"GOD or the GIRL"- Preisthood
or Marriage?? Reality
Show- Sunday night at 9 on A&E
The ANNOTICO Report
"GOD or the
GIRL"
Sunday night at 9 on A&E
PERHAPS A&E is looking
for repentance now that its positively sinful depiction of Italian-Americans
seems to have passed into oblivion.
And while A&E still
celebrates the underside of life in many of its reality shows, a new one,
debuting appropriately enough on Easter Sunday is about - yes - young men
choosing whether they want to get married and have children or enter the
priesthood and become (or is that remain?) celibate.
After five weeks, we'll
all know which way they turn.
"God or The Girl"
is another fly-on-the-wall, can't-take-your-eyes-off-the-screen reality series
that may do one or two things for the scandal-ridden American Catholic Church
which is suffering from a drought of young men looking to enter the priesthood.
Either it will encourage
those young men with the calling to rush into the priesthood or it will make
them run like, er, hell.
The show follows four guys
on the verge of making this big life decision.
There's Joe Adair, a
28-year-old campus counselor, one of eight siblings living in Cleveland who's
been in and out of the seminary several times. His mother is a relentless
source of pressure. She even makes him feel guilty that he's concerned about a
life of celibacy. (This from a woman who's had eight kids!)
Joe is so conflicted that,
at 28, he loses a girl because, among other things, he never kissed her.
Then there's Dan DeMatte, a 21-year-old college student who lives in a
Catholic frat house. Instead of drinking beer, they serve the Lord.
Dan is a religious zealot
who prays outside abortion clinics.
In another age, he would
have made a heck of a flagellate happily wearing a hair shirt and walking while
whipping himself.
His Catholic priest mentor
comes up with the idea that Dan build an 80-pound cross and carry it 22 miles
to the next parish - which he attempts to do. (Excuse me, according to the
Bible source, blessitt.com, even Jesus only carried
the cross around half a mile!)
Is Dan's a calling or a
creepy obsession?
Then there's Steve Horvath,
a 25-year-old frat guy who left his job as a big-time business consultant and
is looking to raise the money to become a priest. This is the one kid who seems
to really have the chops to do it - a real calling, not born out of fanaticism,
family or parish-priest pressure.
Finally, there's Mike Lechniak, 25, who idolizes his parish priest, Father Pauselli, but is in love with Aly,
a gorgeous young Catholic woman who prays Mike will choose her.
Father Pauselli
doesn't let up, though, going so far as to say that he knows that Mike thinks
women can be manipulative and controlling, and he doesn't like it.
Actually Mike is shocked
that Aly is so understanding.
But Mike probably should
be talked out of marrying Aly. He actually admits at
one point: "There are times I just want to go up to her and hug her and
kiss her - and that's lust. And it's disgusting."
Anyone who views lust and
sex as disgusting probably isn't going to make a great husband anyway.
Aly - run for the hills!
Great,
riveting stuff.
linda.stasi@nypost.com
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