FOX-TV'S "HOUSE" EXPLOITS CATHOLICISM
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on last night's episode of "House," a Fox-TV program:
The show opens depicting a Latino man carrying a cross, upon which he is then crucified; he is shown spitting up blood profusely. After he is taken to a hospital, we learn the reason for his crucifixion: he had made a deal with God to endure a crucifixion every year that his daughter remained cancer free.
The man is then diagnosed by Dr. House as having a rare case of Multiple Sclerosis; embryonic stem cell treatment is recommended, but the advice is rejected. He is then lied to by Dr. House, who says his daughter was misdiagnosed—the cancer never went away. Disillusioned, the man now agrees to the treatment that his faith proscribes. When he recovers, he learns that his daughter's cancer was, in fact, cured. The man is angry with Dr. House about being deceived and duped. But Dr. House justifies what he did, proclaiming there is no God.
Throughout the show, belief in God is constantly ridiculed, Jesus is mocked, the crucifixion is the butt of sarcasm, people of faith are portrayed as delusional, and respect for the human status of the embryo is treated with derision. Moreover, religion is dubbed by Dr. House as something which is "communicable and it kills a lot of people." As if we needed any further proof which religion the episode was referring to, the pope's name is dropped. [To read a partial transcript, click here.]
There is something perverse about what Fox Entertainment did last night. That it would trash Catholicism for one-straight hour, on the eve of the holiday season, makes the term low-class seem too generous.
Contact Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly: kevin.reilly@fox.com
