Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Christian Support for Catholics

I never thought I would see Protestants condemning anti-Catholic bigotry, but they are, and in a very strongly worded statement at that. It all has to do with the recent cartoon published by the Philadelphia Inquirer in reaction to the Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the constitutionality of the federal law prohibiting partial-birth abortion.

They are railing against the Philadelphia Inquirer for publishing a cartoon that depicted the five justices who formed the majority in the Supreme Court case as religious bigots who wear Catholic bishops' mitres, claiming they based their decision on their Catholic religion.

They call for all Christian denominations and groups who are enemies of the Church and state mentality to join them in condemning tha anti-Catholic bigotry that has been so prevalent and tolerated recently.

"We believe it is our particular duty to condemn the bigotry we are now witnessing in view of the history of anti-Catholicism in our nation...

..Just as Pope John Paul II acknowledged past injustices committed by Catholics, or committed in the name of Catholicism, against Protestants, Jews, and others and pledged to work against any revival of these injustices, we acknowledge past Protestant prejudices against Catholics and pledge to fight against the anti-Catholic bigotry we are now witnessing. Our Catholic brothers and sisters will not have to wait to hear our voices forcefully raised against the bigotry now directed against them.

...Are they selective opponents of prejudice? Do they regard anti-Catholicism as an acceptable form of bigotry? Are they content to see Catholics treated in ways that they would be the first to condemn if the victims were members of other religious traditions or minorities? By responding or failing to respond to our plea to them to join us in condemning the injustice being suffered by our Catholic fellow citizens, we will soon know whether their claim to oppose prejudice and bigotry is an honest one or mere hypocrisy."

If this cartoon had been published depicting a minority group such as homosexuals, Jews or Muslims, can you imagine the outcry? It would have been classified as hate speech. Kudos to these Protestant leaders for stepping up to the plate and exposing this prejudice that shows how public ridicule of Catholicism is tolerated and acceptable.
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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am sorry but aren't Catholics a minority?

It would seem that Catholics and their morals/values throughout the world are in the minority...but that is just my humble opinion.

paramedicgirl said...

Well, Karin, there are 1.1 billion Catholics in the world, so maybe that's the rationale for being able to target them with bigotry?

318@Nicea said...

Being the target is, well, because the Catholic Church is the Church. Without the Catholic Church, Protestants would not exist anymore, for they rage against the Church more than they do Satan. The True Church will always be persecuted by its enemies.

Dave

Anonymous said...

PG-
In no way was I condoning the bigotry that the Church faces or puts up with...
but as 318@nice stated the Church will always be a "target" for the simple reason that it is the Church...
But lets all remember..."the gates of hell shall never prevail against it"

paramedicgirl said...

Oh, I know, Karin. I was being sarcastic, but that doesn't come through well in type. Of course bigotry against Catholics is still bigotry, but it seems to be justified because we are so many, and are not some new politically correct pressure group.

Simon-Peter Vickers-Buckley said...

"Pope John Paul II acknowledged past injustices committed by Catholics, or committed in the name of Catholicism..."

and

"We call on our fellow Protestant Christians of every denomination-including those denominations..."

Interesting. Here, at least, the Church qua Church is not attacked, neither is it called a "denomination" (as so many "Catholics" call the Church).