Never Thought I'd See the Day

I was surprised a couple of weeks ago, while reading my local newspaper to discover the following editorial

Other Catholics that I know have long been saying that it seems that anti-Catholicism is that last acceptable prejudice. It seems like jokes and jibes against different races, most religions and physical and mental differences are unacceptable...and rightly so. Most of these jokes attempt to strip away the inherent dignity of the people they attack. And yet.... below the belt blows at Catholics and Catholicism are often the order of the day. Now I'm not talking about the benign jokes that often poke fun at the quirkiness of Catholic culture and life. I have a fun sense of humor and love those as much as anyone else. Instead it's the constant messages about the priest abuse scandals, about Catholic adherence to its moral teachings that often fall against the grain of the culture. It's okay to rip into the church and degrade its many members who have done nothing more than live a good life and try to follow as best they can the teachings and mandates of Christ and His Church.

As a Catholic I truly believe that my church was founded by Jesus Christ, 2000 years ago. But I am very aware that this Church is run on earth by human beings, and we are all fallen creatures. We make mistakes, we fall down, we try to get back up and keep going...one look at the Bible stretching back to through the Old Testament, makes witness to the fact that even those who were once held in God's high esteem, often fell and made grave mistakes. David killing one of his soldiers to take his wife, Solomon who asked for wisdom and then didn't seem to always pay it much heed, even St. Peter who denied Christ three times. The important thing to remember is that individual people make mistakes but the Church as an institution continues to stand up for people and their dignity, even if this is often miscontrued by society.

I don't know Mr. Connolly's religious affiliation, or what his views are on other issues, save that he seems to be opposed to I-1000, the so-called "Death with Dignity" act that is trying to be passed in Washington State. What I do know, is that I thank him for bring forth the other point of view in a rational way and hopefully make people think about what really is or is not acceptable.