MADRID (LifeSiteNews) – The Burger King fast-food chain has apologized to Spanish Catholics following a blasphemous Holy Week ad campaign that mocked Christ’s words at the Last Supper.
“Take and eat all of it (Tomad y comed todos de él). It’s meat-free,” stated one of the two advertisements included in the controversial Holy Week campaign. They were meant to promote Burger King’s new range of vegetarian options, hoping to appeal particularly to Catholics who do not eat meat on Good Friday.
The words used in the ad were a direct reference to Christ’s words at the Last Supper: “Take and eat, all, of it (Tomad y comed todos de él), for this is my body.”
These words are considered particularly sacred by Catholics as they are also used by priests during the Consecration, the part of Mass during which the bread and wine present on the altar are substantially changed into the body and blood of Christ. “Tomad y comed todos de él ” are the exact words used in the Spanish-language translation of the Latin Rite Mass.
Another advertisement exploited the biblical phrase “flesh of my flesh,” found in Genesis 2:23, ostentatiously crossing out the word “flesh” to replace it with “vegetable.” The original is part of Adam’s expression of joy at first meeting Eve.
The campaign triggered an uproar on social media, with many Catholics denouncing the two ads as blasphemous and calling for a boycott of the fast-food chain, using the hashtag #boicottBurgerKing.
The Surgi-Center, a Washington, D.C. abortion clinic infamous for offering late, second trimester abortions, and its owner, abortionist Cesare Santangelo, are at the center of a scandal involving possible violations of federal laws against partial-birth abortion and infanticide.
In an exclusive video interview with LifeSiteNews, Lauren Handy, the director of activism at Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU), told LifeSiteNew's Editor-in-Chief, John-Henry Westen that, with the help of a whistleblower, her organization rescued and properly buried the remains of about one hundred aborted babies from Santangelo's Surgi-Center.
But, five of the deceased babies were so large and so developed that they suspected the Surgi-Center of engaging in the illegal practices of partial-birth abortion or infanticide (i.e., killing the child after birth) à la Kermit Gosnell.
The shocked pro-lifers then gave the aborted babies to the police and brought the matter to the attention of the D.C. Medical Examiner's office. But, the Medical Examiner's office has refused to take any action, saying they will not perform autopsies on the babies.
Please SIGN and SHARE this urgent petition to the Department of Justice, asking them to launch an investigation into alleged violations of federal law by Santangelo and the D.C. Surgi-Center, under either the Partial Birth Abortion Act (2003) or the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (2002). *Anyone - no matter where you reside - can sign this petition!
Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there.
Handy and eight of her fellow pro-life rescuers in PAAU are, themselves, now facing jail-time after being arrested by the FBI for conducting a traditional pro-life sit-in in October, 2020, at the very same abortion center from which the late-term deceased babies (mentioned above) were rescued.
Please note that the two events - the pro-life rescue in 2020 and the gruesome discovery of the five near-to-full-term babies in the Surgi-Center's "bio-medical waste" earlier this year - are almost one-and-a-half years apart.
Thus, Handy believes that their recent arrest is no coincidence...and, moreover, that the FBI is being used to create a smokescreen by arresting her and the other pro-lifers.
At the same time, the D.C. Medical Examiner's office does not seem interested in discovering the truth about the deaths of the five aborted babies and possible illegal partial-birth abortions or infanticide happening at the D.C. Surgi-Center.
Please SIGN and SHARE this urgent petition to the Department of Justice, asking them to launch an investigation into alleged violations of federal law by Santangelo and the D.C. Surgi-Center, under either the Partial Birth Abortion Act (2003) or the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (2002).
The DOJ press release claims that the pro-lifers: "engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade at the reproductive health care clinic to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services."
But, commenting on the arrest, Lauren Handy stated: "Media reports have stated that we ‘invaded’ the abortion center and ‘disrupted’ women from exercising their ‘reproductive rights’. No, that is not what we did."
"We entered the clinic and sought to love the women who were already there for their abortion procedures," Handy said. "We tried to offer them help so they would choose life. We non-violently defended the unborn who were about to be exterminated – the innocent, the most vulnerable, killed in horrific acts of violence and treated as so much trash."
Tireless pro-life activist Dr. Monica Miller, the director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and leader of Red Rose Rescue, told LifeSiteNews that "this is the first time any of them are facing federal charges. That the rescuers were hunted down by FBI agents is unprecedented in the history of pro-life activism."
All of this...possibly...for discovering five near-or-at-term aborted babies at Cesare Santangelo's D.C. Surgi-Center, and for seeking to give justice and dignity to the murdered babies.
The truth now needs to come out!
Please SIGN and SHARE this urgent petition to the Department of Justice, asking them to launch an investigation into alleged violations of federal law by Santangelo and the D.C. Surgi-Center, under either the Partial Birth Abortion Act (2003) or the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (2002).
Thank you for SIGNING and SHARING this urgent petition!
To contribute to the legal defense of Lauren Handy and the other eight members of PAAU, please CLICK on the following link to find out more about their LifeFunder campaign (also operated by LifeSiteNews): https://www.lifefunder.com/victims
Thank you!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Pro-life hero raided by FBI speaks about the aborted babies she was trying to honor' - https://rumble.com/vzsslx-exclusive-pro-life-hero-raided-by-fbi-speaks-about-the-aborted-babies-she-w.html
'Pro-lifers arrested in FBI raids, face 11 years in prison for blocking access to late-term abortion mill' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pro-lifers-raided-charged-and-face-11-years-in-jail-for-blocking-access-to-infamous-dc-abortion-mill/
'BREAKING: Video surfaces of FBI raid, arrest of nonviolent pro-life activists' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-video-surfaces-of-biden-fbi-raid-arrest-of-nonviolent-pro-life-activists/
'Court Docs reveal previously unknown patient death due to negligence at late-term abortion facility' - https://www.operationrescue.org/archives/court-docs-reveal-previously-unknown-patient-death-due-to-negligence-at-late-term-abortion-facility/
**Photo Credit: YouTube screenshot of pro-lifers protesting outside the Surgi-Center abortion facility, in Washington, D.C.
A petition asking Burger King’s CEO to fire Jorge Carvalho, the company’s director general for Spain and Portugal, was also launched.
“They’re mocking the Eucharist and the death of Christ in the most sacred time for Christians,” states the petition, adding that Burger King took advantage of Holy Week “to launch an offensive campaign against millions of believers to get publicity and money.”
Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of Orihuela-Alicante took to Twitter to condemn the campaign.
“Apparently, the loss of culinary taste and the lack of respect for religious feelings go hand in hand,” the bishop tweeted.
Por lo visto, la perdida del gusto culinario y la falta de respeto a los sentimientos religiosos van de la mano…#SabadoSanto pic.twitter.com/XSQCIFmfof
— Jose Ignacio Munilla (@ObispoMunilla) April 16, 2022
Some Twitter users also pointed out that Burger King would not dare to attack other religions.
“What would happen if Burger King attacked the religious sentiment of other confessions? I welcome your thoughts on this,” tweeted Rosana Ribera de Gracia.
Many commentators responded that the fast-food company has never made provoking ad campaigns directed at Muslims.
¿Qué pasaría si atentara @burgerking_es contra el sentimiento religioso de otra confesión?
Se admiten sugerencias de respuesta.
Esta foto es de ayer Jueves Santo, en Sevilla. Calle San Pablo. pic.twitter.com/X1L9mos69G— Rosana Ribera de Gracia (@RosanaRibera) April 15, 2022
In response to the backlash, Burger King issued an apology on Twitter on Easter Sunday and announced the immediate withdrawal of the campaign.
“We apologize to all those who have felt offended by our campaign aimed at promoting our vegetable products during Holy Week. Our intention has never been to offend anyone and the immediate withdrawal of the campaign has already been requested,” tweeted Burger King.
Pedimos disculpas a todos aquellos que se hayan sentido ofendidos por nuestra campaña dirigida a promocionar nuestros productos vegetales en Semana Santa. Nuestra intención nunca ha sido ofender a nadie y ya ha sido solicitada la retirada inmediata de la campaña.
— Burger King (@burgerking_es) April 17, 2022