The January 10 edition of the ABC show The Naked Truth, ridiculed Roman Catholicism from beginning to end. The show featured two female reporters who dressed as nuns and visited a Catholic Church in quest of determining whether actress Drew Barrymore was entering the convent. In the course of the show, the following incidents occurred:
- One of the reporters mentions that she once thought about becoming a nun but said that when “a little thing called the pill” came out, she changed her mind.
- When asked by a priest in the confessional when was the last time the woman went to confession, she replies, “What is this–the Spanish Inquisition?”
- One of the reporters spots a real nun and recognizes her as an old classmate. The nun, who is identified as “Luscious O’Farrell,” explains her decision to become a nun by saying, “I woke up one day and found that being a drunken slut was strangely unfulfilling.” Her reporter friend says, “Sr. Luscious would be the patron saint of porno actresses.”
- Holy water is thrown at one of the reporters by the priest as he exclaims, “Get thee back, Satan.”
- One of the reporters says she would be a good candidate for the sisterhood since she has no money, kids or sex. “Heck, I’m darn near a nun now,” she says.
- The final scene shows the priest coming out of the confessional taking off his collar saying, “I quit.”
The Catholic League offered the following response to the show:
“This edition of the ABC program The Naked Truth is another example of the degree to which Roman Catholicism is held in contempt by some in the media. Offensive and disgraceful, this show demonstrates that there are some in the television industry who have an agenda to discredit the Catholic Church. There is a difference between light humor and an assault on the beliefs and practices of Catholics, and this show clearly falls in the latter category.
“We will contact the sponsors of the program and will alert our members to take action against them. Knowing our members, they won’t hesitate to do so.”
