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This is from Media Report:
The Usual Suspects: NY Times, Dissident Priest Support Anti-Catholic SNAP With Falsehoods, Attacks on Church
Anti-Catholicism in Action: The New York Times, Rev. Thomas P. Doyle, and SNAP
The New York Times is again shilling for the Catholic-hating SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) with more false attacks against the Catholic Church.
Yesterday (Tue., 3/13/12), the Times plastered a sympatheic, front-page portrait of the anti-Catholic advocacy group in an apparent attempt to intimidate the Church from defending itself through the legal process. We have already exposed the dishonest nature of the article (which was written by religion editor Laurie Goodstein). [There’s a surprise.]
Then today (Wed., 3/14/12), the Times continued its attack with a misleading and error-laced editorial.
First, the editorial claims that the Catholic Church is “threatening to expose private files” of victims in Missouri. This is patently and demonstrably untrue. If there is one issue that SNAP and the Church agree on, it is that victims’ files must be kept private.
One does not need to look further than the beginning of the January deposition from SNAP’s national director David Clohessy to verify this. A lawyer for an accused priest made it very clear to Clohessy:
“Let me state at the beginning of this deposition that I do not want the names of any victims that have contacted you other than those that have contacted you and filed suit against [the accused priest in this particular case] or the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Do you understand what I’m saying? I don’t want the names – I don’t want you to reveal to me the names of any victims other than those that have put their names forward in lawsuits. Do you understand that?”
So Clohessy is simply lying that his January deposition was about “discouraging victims, witnesses, whistle-blowers, police, prosecutors and journalists from seeking our help,” as he is quoted in today’s article. And of course the New York Times is going right along with this deception.
However, as corrupt as the Times’ editorial is, it doesn’t beat the nasty and dishonest commentary today from the dissident Rev. Thomas P. Doyle in the equally dissident National Catholic Reporter. [aka Fishwrap]
Doyle’s piece is rife with falsehoods (The Church wants to “discredit and intimidate victims”; “Nothing has changed since 1985”) and red herrings (“The purpose of the ‘church’ is not the care and feeding of the hierarchy.” Who on earth ever said that?).
In addition to being a longtime friend of SNAP, it should be known that Doyle has a very lengthy record of dissent and animosity against the Catholic Church. In the past Doyle:
- has falsely claimed the Catholic Church was established by Constantine;
- has dismissed Catholic thought as “childish, unrealistic beliefs” and “magical thinking”;
- has misled Catholics on numerous important issues, including the history of the Church, the role of the laity, the training of seminarians, and the Church’s requirement of celibacy;
- has been removed as a military chaplain because he contradicted his archbishop regarding the Mass;
- has once sought an endorsement from the “Holy Orthodox Catholic Church,” unrelated to Rome, as a way to keep his military job;
- has demeaned priestly vestments as “dresses”;
- has actively participated in an error-laden, anti-Catholic film;
- has falsely tagged the Church as a “monarchy”;
- has falsely claimed that a 1962 Vatican document was “an explicit written policy to cover up child sexual abuse by the clergy” (read the truth here); and
- has apparently denied the historicity and doctrine of the Real Presence of the Eucharist by referring to it as a “symbol”.
The New York Times, SNAP, and Rev. Thomas P. Doyle: This week’s three-pronged attack on the Catholic Church.
[By the way, in case you missed it … Last week, (Fri., 3/9/12), the Times accepted and published angry, full-page, anti-Catholic ad from an atheist group. Yet this week the Times rejected a very similar ad that substituted ‘Islam’ for ‘Catholicism.’ Double standard? You bet.]
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Fr. Doyle is another one of those wolves within which the MSM loves to use to beat the Church over the head. There is a whole peanut gallery of them, all “in good standing”.
One of the reasons I pray for Rome to get the SSPX’s paperwork in order is that the priests of that society would be an unapologetic counterweight to that peanut gallery. They are not afraid, and the courageous priests and hierarchy who already have their paperwork in order could use some reinforcements.
SNAP director in Missouri got a fierce grilling last year:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2012/03/snap_deposition_clohessy_tierney.php
They operate as a ‘rape crisis center’ in Missouri. How many trained counselors do you have?
“Uhhhhhhh……” And on and on. It is one of the very rare times when the church and the law could
sit down and ask SNAP under oath exactly WHO are you people and what do you do? Delicious!
I’ve only been Catholic 15 years, so I don’t understand what is required to discipline a priest who attacks the Church. Can anyone explain?
On a side note, when I worked in the private sector in the US, I always understood that “when you eat a man’s bread, you don’t bad-mouth him.” I realize the Church is not a business, but I would have thought that common ethics would have precluded biting the hand that feeds a person.
But then there is Pfleger; and the Berrigans; and a host too numerous to mention.
Off to Confession, aka “Communal Reconciliation.”
Well, it is Lent, and I am just waiting for the History Channel to do some we-found-the-bones-of-Jesus show. Every year during Lent we seem to get some crazeball archeological discovery that “proves” that either Jesus never existed, or He existed but didn’t rise from the dead, or proves that He was a woman etc. Really, what do you guys have left to throw at us? I guess I’ll have to wait until Holy Week since that is prime Jesus-bashing airspace.
Yup, I read this in the NCR yesterday.
I had the feeling at the time that the article in question was not giving a fair shake to the bishops.
If SNAP was indeed the kind of organization that Doyle purports it to be I would tend to support their work, but I have a gut feeling that they err on the side of victim advocacy so much that false accusations are increasing.
In fact I wonder if the increase in false allegations is attributable to SNAP as much as any other source? Though I think the money motivation may be bigger.
I’m pretty sure that up through 2002 the majority of allegations (98%) were accurate. I think in the past ten years that has fallen significantly.
The NY Times is upset that someone (other than them) is “threatening to expose private files”. ..? When has the NY Times ever ‘NOT’ exposed private files?
Cod bless the Sole, the Fish Wrap sees a Grouper in every piece.
Chantgirl,
Don’t forget the “Jesus had a brother” frauds that come out every once in awhile.
And all that Rev. Doyle has suffered is having been removed from a military chaplaincy? Do the bishops care so little for the faithful, to allow this one to masquerade in public as a true and faithful priest, when clearly, if the bullets are correct, he is anything but? If he cannot be canonically removed–a matter on which I am not competent to comment–he ought to be cloistered.
@wmyer
In 2008 the same Fr. Thomas P. Doyle, O.P. was barred from representing anyone in any Church legal proceeding in the Archdiocese of St. Louis by none other than one of our favorite shepherds – then-Archbishop Raymond Burke (which came as a result of a different matter, but read the decree for more details).
The actual decree and explanatory note here:
http://archstl.org/files/archstl/images/stories/pdfs/04-09-08-decree_doyle.pdf
http://archstl.org/archstl/page/explanatory-note-decree-extra-judicial-adjudication-regarding-rev-thomas-p-doyle-op
DavidR says:
“I’ve only been Catholic 15 years, so I don’t understand what is required to discipline a priest who attacks the Church. Can anyone explain?”
What is required? Go back to your catechism and look up The Four Last Things.
These people should not be allowed to have anything to do with real investigations. The bias should also be classified as hate speech and be prosecuted as such.
oldcanon2257 : Thanks for the links. It’s good to know these issues are taken seriously in some quarters.
Why is this guy not disciplined, or more importantly, defrocked and thrown out of the priesthood?
Why is it that good and faithful priests like Father Guarnizo and Father Rodriguez get thrown under the bus by their Bishops for standing up for the Church and her teachings?
This is very irritating!
The children of this world are notoriously “as wise as serpents” concerning the things of this world. They work hard at it. Why are you surprised that, in this world, they have an easier time?
But it really is possible to do both, to be gentle as doves and wise as serpents. Sometimes we just have to sit there and take it, but sometimes we make problems for ourselves by forgetting the Lord’s admonition to keep working on both.