Comedy Central hosted another one of its vicious and disgusting celebrity “roasts” with Justin Bieber as the target. On the “pre-show” before the roast, unfunny comedian Jeffrey Ross arrived in a pope costume, accompanied by sexy “nuns” in black habits and fishnet stockings.

Red-carpet host Sarah Tiana introduced him as the “popemaster general” and gushed “you look amazing, you're going to be hilarious." To which Ross replied, "Bless you, Sarah, congratulations on all of your abortions."

The latest "TED Talk" on the Interet featured the "inspired thinker" Monica Lewinsky. She should be doing something different -- in the lingo of that time, move on. But she keeps returning to the scene of her obscene behavior, and now insists we feel her pain, that she is the “Patient Zero” of “slut shaming.”

Lewinsky wishes to reinvent herself as an evangelist and a guru, but how to do it? Call it shame-shaming.

Sound the trumpets. The New York Times announced on March 18 that it is bringing in 20 new online-focused writers as contributors for its op-ed and Sunday Review sections. In an interview, Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal claimed “We were looking for a broad range of viewpoints and subjects and backgrounds and geographical locations and every kind of form of diversity that you can think of.”

Lower the trumpets. Bring in the fact-checker. It seems the viewpoint-diverse Times can’t seem to locate a conservative acceptable to executives prowling the halls in the snooty Times offices in midtown Manhattan.

TV and movie producers rarely focus on Catholic priests in their plots, let alone use them as central characters, as in The Father Dowling Mysteries or Father Murphy in the 1980s. Maybe that’s a good thing, because when Catholic priests are part of the plot these days, there is an unmistakable odor of aggression -- mocking, vilifying, and disparaging not just Catholic priests, but the priesthood itself.

TV producers insist their stories “reflect reality, claiming even they’re “ripped from the headlines.” Well, there are other religious traditions that collide with human frailty. Rabbis, imams, and even Episcopalian bishops can commit sin and not fear Hollywood "ripped from the headlines" shows.

Kudos to our colleague Elizabeth Harrington at the Washington Free Beacon. She offers a familiar old slice of sleaze funded by the federal government. An “investigative theatre” company in New York called “The Civilians” has been granted almost $950,000 by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and believe it or not, the National Science Foundation. Its latest creation is a musical about porn titled Pretty Filthy.

On Inauguration Day, 2009, the White House website declared President Obama’s administration would become “the most open and transparent in history.” By the end of the next day, Obama had issued high-profile orders pledging “a new era” and “an unprecedented level of openness” across the massive federal bureaucracy.

This has become a cosmic joke.

The media noticed that this year’s Oscars ceremony contained a lot of political tub-thumping, but they didn't notice that these speeches were predictable and obnoxious left-wing screeds.

They were just “passionate pleas for equality,” according to the Associated Press. Actress Patricia Arquette unleashed a tirade on wage inequality for women. Singer John Legend said more black men were trapped in prison than America had black men trapped in slavery in 1850. There’s apparently no difference between Kunta Kinte and Willie Horton.

Here’s one obvious sign that we live in a profane world. Fifty Shades of Grey, the “mommy-porn” book turned into a movie, complete with its whips and chains and erotic punishment, debuted to far less controversy than The Passion of the Christ in 2004.

The media toasted Fifty Shades as the biggest February movie opening weekend ever at $83.8 million, just a shade more than The Passion. But Mel Gibson’s Jesus film debuted on Ash Wednesday, not on Friday. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, in its first five days, The Passion grossed $125.5 million; Fifty Shades stood at $98.5 million. It received a lousy C-plus CinemaScore from audiences, so its ticket sales may begin to trail off.

That Brian Williams six-month suspension has fallen flat. His critics aren't mollified. His supporters are clearly dispirited. Everyone knows this one is not over -- though his tenure at NBC may very well be done.

The suspension isn't going to work for the same reason his apology went nowhere. It resolves nothing.