Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest examples of media duplicity:
Trey Parker and Matt Stone recently did a satirical episode of “South Park” on Comedy Central depicting Moses, Jesus and Buddha; Muhammad was explicitly given a pass, and was instead dressed in a bear costume. That’s because the boys at Comedy Central have told Parker and Stone to lay off Muhammad for fear of Muslim retaliation. But it was all for naught as Muslim extremists posted online that they were gunning for Parker and Stone anyway. Previously, Parker and Stone have admitted that “it really is open season on Jesus,” and that they are constantly being blocked from depicting Muhammad.
Yesterday, MSNBC host Donny Deutsch had his show canceled for the rest of the week because he dared to criticize MSNBC star Keith Olbermann on Tuesday. In a segment criticizing “angry” media figures like Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, Deutsch’s guest, Hugh Hewitt, cited Olbermann and Ed Schultz, another MSNBC host. Olbermann was reportedly angry; Deutsch was disciplined and his producer, Gresham Striegel, was sent home. Last January, MSNBC president Phil Griffin sent a memo to staff members warning that “We do not publicly criticize our colleagues. This kind of behavior is unprofessional and will not be tolerated.”
It’s all so amazing. The gutless executives at Comedy Central continue to give the green light to Catholic bashing, simply because Catholics don’t threaten to kill them. And the folks at MSNBC—who never tire of lecturing the Catholic Church for not being more tolerant of dissent—are quick to issue a gag rule when one of their own is criticized by a colleague. Accordingly, neither Comedy Central nor MSNBC have any ethical right to ever criticize the Catholic Church for not being open enough to different points of view.
