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'St. Pedophilia' Cartoon Outrages Catholics
NEWSMAX ^ | 4/18/02 | Limbacher

Posted on 04/18/2002 7:49:12 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection

A newspaper cartoon satire of the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, captioned "Celebration of Spring at St. Pedophilia's," has readers up in arms over what they say is an unfair and bigoted attack against the Catholic religion.

The parody, drawn by famed cartoonist Pat Oliphant, shows a gang of priests chasing a crowd of preteen altar boys down the steps of a church.

In the drawing one bystander comments, "I'll go tell the Bishop." Another responds, "The Bishop has first dibs." A third onlooker remarks, "If I was the Pope, I'd marry a few of them off."

The cartoon's full caption reads, "Celebration of Spring at St. Pedophilia's - the Annual Running of the Altar Boys."

The cartoon sparked outrage in Las Vegas, Nev., where it ran in the Wednesday print edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas talk show host Mark Edwards devoted his entire Wednesday morning program on KDWN to the controversy.

"This is the most distasteful cartoon that I have ever, ever, ever seen!" the radio talker, who is Catholic, told NewsMax.com later in the day. "I'm very upset about this."

Curiously, the Oliphant cartoon does not appear on the Review-Journal's web site - and has apparently been yanked from the cartoonist's own web site-archives, where a complete compendium of his drawings is available going back for months.

Oliphant is one of the most widely syndicated cartoonists in the country. But it's unclear how many newspapers decided not to carry his "Spring at St. Pedophilia's" out of fear of offending Catholic and non-Catholic readers alike.

Edwards said he personally complained to editors at the Review-Journal, who defended their decision to run the cartoon by invoking freedom of the press.

One letter to the editor writer complained to the paper Thursday, "Your decision to run the Pat Oliphant editorial cartoon 'The Annual Running of The Altar Boys' was wrong..... I just do not need the Review-Journal to make me feel like I am a part of an ongoing criminal conspiracy."


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: catholics; religion
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1 posted on 04/18/2002 7:49:12 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Nice to know that Pat Oliphant is still around, and being as much of a jackass as always...

Sheesh...

:) ttt

2 posted on 04/18/2002 7:51:10 AM PDT by detsaoT
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Newsmax is just picking up on this?

Oliphant catoon paints with broad brush in attack on Catholics- All Bishops are pedophiles

3 posted on 04/18/2002 7:51:39 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Sounds hillarious. I've seen more distasteful cartoons. Like the one that shows two Palestinian children playing in a sandbox with one saying "I want to be just like my daddy when I blow up."
4 posted on 04/18/2002 7:51:39 AM PDT by Demidog
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
1. Cartoons are, by their nature, exaggerations.

2. When you give you enemies an opening like this, what do you expect them to do?

5 posted on 04/18/2002 7:56:34 AM PDT by proxy_user
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To: Demidog
I notice that the Ramirez cartoon for April 16 has been pulled from the LA Times website. Did he draw another wailing wall toon? Anybody know?
6 posted on 04/18/2002 7:58:21 AM PDT by Howie
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
It's almost time for a Hall of Fame for some of these hateful cartoons that attack from the left:
  1. GWB flying an airplane into two towers labled SOCIAL and SECURITY.
  2. World Trade Center Widows.
  3. Rich New York Firefighters
There's more. help me out.
7 posted on 04/18/2002 8:00:47 AM PDT by shadowman99
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
In essence the cartoonist also mocked homosexuality in his obnoxious attempt at smearing the entire Church for the dishonorable behavior of a few.

Our local hysterical liberal newsrag yesterday had just as scummy attempt at defiling the Catholic Church. Too bad the hypocrite mainstream press does not adhere to their own self righteous admonishments to their readers about not blaming all of the followers of Islam for the suicide murdering of innocent Americans.

8 posted on 04/18/2002 8:04:18 AM PDT by harpo11
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Comment #9 Removed by Moderator

To: harpo11
Our local hysterical liberal newsrag yesterday had just as scummy attempt at defiling the Catholic Church. Too bad the hypocrite mainstream press does not adhere to their own self righteous admonishments to their readers about not blaming all of the followers of Islam for the suicide murdering of innocent Americans.

How would that further their political interests?

America has been willing to overlook the political abuse of minorities for too many decades, maybe the attempt to deface religion will awake a few.

10 posted on 04/18/2002 8:11:22 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
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Comment #11 Removed by Moderator

To: Tumbleweed_Connection
I think it's pretty funny. It's only a cartoon.
12 posted on 04/18/2002 8:14:40 AM PDT by Ciexyz
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
I saw a darkly funny/distasteful comment at another web site. Under a picture of several of these molester homosexual priests, the caption read: "BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM."

A sad commentary all around.
13 posted on 04/18/2002 8:15:32 AM PDT by al-andalus
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To: Hobey Baker
A tasteless cartoon, but the Church hierarchy asked for it.

It doesn't insult just the members of the hierarchy who did evil things. It insults all Catholics everywhere. How would you feel about a cartoon which implied that all Americans liked to adulterate with the hired help? After all, Billybob Clinton did it, so it must be okay to imply that all Americans are as depraved as he is, right?

Anti-Catholicism is the only prejudice that is alive and well and approved by the mainstream in America, on both the Left and the Right. The popular media says things about Catholics they would never say in a million years about blacks, Mexicans, Muslims, Jews, homosexuals, liberals, conservatives, Englishmen, Swedes, Egyptians ...

14 posted on 04/18/2002 8:18:15 AM PDT by Campion
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To: Demidog
That seems pretty accurate.
15 posted on 04/18/2002 8:19:35 AM PDT by Spell Correctly
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To: 1Old Pro



For those who didn't check the link.

16 posted on 04/18/2002 8:25:30 AM PDT by glorygirl
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To: Campion
Anti-Catholicism is the only prejudice that is alive and well and approved by the mainstream in America, on both the Left and the Right. The popular media says things about Catholics they would never say in a million years about blacks, Mexicans, Muslims, Jews, homosexuals, liberals, conservatives, Englishmen, Swedes, Egyptians ...

I have to agree with you there

17 posted on 04/18/2002 8:29:32 AM PDT by Mo1
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Surprise, surprise. The whole scenario is dripping with irony. As expected the anti-Catholic bigots are crawling out of the gutter trying to justify the distasteful and disrespectful cartoon published in a city that has no morals. Anytime there is a problem in the Catholic Church those without any faith jump on the bandwagon. Yes, one must paint the entire Catholic Church, it's 2000 year history and the millions of Catholics around the world as being sexual deviates and morally bankrupt. Nice to know who your friends are when the going gets tough...
18 posted on 04/18/2002 8:39:01 AM PDT by kellynla
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
The parody, drawn by famed cartoonist Pat Oliphant, shows a gang of priests chasing a crowd of preteen altar boys down the steps of a church.

Not only is Oliphant a bigot, he's an ignorant bigot. Those "priests" aren't wearing Roman collars. They're dressed as Protestant clergy.

19 posted on 04/18/2002 8:54:10 AM PDT by SMEDLEYBUTLER
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To: SMEDLEYBUTLER
They look like Episcopalians.
20 posted on 04/18/2002 8:57:51 AM PDT by onedoug
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