Crude language and moral-flaws blindness

Sometimes you expect a lot from a programme and are disappointed, sometimes you expect little and are pleasantly surprised, sometimes you want so badly a programme to be good and it lets you down.  I had a variety of these feelings in relation to the three programmes under review this week.

Our Divine Sparks (RTE Radio 1, Friday) is a new religious affairs programme presented by Dearbhail McDonald. As it is successor to Witness, Leap of Faith and The God Slot, I was hopeful. The first item looked at the relationship between politics and religion in the USA with Trump claiming that God had spared him in that first assassination attempt. Some evangelical Christians were ignoring his moral flaws and seeing him as a messianic figure. It was uncomfortable listening to Trump supporters singing How Great Thou Art. Predictably, the US expert interviewed, Marcy Wheeler, was very much anti-Trump – for the first show they could have got a more balanced commentator. Fr Michael Collins gave an illuminating account of the process of papal election in the light of the new film ‘Conclave’ – Dearbhail McDonald described the process as “secretive”… could that not just be ‘confidential’? There was also a contribution from Dr Sandra Cullen from DCU about the role of ritual in religion. I will listen in again.

In Blindboy: The Land of Slaves and Scholars (RTE One, Thursday) we got an atheist with a plastic bag over his face presenting a programme on early Irish Christianity. Give me a historian any day.  On the plus side, Blindboy had some literary and spiritual sensibilities, believed that the early Christians were a ‘deeply religious people’ and had great admiration for the output and influence of the monks in terms of their literature. The filming was excellent, highlighting the beauty of monastic location like Skellig Michael. A few of the experts contributing had some interesting things to say, but there was so much wrong with the programme – the crude language, the plastic bag with its ‘lower prices’ tag, the irritating background music, the cringeworthy song at the end with reference to a ‘cosmic abortion’ by St Brigid, the naïve glorification of our pagan past (would Blindly last a minute back then?). There were frequent digs at the Catholic Church – kick it when it’s down in case it gets back up?

Pagan Ireland was associated with respect for Nature, Christian Ireland with ‘dominion’, ‘exploitation’, ‘abuse’, ‘slippery dynamics’ and cultural strangling!  At one stage he seemed to blaming Christianity for the lack of bees! Of course, Catholic Guilt got a mention – does it ever occur to people that guilt may come from people doing wrong and not resolving it because they are in denial? At one stage a subtitle appeared on screen: ‘Blindboy may have made this up’, which was just weird – flat joke perhaps? Several times I thought this show was taking the proverbial. Towards the end Blindboy said “I want a post-Catholic, post-colonial Ireland.” Is it the job of the national broadcaster to facilitate this agenda?

Last up is Young, British and Anti-Abortion (BBC One, Wednesday). The advance blurb suggested it might be a pro-choice hatchet job, but this one fitted in the ‘pleasantly surprised’ category. Documentary maker and presenter Poppy Jay was certainly pro-choice, regarding anti-abortion views as ‘extreme’, but at least she was somewhat open-minded and respectful. The pro-life young adults she interviewed were impressive – committed, courteous, rational. Jay really seemed to like them and see some things from their point of view.

Eden McCourt of Abortion Resistance gave a good account of herself, making flapjacks for the presenter as she explained her pro-life case incisively but with good humour. We saw her on the campaign trail focusing on coercive abortion, which I presume all feminists would be concerned about.  Another impressive pro-lifer Madeline Page was heading to speak at a university, but the vilification and harassment she faced from-foul mouthed and masked protestors was so stomach churning, even the presenter was taken aback. I saw no one being arrested for hate speech, even though this was hugely intimidating. Eden and Madeline came at the issue from a human rights perspective, which made the chanting about rosaries and ovaries rather odd.

Later in the programme we heard from those who took a more religious approach. James spoke very eloquently from this perspective, though language like ‘abomination’, while apt, will hardly win over the middle ground.

Pick of the week

ADVENT REFLECTIONS
EWTN Sunday December 1, 8.30pm
Fr Joseph Gromley, of the church of the Holy Family, Derry, sets the tone for observing the First Week of Advent as he speaks about waiting for the coming of the Saviour Jesus.

Mornings With Wendy
Spirit Radio, weekdays, 10am
Morning talk show with Wendy Grace.

UNREPORTED WORLD
Channel 4 Friday December 6, 7.30pm
Reporter Darshna Soni is in Mexico, where the war on drugs has left close to 90,000 people behind bars without a trial.