So this Jeremiah Wright fellow stood before his flock and shouted. “God damn America” is the part of his sermon most unsettling. That he also blamed white devils for the plague of aids and drug infestation was also a bit shocking as he can cite no evidence. Did you notice the mostly white-liberal media soft shoed around his remarks? Then witness the coverage of Pope Benedict. The same man who came to the United States and intoned that we could all be doing better in our efforts to follow God. Milder remarks yet I still keep reading stories about how many Americans raised Roman Catholic have abandoned their faith. Could I ask the mainstream media a simple question? How many people raised Baptist, Methodist and Seventh Day left those churches? Any comparisons? Because if there are people leaving other churches then we might draw a conclusion that Americans change faiths as often as they change jobs and marriages and that little of the change can be blamed on onerous policies reiterated by kindly old men in Rome. The other media narrative is that the church is run by a ring of pedophiles using cassocks as cover while molesting every child in sight. Look, I know child-abuse victims. I’ve also reported on stories about police officers, schoolteachers and Baptist ministers molesting kids. This isn’t to say that all police officers, schoolteachers and Baptists are child rapists. So I wouldn’t mind seeing the media put this in context. After meeting Thursday with a small fraction of abuse victims the Pope was suddenly portrayed by the likes of CNN and MSNBC as a liberation theologian. The mostly un-churched folks doing the reporting haven’t bothered to inform you that the loudest voice at the Vatican decrying the response of his church the last quarter century was a man named Josef Cardinal Ratzinger. I would also like the folks at the major media outlets to remind us that apologies ease suffering but won’t wash away all the pain. From what I can see the Pope’s meeting with the group of victims has wholly changed media coverage. Two nights ago it was all “Pope bad”. Last night it was “Pope good”. Are the major newsrooms all staffed by simpletons? Maybe they could spend more time telling us about the man’s other actions while visiting this country. I’m a Roman Catholic and I very much like going to church. When I return to me seat after swallowing the bread I have a physiological reaction. It’s a feeling of joy and it lasts long after I leave. Even while struggling to leave the parking area of the church I don’t lose the glow. In my ever longer growing life I’ve experienced prejudice, which I know of, just twice. A “Christian” radio station wouldn’t hire me because I was “Catholic”. The job was reading the news and I guess there was fear that I would lock myself in the broadcast booth and begin reciting The Rosary. My second experience came from a large Christian radio network. Again I was being considered for a job in news and the deal was almost complete. It’s when I decided to volunteer I was a Roman Catholic. The personnel director was silent. The next day my telephone rang and I was told I really didn’t have the right “sound”. Thank you, K-Hate. Or how about the protestant pastor endorsing John McCain? The man of God was asked if he was anti-Catholic. He insisted he wasn’t but intoned Catholics don’t know The Bible. Which Bible? Mine has a few different books but I’m guessing he means Roman Catholics don’t read? I should point out I most certainly have so I’m left with the conclusion that he means many people from my church can’t cite chapter and verse. Let me get this straight, if you read the book but can’t be specific about a citation you aren’t Christian? Doesn’t matter if you try and live by the book. I’ve got news for him, my brain isn’t wired that way and I’ve never been able to grasp rote. He should also know that every Roman church I know of has frequent and regularly scheduled Bible study. A woman once living as my neighbor worked for an agency called Family Planning. She used to tell me that the Roman church had ruined the lives of many, many women. Her family was nominally Methodist. In other words they had presents under a tree once every year. Later she moved to Hawaii with a friend of mine. Shortly thereafter she abandoned him and had a baby from another man. Not that she’s all sure how this came about. She had been strung out on crack and the like for a few months. Then one day the crack headed guy was gone and she had a burgeoning tummy. Years later I learned this same woman had been a victim of child sex abuse. Her assailant was her nominally Methodist dad. I can say with faith and even a good degree of certainty this woman would’ve found great solace in most of the Roman Catholic Churches I’ve attended. Along with kindly understanding from this man called Benedict.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 9:17 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.