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11 March 2008
Anti-Catholic bigotry comes to the Nine Network's Today show
How things have changed. The Nine Network used to be the nation's family network. Those days are long gone. Sleaze and violence in its series, and grubbiness, crudity and nastiness in its variety and talk programs. And, of course, there is the state approved and encouraged anti-Catholic bigotry that is blithely and ignorantly spread around by some of the Nine Network's major stars.
One of the worst cases was the '60 Minutes' attack led by Richard Carleton on Archbishop Pell. (Read my series of comments.) Many questions remain about the role that David Ridsdale played in that ambush.
I have been watching the Today show as part of my morning routine since it started more than twenty-five years ago, with a small break during the Jessica Rowe fiasco. In all that time, there has not been what I would call serious and objectionable anti-Catholic bigotry - until this morning.
The Today show crew were having a wonderful time sending up the Vatican's release of a list of modern sins that were to be added to the list of the Seven Deadly sins.
Oh, no, I thought, surely we're not going to get the usual mockery based on deep ignorance of the Catholic Church and its history. As it turned out it was worse.
In addition to the mockery and ridicule showing the expected ignorance, such emails as the following from one smart-alec bigot were read out: the Catholic church should be at the top of the list of deadly sins, having read the history of the Catholic Church.
Imagine Carl or Lisa reading out an equivalent email about Jews, Muslims, homosexuals, or Aboriginals. All hell would break loose. Lisa and Carl would have to offer abject apologies the next day. To round off such mockery and comment, the viewer was treated to a 'conversation' between Carl and Anita Quigley of the Daily Telegraph.
Well, who is Anita Quigley that she should have any specialist knowledge of the Catholic Church and Catholic theology? She showed that she's nobody in this field, having a level of knowledge that would disgrace a primary school student.
She commented that it was strange that the Catholic Church should add paedophilia to the list of sins. Surely, she thought, that should have been recognised as a sin a long time ago. Carl stupidly added some comment about paedophilia being rife in the Catholic Church. All this reinforces the anti-Catholic bigots who are ever ready to broadcast their nastiness.
For Carl's and Anita Quigley's information paedophilia has always been a serious sin. The Vatican is merely highlighting its deadliness considering that child sexual abuse and child pornography are rife in the liberal democracies. Carl should know that the incidence of paedophilia among Catholic clergy is no higher than in comparable secular organizations. And, watch my lips, Carl, the vast majority of cases of clerical sexual abuse by Catholic clergy concerned homosexual priests abusing pubescent males.
Will the Today show broadcast that last fact? Hell will freeze over before the Nine Network says anything critical about homosexual activism.
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