The January 4 Mummers Parade in Philadelphia, funded by the City of Philadelphia, will include a “parody” of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church performed by the Slick Duck Comic Brigade. It will feature men dressed as priests and young men dressed as altar boys; cops will be shown chasing after the priests.
Catholic League president William Donohue offered the following remarks on this event today:
“To mock gay priests in a major parade in a prominent city is disgraceful. That the government is hosting this assault on homosexual priests is even worse.
“It does not persuade to say, as the sponsor of the Slick Duck’s entry has announced, that ‘As far as the parade goes, nothing is irreverent.’ In point of fact, as the Deputy Recreation Commissioner of the parade has said, no ‘blackface’ is allowed to march. That’s because the City of Philadelphia is infinitely more interested in not offending the sensibilities of African Americans than it is gay priests. In short, the City has drawn a line that racists may not cross, but anti-Catholic and anti-gay bigots are welcome to do so.
“WPHL, which is televising the parade, has decided not to show this public expression of homophobia and Catholic bashing. The general manager of the station, Leslie Glenn, has rightly dubbed this display ‘disgusting.’ The Catholic League commends Ms. Glenn for making this call. But we respectfully disagree with her judgment nonetheless: Channel 17 should air this display of bigotry and let all Philadelphians know what the Slick Ducks are made of and what both the Mummers and the City of Philadelphia are willing to tolerate. That way men and women of common decency can confront the bigots in their midst.”
