Anti-Catholicism: The Final Frontier

I had an interesting day yesterday.  Within an hour of waking up I was greeted by anti-Catholic postings on Facebook – obviously motivated by the church’s much-publicized opposition to the American government’s intent to force all employers to offer birth control to their employees.  It started the day off on the wrong foot, but I decided to just ignore it and get on with my day.

Shortly after I got to work I took a look at Twitter to see what was happening in the world.  And what was trending? -  #WhyIUseBirthControl.  I foolishly checked out some of the Tweets and was actually shocked by the anti-God, anti-Catholic, anti-child messages that so many felt the need to communicate.  I posted a few tweets of #WhyIDontUseBirthControl, but as you can imagine, one guy Tweeting in Florida isn’t really enough to start a trend.

Hours later a conversation arose at work and the subject of marriage was brought up to a 20-something co-worker of mine.  Almost immediately verbal shots were fired at him from all sides as people advised him again and again and again to make sure he never had children.  It’ll ruin your life; Your fun will be over; They’re just too expensive are just a few examples of the anti-child barrage that was leveled on the unsuspecting young man.  Vastly outnumbered and figuring it would be best to keep my opinions internalized in a business setting, I just smiled and told him that he had plenty of time for marriage and children.

Before going to bed I foolishly checked Facebook again and was sent off to dreamland by a pedophile priest cartoon – woo-hoo!!!   It was certainly nothing original – the pedophile priest joke is about as original as the chicken-crossing-the-road joke – but it was still enough to raise my blood pressure right before bed.

So what lesson should I take from these experiences – other than social media is bad for my blood pressure?  The one thing that I have come to realize is that anti-Catholicism is indeed the final frontier of political correctness.  It’s the last accepted prejudice in America.

Actually, that’s not accurate.  In America it’s also acceptable to make fun of Southerners (like how I found a way to tie in the South to this column??!?!?).  Don’t believe me?  I challenge you to pay close attention and see if you can make it a full week without hearing one dumb-redneck joke and one Catholic joke.  If you’re on Facebook and/or Twitter it shouldn’t take more than 24 hours to see/hear both.

It’s kind of strange when you think about: Catholic and Southern cultures are so vastly different, yet in many ways the prejudices against the two are very similar.  Both Catholics and Southerners are considered closed-minded, simplistic, and in some aspects downright stupid. 

n  Look at those dumb Southerners getting up early on Sunday to go watch NASCAR, cheer for a man they don’t even know, and drink beer from an aluminum can.

n  Look at those dumb Catholics getting up early on Sunday to go worship a statue, confess their sins to a man they don’t even know, and drink wine from a gold cup.

The South has always been considered the anchor of the Bible-Belt in America, although Catholics haven’t really had anything to do with that title.  The South is, and probably will be for the foreseeable future, a hotbed of Protestant fundamentalism.  And although the majority of Protestants are not opposed to birth control, most see the Health Care Mandate’s birth control provision as a clear intrusion into religious liberties. 

For some Americans, religious or not, the flap over the mandate is about their own personal beliefs on birth control.  For others it’s about the government sticking its dirty little hands into how a private business/industry is run.  But to even more it’s simply another opportunity to attack the Catholic Church head-on.

I read somewhere (I wish I could remember who said it) that the Catholic Church, as the only church that was directly started by Jesus Christ, would ALWAYS be under attack. There will NEVER come a time when the church, its teachings, and its clergymen will be sheltered from the snares of those who wish to see it destroyed.  Oddly, I take some comfort in that fact.  It’s infuriating to see the church so openly mocked and ridiculed in today’s popular culture, but the knowledge that it’s nothing new is a bit comforting.  The church has made it for 2,000 years so far, and it will be around as long as I’m still alive – I’ll make sure of that.

I have a quote from Pope Leo XII on the wall of my desk at work.  It’s right behind my computer monitor so I can’t help but read it numerous times a day.  I would like to close this column with the quote and offer it as a reminder to myself and to anyone reading this that we as Catholics shouldn’t keep quiet when our church is attacked.  Maybe I should have commented on those two offensive Facebook posts yesterday.  Maybe I should have made my voice heard more clearly in the discussion about marriage/children yesterday at work.  Maybe if I’m stronger in the future I won’t let such opportunities pass by again.

“To recoil before an enemy, or to keep silence

when from all sides such clamors are raised

against truth, is either the part of a man

devoid of character or who entertains doubt

as to the truth of what he professes to believe.”

-          Pope Leo XII

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