Sed Contra: The Stars Don’t Shine

A priest in Northern Virginia, a prominent defender of the liturgy, is often quoted as saying, “The problems in the Catholic Church in America are caused by Bing Crosby. Movies like The Bells of St. Mary’s never show him praying.” I heard this the day after my family had celebrated our annual reviewing of Fr. Bing and Sr. Ingrid putting Mr. Bogardus on the road toward true happiness. Though unduly harsh, the comment got me thinking about Hollywood stars and the Church.

In these days of pro-abortion rallies, homosexual parades, and Clinton legal defense funds, we’re constantly reminded that entertainment celebrities lend their support to our adversaries. We should have known that Robert De Niro of Wag the Dog fame would be calling members of Congress on the eve of the impeachment vote!

American Life League recently published a study that includes a long list of pop stars who perform at pro-abortion rallies throughout the country. The list is a veritable Who’s Who of your children’s and grandchildren’s pop heroes: Sarah McLachlan, Bush, Jewel, Ani DiFranco, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Pearl Jam, Paula Cole, Carrie Newcomer, Keb ‘Mo, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Melissa Etheridge, Shawn Colvin, Bruce Hornsby, L7, Soul Asylum, Sound Garden, Salt-n-Pepa, Indigo Girls, Face to Face, Dance Hall Crashers, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others.

The effect of this advocacy cannot be overestimated. A CRISIS intern told me about an experience at a Pearl Jam concert in which Eddie Veder, lead singer, encouraged the audience to attend his pro-choice benefit show the next night. When the crowd of 25,000 went wild, the intern realized once again how alone she, a teen-age pro-life college student, is in the present culture.

Over the past few years, like the leaders of other Catholic organizations, I have tried to enlist the support of a prominent Hollywood or sports celebrity. We have hoped someone like Mel Gibson, reportedly a committed Catholic, would come forward to support publicly the causes of the Church. One Catholic organization even went so far as to put Gibson on the cover of a conference brochure, only to be, predictably, disappointed. There have been exceptions: Patricia Neal, Ricardo Montalban, Martin Sheen, and a few others have lent their celebrity to Catholic causes.

Only a brief glance at the other side of the star ledger tells a story. The stars come out and shine for causes contrary to the social teaching of the Church. Certainly there are prominent Catholics in the entertainment industry who do not agree with the public stances of their colleagues. Yet they neither speak out nor get behind the Catholic causes that could greatly benefit from their help. I can only guess the reason for their reluctance is a fear of hurting their hard-won careers. Much easier, say, to wear an AIDS awareness red ribbon at an awards ceremony than to speak for the Catholic Campaign for America.

Some might argue that we don’t need tinsel town stars when we have the most compelling leader in the world, John Paul II, on our side, but I would remind them that even the most carefully nurtured young adult can be encouraged or discouraged by the public statements of his popular heroes. To see Bing Crosby, a leading crooner of his day and romantic lead to Grace Kelly, wearing a collar and singing to the nuns may have been a bit soft- edged, but it reinforced the deep respect and love for the Church that was common for that generation.

Like it or not, we live in a culture where the old standards of persuasion and intelligent discourse no longer hold sway. Souls, believe it or not, are won and lost through the power of images and sound bites concocted by the masters of mood manipulation and attitude alteration. What they initially effect is superficial, but over time it shapes the heart: Once the mood of cynicism or the attitude of willful autonomy sets in, and the longer it stays, the deeper it sinks toward the roots of character.

That Catholics should be willing and able to fight the battle at this level goes without saying. The efforts of organizations like the Caring Foundation to produce first-rate television spots are exemplary in this manner. But as long as the prominent Catholics of Hollywood remain silent, our cause will never seriously challenge the secular hegemony that we suffer every day.

I don’t blame anyone for a reluctance to jeopardize their careers and their livelihoods in service to a cause that seems remote and unpopular. But I do blame all of us for not weighing the cost of an entertainment industry that uses all of its muscle to seduce the hearts of our young.

Author

  • Deal W. Hudson

    Deal W. Hudson is ​publisher and editor of The Christian Review and the host of "Church and Culture," a weekly two-hour radio show on the Ave Maria Radio Network.​ He is the former publisher and editor of Crisis Magazine.

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