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 comes on the heels of another CBS show that dealt with the same subject, the October 21 edition of “CSI: Miami.”
Catholic League president William Donohue explains why “The District” crossed the line and offers some remarks on CBS:
“It is one thing to use current issues as the basis of a TV script, quite another to have actors turn directly into the camera to deliver a caustic statement on a world religion. That is exactly what happened last Saturday night on ‘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 is a scene where detective Debrino is pictured alone, peering into the camera, commenting on celibacy. He opines 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.’
“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, it is 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’ said last week that they will postpone an episode on a sniper after what happened in the Beltway area. This proves how duplicitous these guys really are.”
