Catholic League Denouces Bones

Thanks to Evi!

(Mod's note: This is a hot button issue for a lot of people, so I'm just issuing a brief 'remember not to be mean' note. I'm sure it won't be needed.)

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CATHOLIC BASHING MARKS FOX'S "BONES"

October 9, 2008


On the October 8 episode of the Fox program, “Bones,” the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation was ridiculed. The show, which features a female forensic specialist called “Bones,” and a male detective, Seeley Booth, began with an exchange regarding a female Protestant minister who is missing. Here is how it went:

· Booth: “She’s a pastor. Yeah. Looks like one of those grassroots community churches.”
· Bones: “Huh. She was preparing for a sermon.”
· Booth: “A pastor with augmentation and veneers.”
· Bones: “So?”
· Booth: “A spiritual leader shouldn’t be so vain.”
· Bones: “The pope sits on a throne. He wears robes worth hundreds of dollars. Isn’t that vanity?”
· Booth: “Oh, really? You’re going after the pope now?”
· Bones: “One pastor gets her teeth whitened, and the other drinks wine on Sunday mornings and tells everyone that it’s been miraculously transformed into blood. Which of those is more outlandish?”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented as follows:

“We had complaints about this show following the episodes that aired on March 28, 2007, and on April 19, 2006, but we decided not to make a public protest because we didn’t think the incidents in question were clear-cut cases of bigotry. But for two reasons, this one is different: a) it cuts to the heart and soul of Catholicism and b) it was entirely gratuitous.

“It does not matter that non-Catholics may not accept what happens at Mass. What matters is that they show respect. And to just throw this line in while the opening credits are running—about a minister, no less—shows how mean-spirited the writers are. If only they thought of Catholics as if they were an indigenous people, we’d be fine.”

Contact Scott Grogin, Senior VP for Communications, at [Only admins are allowed to see this link]



Personally, I disagree and felt like the episode was balanced in it's approach to both religion and the the issue of transgender.

Thoughts, anyone?

I agree with you, Willi. It was arguing there. Booth protected his views and Bones protected her. So... It was balanced. Sorry, if anybody is Catholic or something else, I think, that it was not a big deal...

I think it's just ridiculous to complain about something like that.
I'm not religious and maybe that's the reason I never even thought about this before, but I think it was a normal discussion.
Brennan and Booth were arguing and Booth was even defending the church.
Calling it bigotry goes a little far I think....but I'll never understand the catholic church anyway......

I'm a preacher's kid, and I didn't find it offensive. I think that people just like to find things to complain about. It's a TV show for heaven's sake!! It's not like someone said it to puposefully tick someone off. It's not even real people!

this doesn't surprise me. i remember donohue going after like harry potter and the da vinci code.

he has some weird paranoia that everyone and everything is out to attack Catholicism and/or the christian faith.

im sure Catholics would agree that he doesn't speak for them, although he likes to think he does.

I'm not Catholic but I was offended. I'm also not easily offended. But that line wasn't what offended me. I tend to think he has a very valid point however.

Well, controversary is not always bad.

its a television show.............they are characters.......fictional..........come on.........focus on the real world..........

It just shows the right wing side of things. The people that complain do not know the whole story of Brennan. For goodness sake---this is the 4th season!

Let's see... My mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandmother-in-law, and sister are all ministers with my brothers in law going into the ministry, too. I understand how people can be sensitive and they have the right to. Brennan represents the viewpoints of a lot of people in the world. She definitely rubs people the wrong way, but her viewpoint is a real one. The first part of the episode made me very annoyed, but from the point that the son came into view until the end redeemed itself tenfold. I really loved it. Seeing the son going into the ministry again almost brought me to tears. It was really beautiful.

I actually like how brash Brennan can be. I love seeing Booth and Brennan butting heads with their beliefs. It's fun to watch.

But what it all boils down to is that it's television. If you don't like it, turn it off.

Well I am not a religious person at all, and of all the religions I do find the Catholic faith to be the most confusing. I am not saying that's a bad thing, it's just confusing for me. I also think that Bones being thrown into the 'religious debate' of the day is junk. Booth is a Catholic, they portray him as a very religious man who lives by his moral code and that of the bible. It's never said that the show is OVER Catholic if Booth goes on a rant. Bones is an atheist, that is how they have portrayed her from day one. I remember in season 1 when they had a Muslim bomber in one episode, I do believe she thought that religion was a little preposterous too, were there Muslims up in arms? Were there people banging on Fox's door slagging them for it, no. I guess this week was a little slow for this gentleman and so he decided to take it out on Bones. I didn't think it was that bad, but then again it's not my faith.

Bella

Personally, I'm an atheist. I cannot see how Bones/The Da Vinci Code/Harry Potter/anything else is being anti-Catholic or anti-anything unless it's published as non-fiction. It's all fiction. And to be honest, I find the religious stuff on Bones to be not too bad, I think they let both Brennan and Booth view their opinions about religions. That's just my opinion, I guess!

I think people like getting worked up about stuff. This is a controversial show because it deals with murder and the lives of those people, and that will always bring up controversy, if you can't handle it or think something was offensive, change the channel. The writers of the show were not trying to pick on catholics, as they made Booth a devout Catholic, nor were they trying to pick on transgender. I found the episode well balanced and in no need of people getting freaked out over it.

I applaud anyone who is willing to make a stand for what they believe in. Just because something is in a television show doesn't mean people should excuse it. Morals are thrown out the window way too easily these days. The intent was not to offend... but it was to cause controversy. This was the reaction that the writers were looking for because it gets people talking about the show and gets the show publicity. If someone had made a comment to my face with the same level of disrespect, I would stand up to them about it. Just because it's fiction or on tv should not change that. If it did then I'd be a hypocrite. The media is a constant influence in our lives and not always for good. I don't have to understand all of why it offended to know that that was a subject perhaps better left alone and I was a little disappointed that Booth basically just let it slide. I think that had he had a stronger reaction, there would be less offense. Also this isn't the one incident... there were complaints about two other episodes as well which indicates it's a repeating pattern. Perhaps they have let it slide. We'll never know as we are not the ones who have complained.

Yes, it is Brennan's opinion. Yes, the writers shouldn't have to write to please certain religious groups. But that doesn't mean everyone has to be happy about it or sit back and be quiet as their beliefs are trampled on. They are allowed just as much of an opinion as anyone else.

Phoebs,

I do agree with you, but there are also many atheists out there too, and this is their belief, so maybe they get offended when their beliefs are thrown out the window. I feel that as a society today we are offended a little too easily. Like a Jewish man who got offended because there was a Christmas tree set up in an airport, so the airport took it down. Christmas is one of the biggest Christian holidays of the year, and it's not like it sneaks up on people, it's always on Dec. 25. I don't think he was offended per se, he was just making a point because he could. I also feel that we cater to Christian beliefs a lot more than we do other religions, and that isn't always correct either. Everyone has the personal right to believe in whatever they choose, but they must understand that there is a whole lot of programming out there and if they didn't like well then, don't watch it. I didn't feel it was that offensive, and my good friend who is a Minister didn't either. She could see both sides of the story.

Bella

There is an agenda. Let me address a few less than obvious portions of people's "arguments" as presented.

1) The value systems now held as "common sense" and practical displays of "humanity" by non-religious people completely obfuscates and ignores the fact that those are all premises of a Judeo-Christian world view. Prior to and without the influence of these two religious belief systems are none of the "rights," "liberties," or "freedoms" lauded so highly today in all Western cultures and a great many Eastern ones. It has simply been that "Christian Nations" have ruled the planet for at least 2,000 years. The influence of Christianity, especially, has been demonstrated in every major civil liberty exercised since the Roman emperor, Constantine. Documents such as the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence are entirely predicated on the equalities and liberties which the Bible and NO OTHER religious or secular writing set forth. The idea that all men and women of every ethnicity on earth are of equal value and worth is entirely without support outside of Christian teaching. It has been adopted by other groups but it gets its power from the religious faith behind its teaching. That the "modern world" has adopted a desire to turn away from thousands of years of this ideology and heritage is the fundamental cause for the failing of the intent to do good, today. Deny the power source all you want. The lights do not stay on without it.

2) There is no accepted standard of measure in today's world. All beliefs and thoughts are held as equal. All rules and laws and words are held in question, challenged, doubted, discarded and replaced with nothing substantive.

3) There is a new religion and it is being forced down everyone's throat. That religion is "pseudo -science." There is no fact other than a lab result. What "fact" or lab results permitted Brennan to emphatically denounce the belief of the Catholics for Transubstantiation across a global media source?

4) The other agenda is a concerted attack on Christianity, especially. Was there really a need for the story presented to use characters that were ministers to deal with a transgender issue? Not at all. It was a bully pulpit to attack the convictions of millions of people.

In this world of ignorance and arrogance there are many that believe that the "modern mind" is beyond any that has come before. Real science proves the opposite. We are no more advanced than were the Greeks or Egyptians or Romans. We have the same size brain and genome. There are still aspects of their "primitive cultures" and understanding of the cosmos beyond our own. Their cultures were highly religious and superior to our own. Our cultures are mere imitations of what has come before us. All of those cultures collapsed under moral decay and squander as they forsook their moral and religious heritage. We are right on course to fade into history as we only repeat their failures.

There are no concerted campaigns afoot to shove religion down people's throats but there is most certainly one to attack religion as well as insist such beliefs need to be "corrected" or erased from society.

I suppose you are perfectly willing to watch liberties attacked, values trampled under foot and propaganda broadcast to "re-educate" the masses . . as long as you are entertained. Because, really . . being fat, dumb, and happy is the real religious fervor today. As long as we are entertained, amused and stupefied with shiny things like cell phones, PDAs and internet access the world can do whatever it wants and shame on anyone that wants to support, maintain and uphold their beliefs and values.

I am not Catholic, but I certainly recognize their right and need to speak up. What (if anything) do any of you value that is as significant in your life? Mistreatment of animals? Ecological issues? Because Bones shoves all that down our throats on a regular basis, too. Anything the celebrity community suddenly finds gives them a cause and a warm fuzzy (For this week . . maybe even a few months). Please. Don't make me sick.

Boo Hoo, suck it up. You want to be offended, go watch an episode of The Chasers War on Everything. It's TV, it's Fiction, it's not real and if you don't like it. Turn it off.

When I watched this it made me a bit uncomfortable, but not altogether sure why. I probably want Booth to be able to give as good as he gets from Brennan, and in this instance he was just a little incredulous. But as I've examined it more closely, I think Brennan threw him off, with ILLogic (shock/gasp). They were quibbling about vanity and then in the next line she pits a minor bit of "presentation" (teeth-whitening) against a "basic tenet of faith" (transubstantiation). There's no equilibrium in an argument like that, and a scientist should know better!

I looked up the Catholic League online to see what they do <http://www.catholicleague.org/about.php> I don't have a problem with any of it. There are times that I'm cheering them for standing up and crying foul, for instance, that big broo-ha-ha they have out in San Francisco every year that openly mocks Catholics as part of what is practically a city-holiday! I think that in instances like this one - Bones - they might serve better by mentoring us, Catholics as well as other Christians, on how to respond to such "points of conversation/debate".

And for those of you that say ... oh, it's just TV, change the channel if you don't like it, it's just fiction ... Yeah, true enough. BUT, I invest myself in these characters and storylines just like everybody else. (Case in point - Look how upset everyone got with the whammy they put on Zack. I can at least make that make sense - he was a gullible-genius-kid, suckled by a conspiracy-theorist, without any real compass he could call his own. He was ripe for the taking!) I've identified Booth as a kindred spirit, and his faith and patriotism are an integral part of that. I don't want the writers to willy-nilly decide to make light of it, and sometimes I fear they'll lay it aside and leave it aside. On the other hand, I think those parts of him could make for some wonderful storyline!

Cassiopeia wrote:I agree with you, Willi. It was arguing there. Booth protected his views and Bones protected her. So... It was balanced. Sorry, if anybody is Catholic or something else, I think, that it was not a big deal...

so, to say first I am a Catholic.
but in my opinon it was just a discussion between two people who think different, it could happen in real life because everyone has different opinons.

and I have to say that I had a bad experience with an "old friend". It was just a small remark in the religon lesson some years ago but it hurt me and I was thinking about it some days.

I'm Catholic too. I maybe not devoted to it and I haven't been to mass for quite a while, but I'm still Catholic and I've been raised like that. I've even attended a Catholic high school.

But I wasn't offended by this. For me it was an argument. Just an argument and not more.
Sure, one shouldn't accept everything the media does. But there is worse on television. And if he did know the show more, he'd be aware of the fact that Booth is very religious. So it's not all about 'let's see... I think it's time for us to offend someone again'... They aren't mean. It's just about someone who is about facts and someone who is about believes.
it's not all black and white.
And if you think of it Brennan isn't wrong. For someone who is an atheist it is just unbelievable that whine turns into blood. And the pope does sit on a throne and wears expensive robes whilst there is hunger in the world.

btw, I still don't understand why Harry Potter is profane.

squirtandmilo wrote:Boo Hoo, suck it up. You want to be offended, go watch an episode of The Chasers War on Everything. It's TV, it's Fiction, it's not real and if you don't like it. Turn it off.

100% agree
Television is an escape from reality...i couldnt even begin to try and see it from an offensive point, because the lines were delivered by ficticious characters. I think we have an extremely pointless arguement on our hands...