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New York – Britney Spears released her comeback album Blackout on Tuesday to generally positive reviews from critics, but church leaders protested album art that pictured the troubled star sitting half naked on the lap of a priest.

The first album from Spears in four years came as allegations of drug and alcohol abuse complicate her custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline over their two children.

“Britney Spears hasn’t been able to lose the paparazzi in recent months, but she does joyously lose herself in music on her new Blackout,” USA Today’s reviewer enthused.

A New York Times reviewer noted that Spears was aided by the world’s top talent in producing the “bracingly unapologetic” album. “That doesn’t make it any harder to delight in how good the best songs sound,” the paper noted.

However, the Catholic League was not carried away by the risque poses of the provocative 25-year-old, calling them “a cheap publicity stunt.”

“This is all the puzzle pieces coming together. This girl is crashing,” said Bill Donohue, president of the New York-based Catholic League. “She’s not even allowed to bring up her own kids because she’s not responsible enough. Now we see she can’t even entertain.”