Posted on 02/24/2005 7:06:21 PM PST by wagglebee
An episode of the NBC sitcom "Committed,” featuring two characters who flush a Communion wafer down a toilet, has created a firestorm of protest among Catholics.
During the February 22 broadcast, two non-Catholics are mistakenly given Holy Communion at a Catholic funeral Mass. As recounted by the Catholic League:
"Nate, who is Jewish, and Bowie, a Protestant, don’t know what to do with the Eucharist, so they make several failed attempts to get rid of it. For example, they try slipping it into the pocket of a priest, dropping it on a tray of cheese and crackers, etc.
"At one point, the priest, who is portrayed as not knowing the difference between the Host and a cracker, goes to grab the 'cracker' from a tray of appetizers; he initially balks when he discovers that it is the last one. Then he changes his mind, saying, "Oh, what the hell.”
"By far the most offensive scene occurs when Nate and Bowie accidentally flush what they think is the Host down the toilet."
Catholic League President William Donahue is demanding that NBC apologize.
"To say that Catholics are angry about this show would be an understatement - the outrage is visceral and intense," he said Thursday.
"NBC has made a direct frontal assault on Roman Catholicism, choosing to mock, trivialize and ridicule the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ," Donahue added. "More than an apology is needed. This episode should be retired for good, and that is what we will demand.”
I finally found the site I was looking for.
Excerpt:
Since 1910, the sisters at Clyde have produced altar bread as a primary source of revenue, but in 1991, with many smaller communities facing insurmountable production problems and personnel shortages, an Altar Bread Seminar was convened at Clyde. It was there that the Clyde sisters came to an altruistic decision. They would bake the bread, cut, and then sell it at a wholesale rate to smaller contemplative communities, mostly other Benedictines, Carmelites and Poor Clares. Those smaller communities would then package and sell it in their dioceses.
But market pressures from large corporations, most notably the Cavanaugh Company, the largest distributor of altar bread in the country, continue to threaten what was once almost exclusively the ministry of women religious. Less than 30 religious communities are still baking altar bread in the U.S., down from more than 200 in the late 1960s. Sister Rita Clair Dohn, director of Clyde’s altar bread operation, estimates that today only five percent of the market belongs to women religious.
More here: http://www.conceptionabbey.org/TowerTopics/TTSpring2003/altarbread.htm
Thank you.
Thank you!
| Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) | Promotes artificial contraceptive "rights," including abortion. Their focus is the "intersection of Catholic teaching and public policy." Bishop Bruskewitz excommunicated those that belong to this group in his Diocese. Member of Catholic Organizations for Renewal. They have been condemned by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). |
"I don't need some Catholic priest to tell God my sins for me."
That's not what happens in Confession. After all, it's not like you're telling God anything He doesn't already know.
The priest is there to advise you as you accuse yourself of your sins before God, and to help you to a good examination of conscience.
Then, in reliance on the word of Our Lord as set forth in Holy Scripture, he grants Absolution and assigns penance.
It's a wonderful thing. I can literally feel the weight of my sins lifted from my shoulders when the priest pronounces those beautiful words: ego te absolvo...I absolve you...
Our Lord is present in a special way in the Eucharist. It is my belief that He is also present in a special way in the confessional.
** I have never gone back to a Catholic Church since.**
You are always welcome to return to the church. Make an appointment and sit down and talk with a staff member or a priest. Or attend a class for Returning Catholics -- someone there can help you.
Sorry....I find this unbelievable. Not that you would be ignorant about communion, but that you would make such a big deal about it. A rational person would have accepted the situation and then, if curious about it, would have educated themselves as to the reason. You either made this up or you already had a bias about Catholicism and used this as an excuse to be offended.
**I suspect we are in for more persecution than we have seen up till now.**
And the fact that this show even aired is proof that it is already here!
NBC Show outrage and discussion of the Holy Eucharist.
"And the fact that this show even aired is proof that it is already here!"
Did anybody besides me actually see the show?
You are correct. A non-Catholic is encouraged to come up at Communion time with their arms over their chest (sometimes just a hand) and receive a blessing from the priest. It happens all the time.
I hope you read a little more. You are mistaken.
How awful. Nothing funny about this. To Catholics-the Communion wafer, once it's been consecrated IS the body of Christ. This is a deliberate slap at Catholics, and all Christians.
"Oh for goodness sake. A communion wafer discarded is "blasphemy?" That is so silly. You are taking offense at the wrong thing."
In the first place, there was no communion wafer on the show. They were actors. There were no priests involved and nothing had been blessed. Secondly, an actor playing a priest ate the simulated wafer on the show.
The writer of this article was trying to inflame Catholics. He's the one who should be scorned.
But this was a consecrated host that they supposedly received during Communion.
I wonder if the next episode will feature characters flushing the Koran down the toilet? Nope that will never happen, only Christians are fair game for slurs and insults.
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