Last night’s Fox TV show, “Boston Public,” featured a reckless boy who admits to his concerned teacher that he has been sexually abused by a priest, Father Egan. It turns out that the molesting priest previously abused the boy’s teacher, Danny Hanson. Hanson then confronts Father Egan threatening him with violence. The next episode will continue the storyline. The show is the creative work of producer David E. Kelley.
Catholic League president William Donohue remarked as follows:
“There is no one in Hollywood who hates the Catholic Church more than David E. Kelley. We know this by his acts: he has written or produced more anti-Catholic shows than any of his peers. Less than a month ago, I issued a news release titled, ‘David E. Kelley’s Obsession With Catholicism.’ It addressed the November 10 episode of the ABC show, ‘The Practice.’ Like last night’s attack, this episode drew on the scandal in the Catholic Church for script.
“It cannot be argued that Kelley is a master of adapting current events for TV material. For instance, he has shown no interest in portraying Muslims as terrorists. To do so would be to invite charges of stereotyping Muslims, and this is one sin Kelley avoids like hell. But when it comes to painting an ugly face on Catholic priests, he shows his masterful credentials. More important, Kelley did not need the scandal to vent his bigotry—he’s been doing it for years. Consider this: the November 9, 2000 episode of ‘Boston Public’ painted the Catholic Church as anti-gay. Yet for some reason, Kelley’s interest in the role of gays in the Church never extends to portraying gay priests as molesters. This is another sin Kelley avoids like hell.
“The scandal in the Catholic Church is of its own doing. But the outburst of anti-Catholicism that has come in its wake is not. If it is wrong to bash X for its dirty laundry, why is it acceptable to make exceptions for the Catholic Church? After all, 99.3 percent of priests are in good standing. This should matter, even to the likes of David E. Kelley.”
