Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:
For years, the Catholic League has maintained that priests accused of sexual abuse are treated differently than any other segment of the population. This is especially true when the abuser is a celebrity. Last night, a comedian on “Chelsea Lately,” Joe Matarese, made exactly this point, however unwittingly.
Matarese mentioned Michael Jackson and his Neverland Ranch, saying, “I’m like, didn’t he maybe molest a couple of kids?” He then berated the audience for forgetting about what Jackson did, offering as a parting thought, “you know, maybe if a Catholic priest could moonwalk better….” He’s right: if abusing priests were entertainers, they would be treated as heroes.
Even comedians who viciously attack the Catholic Church on this matter know what the truth is. Jay Leno, for instance, has relentlessly attacked all priests as pedophiles, yet even he knows that pedophilia is not the problem. Homosexuality is. Here’s an example, taken from his monologue of February 4, 2011: “A Palm Beach priest has admitted to a violation of chastity with an adult woman. When the Vatican heard about this, they said, ‘A woman? Thank God.'” The implication, of course, is that most priestly predators have been homosexuals. Which, of course, is true.
This is noteworthy because comedians often succeed because they go against the grain, and in this case, they are going against the grain of political correctness. Every honest person knows that it is the teachings of the Catholic Church on sexuality that is the subtext for the attacks on priestly sexual abuse, and that the real damage has come at the hands of homosexuals. It’s time the pundits owned up, as well.
