NBC'S Unabated Catholic Bashing

Blasphemy is "the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God."

On February 22, NBC broadcast an egregiously insulting episode of the sitcom "Committed,” using consecrated Communion wafers as comic fodder.

In the name of humor, two of the show's characters flushed a Communion wafer down a toilet!

For Catholics, that Communion wafer literally is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Priests do know the difference between a Communion wafer and a cracker, and they don't swear when they receive Communion.

Predictably, the "Committed" episode created a firestorm of protest among Catholics.

The Catholic League, a faithful watchdog, reported that during the episode two non-Catholics were mistakenly given Holy Communion at a Catholic funeral Mass and could not figure out a suitable way to deal with the situation.

"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 demanded that NBC apologize for "a direct frontal assault on Roman Catholicism, choosing to mock, trivialize and ridicule the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ."

Is NBC reporting on eBay's recent sacrilegious marketing of consecrated Communion wafers?

And the April 24, 2005 edition of NBC's "Meet The Press" deplorably demonstrated that the Catholic Church remains a prime NBC target.

NBC assembled a group to discuss Pope Benedict XVI, formerly known as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

NBC gave its forum to historian Thomas Cahill to denounce the late Pope John Paul the Great for destroying the Catholic Church and appointing "mindless sycophants and incompetents" and "head-in-the-sand yes men" as bishops.

Mr. Cahill has an agenda: he doesn't want Popes to appoint bishops and apparently does want an end to priestly celibacy and a solely male priesthood

"The solution...is to return episcopal election to the people which is where it was in the early church. You could not--if Peter were to rise from beneath his grave in the Vatican and comeupstairs, would not be able to recognize this church as his. In fact, Peter, who was martyred about '63, was certainly not a bishop and he certainly was not bishop of Rome and he's certainly not pope. He was one of the leaders of the early church. The idea of episcopacy in the sense that we now use it really comes into play toward the end of the first century as a response to heresies and the need to create some form of doctrinal order. But it takes almost 2,000 years to put us in the position that we are now in where the papacy or the pope makes all of these appointments so that these bishops are not really bishops of their people. They are simply appointees of the pope. That was never the idea. It really is a theological mistake, and it is responsible for the horrendous scandal in American Catholicism and in many other countries. I refer to the pedophilia scandal. If we had bishops who were not head in the sand yes men, this could have been dealt with, but the pedophilia was bad enough in itself and really had to do with internal psychological immaturities in the celibate clergy but what was much worse was the cover-up which happened--it seems to me that Bernard Law, cardinal cover-up himself, is a perfect example of the mistakes that John Paul II made in his appointments. The people of Boston would never have elected Cardinal Law."

NBC also invited E.J. Dionne, a Washington Post and New Republic columnist, to acknowledge that "as a Catholic" he "was petrified" at the choice of the 265th Pope.

According to Mr. Dionee: "Pope Benedict's vision of the Church is that it should comprise a tough band of orthodox believers who confront modernity and uphold the truths the Church teaches, without any hesitations."

Apparently, Mr. Dionne favors a weak group of doubters who abandon the truths the Church teaches, hesitatingly.

Moderator Tim Russert took offense when Rev. Joseph Fessio calmly and correctly mentioned what surely should not have been news to Mr. Russert: that some theological matters did not lend themselves to sound bite answers, and pathetically patted himself on the back for devoting a whole show to the current condition of the Catholic Church.

Mr. Russert read extensively from Mr. Cahill's recent diatribe against the late Pope John Paul the Great in The New York Times:

"Sadly, Pope John Paul II represented a different tradition, one of aggressive appalls. Whereas Pope John XXIII endeavored simply to show the validity of church teaching rather than to issue condemnations. John Paul II was an enthusiastic condemner. ...he was not a great religious figure. How could he be? He may, in time to come, be credited with destroying his church."

"John Paul II's most lasting legacy to Catholicism will come from the episcopal appointments he made. In order to have been named a bishop, a priest must have been seen to be absolutely opposed to masturbation, premarital sex, birth control (including condoms used to prevent the spread of AIDS), abortion, divorce, homosexual relations, married priests, female priests and any hint of Marxism. It is nearly impossible to find men who subscribe wholeheartedly to this entire catalogue of certitudes; as a result the ranks of the episcopate are filled with mindless sycophants and intellectual incompetents."

"I think that Christians as a group often make the mistake of exclusivism, of trying to draw the circle that much tighter and that much smaller of excluding rather than including, which I think is an extremely basically un-Christian format. Jesus said, 'We must include everyone just as God does.'

"I think that in many ways, John Paul made mistakes in that direction, and though the piazza was full for many days, the churches are largely empty in many parts of the world and they will not fill up simply because of the phenomenon that we have noticed over the last few weeks. I think the kind of, what I would call, recidivist theology of someone like the previous speaker is, ahistorical. It is not based on the true history of Christianity, it's fanciful, and it is lacking in compassion for millions and millions of people who can't meet the supposed standards. When Jesus sat down next to the woman at the well and talked to her for a very long time, then he said, 'Why don't you go and bring your husband out.' And she said, 'I don't have a husband,' and he said, 'You're right. You've had five husbands and the man who you're living with right now isn't your husband.' And she said, 'Wow.' And she went into the town and said, 'I've just met the Messiah.' Now, he didn't say to her, 'Before you have communion with me, you must go back to your first husband.' No, he didn't talk about her div--he kind of engaged her on the subject of her divorces, but a church that says, for instance, of divorce people know they may not commune with Jesus I think is making the terrible un-Christian un-evangelical mistake and I think it does it in many other areas, largely related to either sexuality or women."

First, as Jesus said in "The Lord's Prayer": "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Sinners are to repent, not revel in and deny their sins and reclassify them as goods.

Second, when the adulterous was about to be stoned to death but for Jesus' intercession, he told her that he did not condemn her and to go forth and sin no more.

NBC also made room for Sister Mary Aquin O'Neil to expound upon her concerns about Pope Benedict XVI and curiously credit "a line in a wonderful work by Karen Armstrong, 'The Spiral Staircase,' her latest book, where she says, 'We must make room in our minds for one another," in helping her to relate to Pope Benedict XVI despite her "great concern" about him based on his reputation.

Mr. Russert repeatedly turned to The New York Times, as though it were the Bible, for more criticism of Pope Benedict XVI:

"The New York Times Wednesday had this article: 'He has repeatedly condemned "religious pluralism" and relativism, the idea that other religions can hold the way to salvation, and he has been instrumental in blocking the advance of priests who support such view. In 2000 the Vatican document "Dominus Jesus," in which Cardinal Ratzinger was the driving voice, called for a new Catholic evangelism and described other faiths as lesser searches for the truth. "This truth of faith does not lessen the sincere respect which the church has for the religions of the world," the document said, "but at the same time, it rules out, in a radical way, that mentality of indifferentism characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that 'one religion is as good as another."'"

Mr. Russert understandably bewildered Reverend Fessio, who knows Pope Benedict XVI, by insinuating (Mr. Russert put the "sin" in "insinuate") that Pope Benedict XVI is "very dangerous."

"MR. RUSSERT: Father Fessio, Hans Kung, who used to be a mentor to Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and has obviously had a rather strained relationship with him--he's a theologian--said that the new pope is 'very sweet but very dangerous.' You have worked with Cardinal Ratzinger. How would you respond with that?

"REV. FESSIO: Well, Tim, first of all, I've been listening to these comments and I'm kind of bewildered, because it's hard to know how to respond to them. My experience of Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, is of a man who is very gentle, extremely gracious, a wonderful listener and with a great sense of humor, always that. And I realize he's got bad press because he's had to be the one to oversee the documentation of the church. But I think even the press and the media are already surprised. They're saying, 'Gee, he seems so much nicer than we thought.' But there was a false image that was presented before of this man. And remember, for Catholics it's not so important who the pope is, but that we have a pope at all, that if there's going to be unity in the church there must be someone who's a visible sign and a guardian of that unity. So Cardinal Ratzinger is going to be 'conservative,' as the media likes to call him, because every Catholic has got to be someone who receives a message and passes it on.

"If Benedict XVI, Tim, gave you a message for me and you deliver it to me and I say, 'Well, Tim, is that just what he told you?' You say, 'Well, no, Father, I made a little change here. I thought I would improve this and that was a little outmoded.' I say, 'Wait a minute, Tim, I want to know what he said to me.' And we believe, as Catholics, that God himself has revealed himself in Jesus Chris to us, and given us the fullness of truth, truth which we cannot invent on our own. And so we believe, by the very nature of our faith, that it's very important that we receive these truths, we understand them, we cherish them, we try to pass them on to others and live them, but not to change them or dilute them or modify them. So any person who is a priest or a bishop or a pope or a Catholic, for that matter, is going to have to be conservative in the sense of trying to maintain this beautiful revelation that Jesus, who is God, died for your sins, died for my sins, died for all men's sins, and loves us all, but that's the fullness of truth. So we're going to respect Buddhists. We're going to respect people who have no belief at all, because they're in the image of God.

"At the same time, if we're Catholics, we believe that God has enlightened us. He's given us the knowledge that he does love everyone, and we have to pass that on. So for Kung to say he's dangerous, I think he's dangerous the way Jesus was dangerous. You know, Jesus came; he was rejected by many. But for those who did respond to him, he was the source of eternal life. And I love Sister's reference to her motto, 'The truth will set you free.' You see, I believe that was one of Ratzinger's greatest abilities, was to listen to all kinds of people, all kinds of positions, and then, in the light of the Gospel, present a fullness of response which enlightened people and which energized people. And that's why, again, in his own motto, he serves our joy. I think we have here a pope who'll take the name of Benedict who's going to try and re-Christianize our culture and reach out to everyone through prayer, through the Eucharist."

And let us pray not only for the success of Pope Benedict XVI's papacy, but that Mr. Russert and NBC are educable and can be saved.

Michael J. Gaynor 95 Darrow Lane Greenlawn, New York 11740-2803 (631) 757-9452 (tel) (631) 754-3437 (fax) GaynorMike@aol.com

Contact: Michael J. Gaynor NY, US Michael J. Gaynor - Attorney, 631-757-9452 Email: GaynorMike@aol.com Keywords: NBC, Meet The Press, Pope Benedict XVI, Tim Russert,

NBC is virulently anti-Catholic, but also is ferociously hateful to all devout people of faith. And so are the rest of the mass media.

As a result, I disconnected my cable TV and have not watched TV in over a year. Try it, you actually feel mentally CLEAN!!!

One of the most popular shows in Ireland, with its 95% Catholic population, was Father Ted. It portrayed the priests as bumbling idiots, drunks, etc. Everyone loved it. If you get BBC America, it is shown here.

Sometimes it can be just a bit of humor at the Church's (Catholic in this case) expense and not Catholic bashing.

I am Catholic, Republican and Pro-Life and I think the media is biased to the left most of the time...but this article is over the top, IMHO. I am reminded of Geroge Will's latest op-ed in which he basically writes for those of us with faith to stop whining, making ourselves victims, and lead the country (since we are a majority).

I can't stand liberals because the whine too much. As a Catholic, I am not going to fall into victim mode because I (and we) are not victims.

As the old saying goes:

"If taking a lot of flak, that means you are over the target."

The virulent nature by which the hopelessly libertine, relativist NBC shows their hatred of the new Pope Benedictum XVI, clearly shows then that the Holy Spirit was in effect and had the right idea when moving through the Vatican Conclave to select this man of moral values and strength.

The more NBC bash him the more we know the Catholic Church has not been coopted, or rendered powerless, in the fight between Light and Darkness. They can continue to 'bring it on' as far as I am concerned.

The Truth will never flinch nor retreat.

Will is too optimistic. Reminds me of the old saw, Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean that non one is out to get you.

Its just another thread in the 'anti-majority' theme.

Its "OK" to Catholic Bash, becuase catholics are such a majority that they don't need the same protection (rights) as minorities.

Just like "white males" are open fodder for anyone. Mostly black man can make from of black men, muslims can make muslim jokes, but everyone is encouraged to make 'dumb white guy' jokes.

The BEST you can hope for these days is an "Equal Opportunity Offendor" who just blasts everyone. Like Dave Chapelle or whatever.

But I guarantee you, if you replace that scene with Islam, a Mosque, a Shiek, and the Koran... it would have NEVER have aired.

Sometimes it can be just a bit of humor at the Church's (Catholic in this case) expense and not Catholic bashing.

I, for one, am not easily offended.

BUT, there is absolutely nothing funny about flushing the host down the toilet.

Anti catholicism is getting pretty bad these days. My roommate's First Amendment final exam yesterday (we're law students) included a hypothetical involving analyzing free speech rights of hypothetical protesters at the Pope's funeral. The professer thought up some truly revolting chants attributed to these hypothetical protesters, which my roommate paraphrased for me. They involved obscenity, profanity, and necrophilia, and of course, pedophilia, all either perpetrated by the pope or committed on his dead body. I know it's a freedom of speech class, but there's got to be a less offensive way to examine students. My roommate says he felt fairly offended. I was fuming when he told me about it. Imagine the uproar if the pope was replaced with MLK.

I also turned off my cable during Lent of 2004 and never had it reconnected. I watch TV maybe twice a week at the most.

However, we Catholics need to decided exactly how outraged we are over the immense disrespect hurled at us through the mass media. We can't keep complaining if we don't have the conviction to turn the TV off and be done with it. I never thought I could do it, but we did. For every one of my fellow Catholics who become angry at this article, ask yourself if you're angry enough to sacrifice the TV in the name of your faith. There's many many other ways to get information and entertainment in this day and age without lining the pockets of NBC.

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