Catholic Scandal Backlash Turns Ugly

Newsmax.com ^ | Monday April 22, 2002

[nickcarraway]

Monday April 22, 2002; 5:31 p.m. EDT

Catholic Scandal Backlash Turns Ugly

The media has been pounding away relentlessly at the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal for weeks now, with coverage that has tarnished the reputations of the innocent as well as the guilty.

While the actions of any cleric who would molest a child are indefensible, the priesthood as a whole has begun to pay the price.

NewsMax.com contributor Fr. Mike Reilly reports that two priests he knows were verbally and physically assaulted over the weekend because of the growing backlash against the priesthood:

"Fr. John Wroblewski, Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua on Staten Island, was quite shocked when someone began screaming obscenities at him from a passing car as he walked along the avenue wearing his Roman collar.

"Another of my colleagues on Staten Island was similarly surprised when he felt a nudge on his back, only to learn that someone had thrown a rock at him as he walked to the hospital to anoint a dying patient.

"Can you imagine the reaction of the media to this situation if the clerics had been African-American ministers or Jewish rabbis?" Fr. Reilly asks.

Anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice in our society, and the media is its major sponsor.

[Clara Lou]

I'm sorry. It's not anti-Catholic to bring what's been going on out into the light of day. If this hadn't happened, then the evil would continue. I'm sorry that this splashes on innocent priests, but the Catholic Church brought this on itself. (BTW, my uncle was a priest, my aunt a nun.)

[Hodar]

I have to agree with you. The Catholic church knew and was made aware of activities, not only in America, but elsewhere, and the Catholic church chose to ignore, and protect the felons . For this, everyone associated with the church is going to be blamed for either being an active participant in felonies against defenseless children, or having decided to remain silent. I find it hard to believe that the only priests aware of children being raped are limited to only the offenders and the supervisors who chose to hide the criminal. Others had to have known, and chose to ignore the sacriledge.

[irishjuggler]

I'm sorry that this splashes on innocent priests, but the Catholic Church brought this on itself. (BTW, my uncle was a priest, my aunt a nun.)

Wrong. Some bad apples in the priesthood and hierarchy brought this on the Catholic Church. And the result is that all the folks who already had a grudge against Catholicism (abortionists, atheists, some "Christian" fundamentalists, and even some folks whose uncles were priests) are now jumping up and down in glee to see the Church and all its good priests and lay peopl humiliated because of the actions of a few.

[Cicero]

I'm sorry you are such a bigot.

[Clara Lou]

big·ot n. One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ

Please explain to me what in my post makes me a bigot. You called a name, but you didn't address my post. Grow up.

[fellowpatriot]

A lot of people seem to have a problem with not being able to distinguish between a group and an individual. There is absolutely NO excuse for what a 'few' MEN did under the cloak of the Catholic church, but to condemn every priest for their behavior is WRONG!

The media is doing their job by outing this disgusting behavior.

Too bad they didn't do their job during x42's reign.

I wonder how they would react if one of the guilty stood up to them and said 'You are a Catholic-hater, this is about my 'private' sex life and has nothing to do with how I do my job. Do you think they would treat it the same as they did with x42?

Don't misunderstand me, I think these scumbags are getting what they deserve and the Church has no one to blame for what they are going through but themselves, since they covered it up. I hope this experience strengthens the Church.

But I sure would have liked to see them put x42 through the same thing. (I'm not holding my breath).

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Jesus said there would be days like this.

Luke 10:16 "He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despsieth me, despiseth him that sent me."

[heyheyhey]

everyone associated with the church is going to be blamed for either being an active participant in felonies against defenseless children

Don't forget the tens of thousands children saved by the Church from abortions. This is what the Church stands for.
Sexual exploitation of kids is NOT what the Church stands for.

[heyheyhey]

The world is so messed up.
The news media orgy is nothing more than a bigoted attack against the Catholic Church; old homosexual abuses of children are NOT the real reason for the attack, but they very conveniently serve as an excuse. They will blame celibacy of priests a hundred times before they utter the "H" word a single time.

[LarryLied]

Homosexual groups should be the subject of attack, not the church as a whole.

[Utopia]

A lot of people seem to have a problem with not being able to distinguish between a group and an individual. There is absolutely NO excuse for what a 'few' MEN did under the cloak of the Catholic church, but to condemn every priest for their behavior is WRONG!

Absolutely true. But until the Church refuses to shelter bad priests and bishops, it will be seen as promoting this kind of behavior. (Cardinal Law has still not resigned.) People are looking to the Church for solutions, and they are coming back empty handed. That causes anger.

If the Church doesn't want to be judged by the Bad apples, the Church needs to remove the bad apples from its organization.

[Green Knight]

Anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice in our society, and the media is its major sponsor.

Not entirely true. It seems that both Anti-Catholicism and Anti-Semitism are in vogue this year.

And the above poster is right. The media will blame this on celibacy over and over and over again, calling for its being done away with, without even mentioning the fact that the priests who did this were homosexual. I'm not Catholic but what's being done to the Catholic Church is appaling. They're looking to destroy it from within by putting pressure on the Church to change its ways, and allow more deviancy and perversion into its ranks. And of course, once they do that they'll then report the inevitable results. After all, who would respect a Priest if you suspected he was a pervert of some type? Who is he to talk to you about morality? The Vatican needs to hold its resolve not to change, because if it listens to the critics then all they'd accomplish is help their enemies destroy them.

[heyheyhey]

Homosexual groups should be the subject of attack, not the church as a whole.

Thanks Larry :-)

[Utopia]

Homosexual groups should be the subject of attack, not the church as a whole.

The enviornment that allows these horrible crimes to be made upon young boys/girls under the cloak of religion and then covered up needs to be attacked.

Of all the crimes that are here, its the cover up that disgusts me the most. Law should have resigned ages ago. Why he has not or why the Vatican hasn't pursued it, tells me that perhaps only lip service will be paid to the victims and their plight. That status quo (ie doing nothing) will prevail. I hope I'm wrong. But I fear that I'm right. Since the Vatican is in the God business, they can't possibly admit that they are wrong.

[Bonaparte]

"Anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice in our society, and the media is its major sponsor."

I still remember when the KKK was the principal persecutor of Catholics. My, how times have changed.

[LarryLied]

Rank and file Catholics are not putting up with this, they are demanding reform. The problems is homosexuals have infilitrated the church and no one today even knows who is covering for whom.

Compare that to deviant behavior in public schools. The NEA endorses perversion. You don't hear rank and file teachers demanding reform. You see them trotting down to their annual convention and passing more resolutions praising deviants and denigrating those who do not want perverts teaching their children. Don't think there is a problem in government schools? Click on my screen name.

[Clara Lou]

The news media orgy...
The news media enjoys feasting on anyone but itself. And I agree that homosexuals will be given a pass on this as much as possible. However, I repeat my my belief that the Catholic Church is repsonsible for what's been going on these many years. It must take action, firm action--now. Priests who prey on the young (or anyone) should be defrocked, and charged with crimes. They were never real priests in the first place, IMO.