We’ve been impressed with the underlying positive message of “Blue Bloods” over the years, as well as its welcome treatment of Catholicism. But after a recent episode of the show, we’re now wondering whether CBS is turning on its audience. We were bombarded with complaints following the episode that aired on October 10.
Police Commissioner Frank Reagan could not defend the Church’s teachings on homosexuality, so when Catholicism was branded an “anti-gay faith,” he replied, “Well, I do believe the Church is a little behind the times on this.” Indeed, he went so far as to say, “I do believe the Church is backwards on this. And of all the stands to hold onto. In the midst of the scandals of the past decade.” Viewers also met a conflicted Cardinal Brennan, and a proud lesbian, Sister Mary.
The Bible is “anti-gay.” That was the logical conclusion that unfolded in the October 10 episode. The show also misrepresented the sexual abuse scandal: almost all the molesting priests were practicing homosexuals. Moreover, the scandal ended in the mid-1980s, thus showing how far behind the times the show’s writers are. As for the wavering cardinal and the wayward nun—it is what we would expect from writers who have decided to pivot.
Is CBS committing suicide? The audience for “Blue Bloods” has been carefully cultivated, so the price tag for alienating its base is high. Time will tell.
