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.”
Jorge, that was your statement and I asked you to please give an example. If you don't have an example, that's okay too. :)
Islam believes that any depiction of Muhammed (pictures, statues, etc.) is a form of blasphemy; to the best of my knowledge, the rest of the world has always respected this. NBC, CBS, ABC, etc. go out of their way to placate the religion that promotes the death and destruction of America, I think they should at least show the same level of respect for the religious traditions of much of America.
Now if a mosque was disparaged by NBC you can bet there would be an instant apology and another apology and another apology.
Flushing Christ down the toilet or making the viewer believe this is respectful?
Of course. Flushing a Communion wafer down a toilet is clearly an insult to the Christian faith in general.
However, I can see how refusing Communion to a Protestant Christian by Catholics was also insulting, because it happened to me once, and I have never gone back to a Catholic Church since.
Christians are not a protected class. To them, Christians are the enemy.
I am not the paranoid type, but I suspect we are in for more persecution than we have seen up till now.
Absolutely friends. I think the phrase "also believe the host represents..." was what threw me. Sorry. Also was the word that set me off.
I just find this whole thing so horrific, I went off easily.
Sorry.
preach on! of the evil in the world i can't believe this is even a blip on the screen. people here are bitching about a show they didn't even see.
furthermore, that girl is a hotty and brightens my evening everytime i watch that show.
:-)))
Just plain nasty.
How could you receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Catholic Church when you do not believe it is the Body and Blood of Christ? All people are welcome to come to any Catholic Church but you should respect the religion of the house you are attending as well as your own denomination.
Oh for goodness sake. A communion wafer discarded is "blasphemy?" That is so silly. You are taking offense at the wrong thing.
BLASPHEMY!!!
yes, but in a free society, bad taste must be tolerated or christians, oops Christians, are just as bad as taliban regimes... don't watch the show.
move on. pray for forgiveness from the horrible thoughts projected on the ignorant writers of a horrible sitcom...
Jesus is bigger than that and i am sure he has a sense of humor that is pretty good, why else would He come up with only ten commandments to get into heaven and still have people complain eternal salvation is hard to achieve... why else would He construct the most efficient self-sustaining biosphere in a way that its scientific inhabitants would think it was all happenstance... why else would he sanction marriage to last until death do us part so that both will be happy in heaven...
teeman
"Flushing Christ down the toilet or making the viewer believe this is respectful?"
They didn't flush Christ down the toilet. When they thought they might have, they were both mortified. Nobody made fun of Catholics or their beliefs.
Like I said, it was a farce about two inept non-Catholics trying to be respectful. Put an Ace bandage on that knee.
Weak argument.
Any of the disciples could have heard what Jesus said, looked at the bread, and KNOWN that they were not ACTUALLY taking bites out of Jesus Himself.
It was clearly a Holy symbolic spiritual representation.
I guess you belief Christ Himself actually had to go through the experience of being flushed down a toilet at the moment this show was filmed?
Are you kidding?
To the left, the only "protected" religion is Islam; and for whatever the reason, the more destruction the Jihadists produce, the more the left applauds them.
Because Catholics believe that the Host is Christ Himself, truly present, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, and most Protestants do not (excepting some Episcopalians - the ones who aren't really Protestant ;-) ) it would be sacrilegious to offer communion to someone who does NOT believe in transubstantiation. Just as it would be sacrilegious for a Protestant to offer communion to somebody that he knows is an atheist.
I'm Catholic, and I voted for Buchanan because he not only represented my concerns about national security and economic issues, he is unashamedly pro life. Of course since I mentioned his name, I'll probably get flamed.
I no longer closely scrutinize a politican's pro life credentials, but vote against the democrats. Sucks, huh?
Even if one believes in the spurious doctrine of transubstantiation, the wafer doesn't become Jesus until the priest says it becomes Jesus. Until then it is just a piece of bread. It isn't blasphemous to throw away a piece of bread and it isn't blasphemous to throw away a wafer that may or may not have been used sometime in the future for communion.
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