Everything Old is New Again...

Tony Auth, a cartoonist published by the Philadelphia Inquirer, has single handedly resurrected a strain of vicious anti-Catholicism not seen since the nativist days of Thomas Nast during the last quarter of the 19th century.

His recent cartoon called “Church and State” pictures the five Catholic members of the U.S. Supreme Court wearing bishop miters.

Compare this with a Thomas Nast cartoon from 1876 and tell me you don't see the sickening similarities.Nast's cartoon shows bishops attacking public schools, with the connivance of Irish Catholic politicians

If you'd like to share your feelings with cartoonist Auth, his e-mail is:

tauth@phillynews.com

Comments

[Qualis Rex]

Tony's cartoon is indeed sickeningly anti-Catholic, but no more (or less?) so than the cartoons of Jack Chick. Do you think writing to Jack Chick and letting him know how we feel will change his views or make him alter his cartoons? It's free speech, like it or love it.

Ironically, the joke's on Tony in that the majority of the Catholic judges on the supreme court DON'T follow the bishops or the church on issues such as the death penalty....and the bishops themselves don't follow Rome on other issues as well.

Funny stuff!

[Subvet]

My Methodist wife is puzzled everytime I mention a bias against Catholics in this country. Feels it's some kind of paranoia.

I'll be showing this item to her, it makes the point well!

[Thomistic]

It's typical, and not surprising at all.

Would that Justice Kennedy were as motivated by his catholic faith as the cartoon implies.

Pax,

Thomistic

[Qualis Rex]

Subvet that's not surprising. Anti-Catholicism is as American as apple pie. It's what this nation was founded on, literally. The Puritains, decendants of Cromwell's brand of Anglicanism, where offended by the "creeping Catholicism" within the Anglican church. They were in power for over a century in England, but when they fell out of power they became the persecuted and took their show on the road to the colonies, and the rest is history. But they always blamed Rome for their demise and saw a Jesuit in every dark corner. This is a common theme throughout American history, up to the last century when the church and Catholics were still targetted by hate groups such as the KKK (now that the mass is no longer in Latin, we're "OK" by them....so what does that tell you?)

Just for fun, you should go check out the annual report from the Catholic League on Anti-Catholicism http://www.catholicleague.org/2005report/miscellaneous2005.html Unfortunately, to the media, the Catholic church is fair game, so when cross-burnings, destruction of altars, spray-painted Swastikas etc are commited against the church, very little of it is covered. But make one joke about the holocaust, and boy oh BOY...

[A Simple Sinner]

One wonders if a cartoon showing Jewish American jurists dressed as Hasidim wearing prayer shawls, where it would get printed....

But cheer up folks - if no one were making fun, we would not be doing things right.

[Subvet]

Qualis Rex, I go to the Catholic League site often. To be fair, some of what they find highly offensive just leaves me puzzled. An example would be the recent flap over the "chocolate Jesus". IMHO anyone who went to the "artist's" website would realize the guy was flat out nuts. What else can you say about someone who covers a house with cheese for his "art". Just my opinion.

As for my wife, for the most part she and her church have no beef with Catholicism and always go out of their way to be cordial to me. There are one or two who left the Church and can't get over condemning anything about it. Without patting myself on the back I can say that God has made me instrumental in opening her eyes to their bias and it's absurdity. Thanks for listening.

[David Anthony Domet]

Well, on the artistic merit at least and attention to detail, Nast was clearly a superior artist!

[Qualis Rex]

Subvet, I agree. The head of the Catholic league is IMHO almost as bad as the anti-defamation league in that if you look at any Catholic cross-eyed or sneeze in front of a statue he will shout anti-Catholicism. And he doesn't have the best social skills. But at the same time, we need watchdogs (bulldogs?) like him monitoring the situation, no matter how small the perceived slight. And the more superfluous accusations don't diminish the cases of real anti-Catholic hate crimes, such as the ones I mentioned above. I am surprised at how many there are in the US a year, like beheading statues, vandalizing and ransacking churches, burning crosses etc.

And good job in sharing the truth with your wife and her friends.

[Paul K.]

Well, I for one welcome all expressions of anti-Catholicism, as long as they do not come from other (supposed) Catholics. This is really what it is all about.

Folks, we are entering a new age (sorry for the terminology). We are called to stand up for the Truth. If we are really sincere about our belief in the sanctity of human life, we should all welcome such "abuse" (recognition is a better characterization): Bring on the juvenile cartoons! Let us demonstrate that we can respond to them with Love, and thus be worthy witnesses of Jesus.

By the way, the worst forms of anti-Catholicism are currently engaged in by(supposed) Catholic, American politicians: for example, those who support infanticide despite their moral obligation not to. By doing so, they are not only encouraging murder, they are scandalizing the Body of Christ. Please, let us pray that the Holy Father and our clergy will deal with them most appropriately and expeditiously.

[Qualis Rex]

Hello Paul, great post. I agree. When the Pope quoted Emperor Manuel II citing Islam as violent, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy (in other words, the Pope was saying Manuel was right on the money). So, the best thing we can do is to respond to any satire against us by living the gospel.

This country is the promised land of the jews. They own it and control it, more than the other countries. It is a "nation"that was artificially created, mixing a whole bunch of people, and with one common thing in it.
They are not Catholics and the State is much less Catholics.
That is bad to begin with.
But also England is an apostate, so that is even worst, a country dominated more so than others by the Devil and his agents.
So don't be surprised when they start persecuting us.

Anyone who knows the laws knows that the government can do what ever they please if there is enough "intrest".