On the September 21 episode of “Lopez Tonight” on TBS, host George Lopez made a reference to a story about an investigation of the Vatican Bank, and then said, “Regarding the scandal, a Vatican spokesperson says as long as it doesn’t have to do with little boys, we confess.” This remark followed a similar comment made on his September 15 show when he said, “This car [the pope’s car] seats six adults comfortably and four boys uncomfortably. It is the first time you hear a kid say, ‘I hope we’re not there yet.'”
Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed the show today:
Like others before him, Lopez likes to paint all homosexual priests as molesters. To those who say that art often depicts reality, consider the following. No institution, religious or secular, has less of a problem with the issue of sexual abuse today than the Catholic Church. Indeed, if Lopez wants to be cutting edge, he would do a skit on all the molesters in the public schools who are protected by state law from just punishment.
There is no shortage of script for Lopez to use if he decides to be up-to-date. In the news this week are two female teachers from Boiling Springs, South Carolina, who were arrested for misconduct. One public school teacher was charged with having sex with a minor between the ages of 11 and 14; the other, a preschool teacher at a Baptist school, was booked on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor (she also had sex with high school students). If this isn’t juicy enough for Lopez, he may want to do a skit on the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania who was accused on Tuesday of covering up sexual abuse by his brother more than 30 years ago.
Our guess is Lopez isn’t interested in these stories, or any others like them. He just wants to paint all priests as abusers, even though most of the abuse occurred decades ago at the hands of a minority of homosexuals.
Contact Diane Herzog, the PR person for the show: diane.herzog@turner.com
