Editorial

Attacks fueled by the last acceptable prejudice

Posted

Shocking new statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation suggest a nine percent increase in crimes against religious groups in 2008 and an almost 25 percent increase in hate crimes reported against Catholics.

A growing secularism that is becoming increasingly intolerant of religion and religious institutions seems to be an underlying factor in this increase of hate crimes. The continued outspokenness of Catholic Bishops on social issues such as abortion, health care, immigration and marriage often are the spark that ignites the flames of hatred and intolerance of Catholics.

Attacks upon the Catholic Church are nothing new and in fact, have been commonplace in American history for centuries. However, these new statistics suggest that there is a deep seated hatred and intolerance against Catholics that is often aided and abetted by the cultural and media elites of our nation. Unfortunately the words of the great American historian Arthur Schlesinger Sr. are absolutely correct when he stated that anti-Catholicism is “the deepest bias in the history of the American people.”

Attacks by columnists in national newspapers that suggest Pope Benedict XVI is a Nazi, commentaries in newspapers that compare Catholic Bishops to the Spanish Inquisition, liberal groups that suggest the separation of Church and State is being violated and call for taxing the Church and Hollywood productions that mock and ridicule religious faith and often present vicious attacks upon Catholicism under the guise of comedy are all part and parcel of the bigoted attacks against the Catholic Church. Many hate crimes reported by the FBI were classified as anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attacks but there was a sharp increase of the number of incidents directed against members of the Catholic Church.

The intolerant critiques and cynical ridicule of the media and cultural elites help to legitimize the hate and bigotry that too often leads to violent attacks and criminal assaults against Catholics and Catholic institutions. In a recent letter to the editor that the New York Times refused to print, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York quite rightly suggested that “The Catholic Church is not above criticism. We Catholics do a fair amount of it ourselves. We welcome and expect it. All we ask is that such critique is fair, rational, and accurate, what we would expect for anybody. The suspicion and bias against the Church is a national pastime that should be “rained out” for good.”

When this national pastime crosses the line of critique to criminal behavior it is time to call the cultural and media elites to account for their role in fomenting and encouraging anti-Catholic bigots to attack. It is time for Maureen Dowd, Larry David, Penn and Teller, Bill Maher and others in their band of bigots to stop the hateful rhetoric and intolerant attacks against the Catholic Church. There is no doubt that the Church will continue to be much maligned in the media and by Hollywood, but also no doubt that the Church will remain steadfast in proclaiming the Gospel of life, justice and peace both in and out of season. However, the time has come for the media and cultural elites across the nation to not only apologize but to begin to atone for the last acceptable prejudice in our nation, anti-Catholicism.