Brendan O’ReganEthical debates and police thrillers
‘Catholics for Choice’. Now there’s an interesting idea. You can choose to be a Catholic or not, but when you do make that choice I’d suggest you limit your choices after that. You can’t then choose to be racist, or a liar, or a child abuser and still have credibility as a Catholic.
These thoughts were prompted by an interview on the John Murray Show (RTÉ Radio 1) Wednesday of last week. Jon O’Brien of ‘Catholics for Choice’ had the strangest of notions as to what it meant to be a Catholic. I agreed with him that going to Mass is important, but he lost me after his reference to ‘safe and legal abortion’. Legal in some places, but often unsafe for the mother and never safe for the baby! O’Brien wanted the Church to be a more compassionate place, fair enough, but why didn’t his compassion extend to unborn people? He favoured a ‘preferential option for the poor’, but obviously not a preferential option for the poor babies. John Murray did suggest to him at one stage that religions were entitled to have their rules and that perhaps he might be more at home in another religion, but apart from that the interview was hopelessly unchallenging. O’Brien wasn’t keen on the recent papal canonisations (too soon), though he did love John XXIII. But does he seriously think that the saint would have even a sliver of approval for his thoroughly un-Catholic positions? Yes, being pro-choice is a peculiar thing, a rather vapid position I’d suggest, as it all rather depends on what you are choosing. I understand people holding these views, but trying to make out that they are consistent with Catholicism just doesn’t make sense.
Also on the Wednesday The Wright Stuff on Channel 5 looked at the issue of doctors refusing treatments on moral grounds, in the light of controversies about the new ‘5 Day After’ pill (!). While Matthew Wright himself was a pleasant presenter he openly admitted his bias on the issue, declaring his support for a ‘right’ to abortion and suggesting that health professionals with moral objections on issues like abortion or contraception should avoid specialties that will give rise to such dilemmas. So, no more Catholic obstetricians then? Guest panelist Jeremy Edwards thought people shouldn’t be punished for taking their religion (and he could have added conscience) seriously, but he was outnumbered as the other two panelists Suzi Perry and Sair Khan were on the other side of the argument, leaving an imbalance of three to one. Only one of the three callers was in favour of conscience rights on these issues, and referred to the ‘demonising of Catholics’. Wright agreed that there was currently more discrimination against Christians than ever before.
Not unconnected was the Vigil for Life last Saturday in Dublin. RTÉgave it some coverage (e.g. 32 seconds halfway through the Six-One News!), and I thought it should have figured more on the weekend current affairs shows. The Marc Coleman Show (Newstalk, Sunday nights) was the only one I heard that gave it the some decent attention.
Away from these difficult issues I’ve been catching up on a few new dramas. I was drawn to US series Crisis on TV 3 by the presence of Gillian Anderson of X-Files fame and though she’s not a main character it’s a reasonably good thriller. A busload of teens with powerful parents has been hijacked and the kidnappers are forcing the parents to do various nefarious activities. Cue some angst and moral dilemmas, not always handled morally! Last week’s torture scene was relatively mild but unsetting nevertheless.
Secrets and Lies is an Australian thriller series that ended last Sunday night on RTÉ 2 with a disturbing final episode that strained credulity. It certainly held the attention as it told the story of a man accused of killing a child. But the man in question wasn’t a very likeable character, unfaithful in marriage and prone to tempers. The scene-stealer was Piper Morrisey who played his youngest daughter – she was totally credible in the role of Eva as she yearned for things to be the way they were before her parents’ marriage started to fragment. However, I do have a problem with child actors being involved in very adult material like this, gratuitously graphic in spots.
Pick of the Week for Issue 8 May
MASS FOR VOCATIONS SUNDAY
RTE 1 Sun May 11, 11am
Bishop Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry, celebrates Mass in the RTÉ Studio's with congregation and choir from, Maynooth College, Co Kildare.
AM AN GHÁTHAIR
TG4 Tues May 13, 9.55 pm
Story of the Bleding Statues event in Templemore in 1920.
CONVERSATION WITH CARDINAL DOLAN
EWTN Wed May 14, 11am
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York provides his perspective on significant religious issues.