Bill Donohue comments on the October 10 episode of “Blue Bloods”; it stars Tom Selleck as police commissioner Frank Reagan:
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 last Friday’s show, we’re now wondering whether CBS is turning on its audience. We’ve been bombarded with complaints following the last episode.
Police Commissioner Reagan cannot defend the Church’s teachings on homosexuality, so when Catholicism is branded an “anti-gay faith,” he replies, “Well, I do believe the Church is a little behind the times on this.” Indeed, he goes 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 meet a conflicted Cardinal Brennan, and a proud lesbian, Sister Mary.
The Bible is “anti-gay.” That is the logical conclusion that unfolds in this episode. The show also misrepresents 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.
Contact Amy Miller at CBS: amy.miller@cbs.com
