ABC’s fall schedule includes “Nothing Sacred,” a drama about a Catholic priest that few Catholics would recognize as one of their own. Slotted for prime time on Thursday evenings (8 p.m. ET), the show stars Kevin Anderson as Father Ray. The character is described by Entertainment Weekly as an “irreverent priest who questions the existence of God, feels lust in his heart, and touches people’s souls.” The Tampa Tribune says that the priest “faces a corrupt parish and self-doubt.” From the Orange County Register, we learn that the show stars an “iconoclastic priest with a prodigiously sinning parish.”
ABC, which is owned by Disney, describes the show as follows: “It’s tough being a priest in the ‘90s, just ask Father Ray (Kevin Anderson). In one morning alone, he has nearly been fired for advising a pregnant teenager to follow her own instincts. He has had to turn down a bribe in the confessional, even though he’s desperate for money to keep his church afloat. His college flame has just walked back into his life and reignited old passions. And now his mentor is asking him to deliver a sermon proving the existence of God. How should he know if God exists?…he hasn’t even read the book yet!”
William Donohue commented on the show today:
“The last time Disney portrayed the Catholic clergy was in its Miramax production ‘Priest,’ and now it appears that it is picking up where it left off by providing viewers with another sick look at priests. For some reason, Disney seems to bear an animus against Catholicism, and that is why it is bent on fostering the most negative stereotype of priests that it can offer.
“On March 28, 1995, the Catholic League was the first organization in the nation to call for a boycott of Disney. It is great news to know that so many others have now followed suit. What ‘Nothing Sacred’ demonstrates is that the culture war will continue and that is why we will do all we can to rally the public against Disney for its latest outrage.”
