A PETA ad featuring naked former Playboy model Joanna Krupa clutching a crucifix has been slammed by the Catholic church.

The Polish-born Dancing With The Stars regular poses as a nude angel with a strategically-placed cross (barely) covering her 'modesty' in a new campaign to promote the adoption of homeless animals.

Not surprisingly PETA's latest shock approach to furthering their cause has attracted the attention of the Catholic church, who have criticised the animal charity for their “totally inappropriate” use of religious imagery.

"It's another instance of disrespect toward Christianity and another example of the kind of abuse that would never occur with any other major religion, because the outcry would be so immediate and so loud that the people behind it would immediately retreat," Deal Hudson, publisher of InsideCatholic.com, tells Fox News.

Krupa's 2007 ad for PETA

Catholic League President Bill Donohue weighed in with this statement: "The fact is that cats and dogs are a lot safer in pet stores than they are in the hands of PETA employees.

"Moreover, pet stores don't rip off Christian iconography and engage in cheap irreligious claims."

Naked for a cause