On Thursday’s Good Morning America, ABC promoted yet another viciously anti-Catholic television show, this time on HBO called The Young Pope. The show stars Jude Law as a presently instated amoral and power-hungry American pope. The ABC panel introduced the show as “controversial” and “sparking outrage” before dismissing it as only unwatchable because it was “boring.” Yet the fact that ABC spent time covering the show without actually passing judgement or warning of it’s content, shows where the network really stands on promoting anti-Catholic “entertainment.”
After watching a brief clip of the show, anchors Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan appeared alarmed by the show’s tone. Strahan noted that it was “already sparking outrage” and after watching the clip, he “can see why.”
Strahan then brought in former People Magazine editor and correspondent Larry Hackett to get his take. Instead of acknowledging the show’s anti-Catholic content, Hackett began by touting the show as to debuting in Italy to “raves” and “very good viewership.” Then Hackett dismissed the controversy as just another thing Catholics will get upset about.
HACKETT: Look as a former altar boy and choir boy I can assure you that, you know, as surely as the eucharist follows the homily there will be people who find this completely offensive and one more attack on the Catholic church.
Robin Roberts noted that the show wasn’t “based on any particular pope” before asking Cokie Roberts, whose mother was a U.S. ambassador, what she thought of the show.
Cokie wasn’t bothered by the show’s disrespectful attitude towards the Catholic Church, but instead advised people not watch it because it was “boring.”
COKIE ROBERTS: [L]ook, we watched this just now in the makeup room. Lots of clips of it and what I've got to say it's awful. It is really just tedious and boring and, you know, all of that mystery and stuff, it gets lost in these long, long speeches and really it's not worth getting exercised over because it's just so bad.
If it’s “not worth getting exercised over” as Roberts urged, then why is ABC even promoting the show, by bringing it up, to begin with? The tired theme of the corrupt Catholic church and slimy Pope has been overused in entertainment, and this show continues the trend to rave media reviews.
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