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The Guys of St. Catherine’s : Didja Hear the One About the Four Priests? : TV REVIEW

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Times Television Critic

Priests and poppycock.

There’s probably some humor in a comedy about eclectic Catholic priests attached to a Chicago church. The premiere of ABC’s “Have Faith,” at 9:30 tonight on Channels 7, 10 and 42, doesn’t mine much of it, however.

The core character is the oh-so-hip Monsignor Joseph MacKenzie (Joel Higgins), who collects baseball cards and has a basketball hoop in his office. His fellow priests are wisecracking Vincent Paglia (Ron Carey), bumbling Gabriel Podmaninski (Stephen Furst) and old-fashioned Edgar Tuttle (Frank Hamilton).

The problem with comedic clergy is that some of the real ones on TV are already so farcical that a parody seems almost redundant. Except for their collars, moreover, the guys of “Have Faith” aren’t notably Catholic or priestly or anything else.

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Tonight finds MacKenzie trying to energize Father Tuttle with a teaching assignment, trying to cope with a woman who dreams she’s having sex with a demon and trying to hire a secretary.

The winning--and only--applicant is diamond-in-the-rough Sally Coleman (Francesca Roberts), a struggling single mother who immediately shows her ignorance by calling MacKenzie a rabbi.

He corrects her. “ Monsignor MacKenzie.”

She still doesn’t get it. “You’re in the Navy, too?”

Bring back Jim Bakker.

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