"The Closer" Hostile to Catholic Priest?
Sarah's new favorite TV show is "The Closer". In last night's episode, the show's protagonist, Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, seemed to take delight in acting very hostile to a Catholic priest.
Granted, the priest was a "peace and justice" free-the-convicted-murderer type who was using the students in his Catholic high school's government class to engage in political and social advocacy. But I thought the hostility was gratuitous.
Did anyone else see show and feel the same way?
UPDATE
I suppose we should feel somewhat gratified that the priest wasn't shown to be a sex abuser. But this show has recurring characters, so we can't count out its bringing back this particular priest for such a story line in the future.
posted by Pro Ecclesia 8:50 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
You are correct, I watched it too and while the priest was being a pest, Brenda was also being a bit curt. While I think the priest was well portrayed as being a liberal priest, they at least gave him credit at the end where he said he knew nothing about the crime plot between “butter face” and the convict. However I thought St. Gabriel made a comment after that about confession, which I don’t recall, but thought at the time was too much. Not enough to get all worked up over though. But here is some food for thought, TNT is in the same network ownership as our “buddies” over at CNN…
As my lovely (former teacher) wife pointed out, there is no way a teacher, priest or not, would be allowed to let his high school aged student’s communicate with a convicted criminal. It just wouldn’t happen in a school setting.
Sorry - I did not see it that way. While Brenda was skeptical about the priest when she first met him in her office, I don't think much happened until he compared the prisoner to Jesus Christ. That got me. Not knowing the innocence or guilt of that man and suddenly comparing his situation to injustice (as it turned out he was guilllllty!)
Probably this would not have happened to most schools, Catholic or otherwise, but I knew a few high schools that might entertain this idea - it is plausable. There's been a TV show about this issue of prisoner innocence but with adults as investigators.
Ministering to a prisoner, guilty or innocent, is what is to be done, but too much protection of a guilty man - because of idealism for the priest and because of loving feelings for the female student. Its not the only show that has depicted Catholics or Catholic clergy - sometimes idealism does get in the way of justice or correct action.
The only closer I care about is Trevor Hoffman.
Go Padres!
I guess my point is that it was the writers of the show that put those words in the priest's mouth. It was the writers who made the priest a somewhat contemptible figure.
My wife put it best while we were watching the show the other night: Hollywood used to portray the priests as the good guys.
Those days are long gone.
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