The BBC last night bowed to a wave of complaints by Catholics and announced it would drop its yet-to-be transmitted adult cartoon series Popetown.
The 10-part satire apparently featured an infantile Pope voiced by the comedian Ruby Wax, bouncing around the Vatican on a pogostick. It had been scheduled for broadcast a year ago, but was constantly postponed while executives considered what to do.
A fortnight ago BBC spokesmen were still saying it would be shown on BBC3, though for months others at the corporation had privately forecast that it would be dropped.
Stuart Murphy, controller of BB3, said in a statement that the series had been dropped on editorial grounds: "After a lot of consideration and consultation, balancing the creative risk with the potential offence to some parts of the audience, we have decided not to transmit the programme.
"Despite all the creative energy that has gone into this project and the best efforts of everyone involved, the comic impact of the delivered programme does not outweigh the potential offence it will cause.
"It has been an extremely difficult and complex decision to make.
"There is a fine judgement line in comedy between the scurrilously funny and the offensive ... unfortunately once we saw the finished series it became clear that the programme fell on the wrong side of that line."
Jana Bennett, BBC director of television, said she was sorry the show would not be seen, but did not defend it: "I think this decision is the right one."
The corporation had been subjected to a campaign of criticism by Catholics since the series was announced last year.
Already angered by what they saw as the pursuit by Radio 4's Today programme of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, for his alleged mishandling of the issue of paedophile priests, the Catholic faithful took Popetown as part of a concerted BBC agenda to attack their church.
They bombarded the corporation with complaints, and several bishops objected.
Though no complainant had seen the series, it was even attacked on Today's usually relentlessly anodyne Thought for the Day religious slot. The Catholic commentator Clifford Longley accused the BBC of inciting ill-feeling - after which his regular appearances ceased for a while.
But the BBC's delay in announcing a transmission date indicated nervousness in the wake of the criticisms of Lord Hutton, and officials stressed that the finished programmes would face rigorous editorial controls.
Mark Thompson, the BBC's director general, is a practising Catholic.
The series, contracted to the Channel X group at a reputed cost of more than £2m, would have featured voice characterisations by Jerry Hall, Bob Mortimer, Mackenzie Crook and Matt Lucas.
Alan Marke, the company's managing director, was "incredibly disappointed" since he was proud of the project and all the talent involved: "But I understand the world has changed since the series was originally commissioned and sympathise with the difficult decision the BBC has had to make."
The Rt Rev Crispian Hollis, Bishop of Portsmouth and chairman of the Catholic bishops' communications committee, was "delighted", since the series would have caused offence "not least among the Catholic community, who hold the person of the Holy Father in the highest regard and affection.
"Any attempt to belittle or diminish his status as the leader of the Catholic church is totally unacceptable and not only to Catholics."
All may not be lost for the series, however. The BBC said it would hope to recoup some of the costs by selling the programmes on and through video sales.