National Catholic Reporter

The Independent News Source

When Humor Isn't Funny

 |  NCR Today

The big news in religious entertainment is the smash hit at Fordham by Cardinal Dolan, Stephen Colbert, moderated by Jim Martin.

They had those kids rolling in the aisles, according to "unauthorized" reports leaking out.

Why do I find myself not laughing, envisioning instead a show-biz version of Nero fiddling astride a flaming Rome?

Here are a couple of reasons.

1) while laughter is good medicine, it doesn't work when the disease is denied;

2) the starchy "regular guy" approach is inevitably self-aggrandizing.

Though I wasn't there, the reports depict a kind of stagey "fun" that perpetuated the image of the old days in the seminary when a pinch of humor was meant to banish bad news and suggest that all was well because the guys in charge were really made of whimsy.

NCR Comment code:

  • Be respectful. Do not attack the writer. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the original idea may be deleted.

We are not able to monitor every comment that comes through. If you see something objectionable, please click the "Report abuse" button. Once a comment has been flagged, an NCR staff member will investigate.

For more detailed guidelines, visit our User Guidelines page.

For help on how to post a comment, visit our reference page.

Sisters' Stories; read more

NCR Email Alerts

 

In This Issue

May 10-23, 2013

May10-cover.jpg

Not all of our content is online. Subscribe to receive all the news and features you won't find anywhere else.