The former Fine Gael Taoiseach, Mr John Bruton TD, has accused RTÉ and the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) of "engaging in a form of secular puritanism, which should have no place in a liberal society".
Mr Bruton was responding to a decision by both RTÉ and the BCI not to authorise broadcasting a Christmas advertisement for the Irish Catholic weekly newspaper as it contained the words: "These are hard times for the Catholic Church, so hard that it's easy to forget all the good that the church does."
Legal advice given to both broadcasting bodies indicated the words were in contravention of the Broadcasting Act, as they could be construed as being directed towards "a political or religious end" or of advancing "the merits of joining a religion".
Mr Bruton suggested their interpretation of Section 65 of the Broadcasting Act meant the preamble to the Constitution with its reference to Christ would also have to be banned from the airwaves.
Mr Bruton said he believed both bodies were "wrong" in their interpretation of the Act and referred to the incongruity of a situation where "every second ad they broadcast is for a narcotic such as alcohol, yet they are not allowed say that religious adherence is a good thing".
In his opinion the words in the Irish Catholic advertisement were "factual and would be accepted as such by many non-believers".
"They could not be construed as working towards a religious end or towards the merits of joining a religion," he said. He believed RTÉ and the BCI were "wrong in law" and suggested their lawyers might reread the Constitution.
They should take note of Article 40 (6)(1)(i) which guaranteed freedom of speech, he said. By their current interpretation of the Broadcasting Act both would ban the preamble to the Constitution as it reads "We, the people of Éire, humbly acknowledging all our obligations to Our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial."
A spokesman for RTÉ said last night they were acting on legal advice that the wording did not comply with Section 65 of the Broadcasting Act.
Given such advice there was very little they could do, he said. They would be "delighted" to carry an advertisement which could be agreed with the Irish Catholic and which came within the terms of the Act, as had happened with recent Power to Change advertisements, he said.
Indeed they had suggested such a rewording to the Irish Catholic but had received "an intemperate response", he said.
The editor of the Irish Catholic, Mr David Quinn, said last night his response to the RTÉ/BCI decision on the advertisement was one of "extreme frustration".
He contrasted the attitude in Northern Ireland, where broadcasting organisations were generally "far more flexible in such matters".
