A Catholic priest has used his Sunday sermon to deride The Project as “the worst show on television” following its broadcast of an X-rated joke about Jesus last week.

Father Brendon Lee unloaded on the Channel Ten program, saying that the show was part of a wider attack on the Christian faith.

He told his congregation that The Project was “full of putrid” and conveyed “hate speech and bigotry” toward Christians while insisting on tolerance for everybody else.

Father Lee was reacting to a queer comic’s now infamous lewd joke about Jesus engaging in gay sex.

“I love Jesus. I love any man who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more,” Reuben Kaye told The Project hosts who roared with laughter.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has reportedly received hundreds of complaints from the public after the joke.

The Project hosts Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris issued an on-air apology the following night.

Weirdly, Aly apologised to Muslims before he apologised to Christians.

Sarah Harris, who cackled with laughter at the joke, claimed she had not had time to provide a more “considered” reaction.

But former program panellist Em Rusciano claimed the joke would have been “script-approved” by the show's producers - despite the hosts saying it was unscripted and a “live TV” gaffe.

Father Lee said that if Christians did not push back against programs like The Project, the war on Christianity would become normalised.