas Eve mass on ARD television showed a 'slime Jesus' nativity scene. The broadcast from St Mary's in Stuttgart featured a female performer curled in a fetal position, wrapped in sticky rice paper. Priest Thomas Steiger said the scene represented "a real human being, lying there miserable, naked and exposed." He added, "This is how radically God becomes human: close, touchable, without distance, real." The actress, Eleni Sismanidou, was covered in rice paper to symbolize vernix, the natural baby coating, according to show designer Milena Lorek, who said the scene was "a moment of uncertainty between safety and distress." The broadcast caused outrage in rightwing media, with the Bild newspaper calling it "sick and twisted" and comparing the figure to a "breathing alien." Viewers sent over 1,400 comments to the broadcaster SWR, many critical. Local Christian Democrats called the scene "disgusting" and accused it of hijacking the Christmas story. Klaus Nopper, a Stuttgart city council member, said, "Lines keep getting blurred and our values thrown overboard. This is how you destroy society." After nearly three weeks of criticism, the Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese said they had reviewed the backlash and acknowledged that "religious feelings were hurt." The diocese said the Catholic broadcasting team "deeply regret this" and never intended to offend faith. They admitted to changing parts of the traditional mass format for TV and promised future services would undergo closer review to respect both church responsibility and audience sensitivity.