It is not necessarily sinful to watch television programs that include violence, particularly when the violent actions included are intrinsic to the plot and are not gratuitous. I would say though that programs such as “24” can shape the thinking by many of its viewers on the moral permissibility of torture. If an individual Catholic is tempted to believe that torture “for a good cause” is a moral good, it would be prudent for him to abstain from watching TV programs that encourage such thinking.
