As always, well acted, well filmed, and so on. It's hardly the worst episode of the show, but, sadly, it can only appeal to a Catholic blindly letting their faith do the thinking for them. There will be spoilers.
OK, it was said - in plain text, I mean - that the law of the Catholic church was above the secular law, and, willingly or not, the writers actually upheld this message - by refusing to take a side in the conflict between religion and law and, instead, having the actual culprit conveniently admit to killing a woman at the appropriate time. (And let's not kid ourselves, no matter how guilty he feels, no young man will choose going to prison over going to Harvard just because of Michael Weatherly's acting talent - but that's beside the point.) Now, let me briefly summarize the plot.
A young man hits a young woman with the church van, then flees the scene, goes to the church and confesses his crime to the priest there. The priest, bound by the seal of confession, decides to not report anything to the authorities and, instead, despite having drank a glass of whiskey or two, he decides get in the van, drive to the place where the hit and run has happened, and help the young woman as much as he can. The young woman dies, the police catch the priest in the van, and then the authorities try to pin everything on him. Benny, being a devout Catholic, is called to the rescue, and, of course, Bull and his firm take the case.
Now, there are a few problems with this. First, something personal - I am an atheist, it is very hard to impress me with devotion to faith, especially when that devotion takes the purely egotistical form of putting your beliefs above the lives of other people - which was exactly what this priest did. Had he reported the hit and run to the authorities, maybe the medical team sent to the scene would save the young woman's life. (He thought she was still alive, which is why he tried to go to her.) Instead, he decided his position as a priest was more important than her life. True, he could be excommunicated for breaking the seal of confession, but would that be big enough a reason to waste the little time she had left? Maybe he was worried about his immortal soul? But was his soul more important than hers? Maybe she had sins to redeem - but she did not get that chance, because he did not send a real doctor to help her, although he could do that.
Second, if someone confesses to a priest that they've planted a bomb in a kindergarten, should the priest report them? Or should the priest let dozens of kids die because of his faith? I understand the concept of priest-penitent privilege, but when exactly does it stop being OK to conceal actual crimes just because of your job? Is allowing a killer to go unpunished what this privilege is supposed to protect? This is an important question, and one that could be discussed in the episode. Instead, as I said earlier, the writers chose the easy way out - and with this they put the Catholic faith above everything else. Above intellectual honesty, above the rights of others, above the beliefs of others, and above the law. Thanks, but no, thanks.
OK, it was said - in plain text, I mean - that the law of the Catholic church was above the secular law, and, willingly or not, the writers actually upheld this message - by refusing to take a side in the conflict between religion and law and, instead, having the actual culprit conveniently admit to killing a woman at the appropriate time. (And let's not kid ourselves, no matter how guilty he feels, no young man will choose going to prison over going to Harvard just because of Michael Weatherly's acting talent - but that's beside the point.) Now, let me briefly summarize the plot.
A young man hits a young woman with the church van, then flees the scene, goes to the church and confesses his crime to the priest there. The priest, bound by the seal of confession, decides to not report anything to the authorities and, instead, despite having drank a glass of whiskey or two, he decides get in the van, drive to the place where the hit and run has happened, and help the young woman as much as he can. The young woman dies, the police catch the priest in the van, and then the authorities try to pin everything on him. Benny, being a devout Catholic, is called to the rescue, and, of course, Bull and his firm take the case.
Now, there are a few problems with this. First, something personal - I am an atheist, it is very hard to impress me with devotion to faith, especially when that devotion takes the purely egotistical form of putting your beliefs above the lives of other people - which was exactly what this priest did. Had he reported the hit and run to the authorities, maybe the medical team sent to the scene would save the young woman's life. (He thought she was still alive, which is why he tried to go to her.) Instead, he decided his position as a priest was more important than her life. True, he could be excommunicated for breaking the seal of confession, but would that be big enough a reason to waste the little time she had left? Maybe he was worried about his immortal soul? But was his soul more important than hers? Maybe she had sins to redeem - but she did not get that chance, because he did not send a real doctor to help her, although he could do that.
Second, if someone confesses to a priest that they've planted a bomb in a kindergarten, should the priest report them? Or should the priest let dozens of kids die because of his faith? I understand the concept of priest-penitent privilege, but when exactly does it stop being OK to conceal actual crimes just because of your job? Is allowing a killer to go unpunished what this privilege is supposed to protect? This is an important question, and one that could be discussed in the episode. Instead, as I said earlier, the writers chose the easy way out - and with this they put the Catholic faith above everything else. Above intellectual honesty, above the rights of others, above the beliefs of others, and above the law. Thanks, but no, thanks.
