The October 26 edition of the CBS show “The District” was an hour-long drama based on the current scandal in the Catholic Church. Viewers were introduced to molesting priests, diocesan cover-ups and the like. It came on the heels of another CBS show that dealt with the same subject, the October 21 edition of “CSI: Miami.”
“It is one thing to use current issues as the basis of a TV script,” said William Donohue, “quite another to have actors turn directly into the camera to deliver a caustic statement on a world religion.” That is exactly what happened on this episode of ‘The District.’ When detective Temple looked right into the camera and pronounced on the virtue of putting faith in the Lord—but not in an institution—he was offering propaganda designed to denigrate the Catholic Church.
Similarly, there was a scene where detective Debrino was pictured alone, peering into the camera, commenting on celibacy. He opined that the discipline of celibacy is not God-given, but is rather a rule from the Middle Ages mandated by the Vatican to protect its economic assets. He says it is “man who banned sex, not God.”
Donohue commented on this in a news release: “There is a lot of dirt in the news these days about many racial, religious and ethnic groups. But we will not see these current events made the object of a CBS script. Catholic priests are another story. It needs to be said that two-thirds of one percent of Catholic priests have stepped aside this year pending accusations against them. No one knows how many perverts work at CBS, but even if it were determined that the figure exceeded one percent, it is a sure bet it would never morph into a script.”
In short, Donohue’s point is that it’s a lie to say that what CBS is doing is allowing art to imitate life. As a matter of fact, the makers of “CSI: Miami” recently said that they will postpone an episode on a sniper after what happened in the Beltway area. This proves how duplicitous these guys really are.
