Like any normal employees under enormous pressure, members of a British governmental committee cracked a few condom and abortion jokes to lighten the mood in the days before Benedict XVI’s planned papal visit. But the satirical wisecracks unintentionally leaked, and Britain is now scrambling to pacify the offended Catholic Church.

As it prepared to host its first papal visit in 28 years, Britain formed an official papal visit team to coordinate a smooth trip. During its brainstorming session, some members of the committee compiled a satirical list of what the Pope’s “ideal visit” should contain. Leaked to Britain’s Sunday Telegraph, the mock itinerary made the following suggestion for the Pope’s visit:

• Release a line of Benedict-themed condoms
• Open up an abortion clinic
• Let go of the Church’s opposition to same-sex couples’ ability to adopt
• Bless a gay marriage
• Sponsor a group of AIDS clinics
• “Announce sacking of dodgy bishops”
• Host a training course for bishops on child abuse allegations
• Ordain a female priest
• Perform a charity duet with the Queen
• Change Britain’s national anthem from God Save the Queen to God Save the World

Clearly a mockery of Catholic values, sure, but the list contains nothing overtly explicit. Still, the Church has expressed its utmost disapproval of the document, threatening to cancel the visit altogether, and the British Foreign Office has sent a very somber official apology.

The list shouldn’t have been circulated among senior officials in the Foreign Office nor publicly leaked, but it’s dramatic and unnecessary to imply that sentiments ringing out across the world shouldn’t have been conceived in the first place. As Mary Beard at the Times Online asks – have we forgotten the meaning of satire?