Posted on 12/14/2005 5:20:00 AM PST by TaxachusettsMan
Catholic League Not Amused By ‘VILE’ Leary Special
By Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - Updated: 12:15 AM EST
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has put Worcester homey Denis Leary on its Naughty List and the religious group is demanding that Comedy Central ax future showings of his “vile special” “Denis Leary’s Merry F#%$in’ Christmas.”
“Hate speech dressed in humorous garb is still hate speech,” said Catholic League president Bill Donohue. “Leary is obviously bedeviled by some disorder but nothing excuses this crap.”
In the Yuletide yukfest, the “Rescue Me” star has a skit about lesbian nuns and a song by “Our Lady of Perpetual Suffering Church Choir” about a hooker. But what really has the Catholic League ready to launch a holy war is Denis’ take on the origins of Christmas.
“Merry Christmas,” says Denis. “Tonight we celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, whose mom, Mary, just happens to be a virgin — even after she apparently gave birth to Jesus.At least that is what the Catholic Church would have you believe.
“Tom Cruise is taking a lot of (bleep) for belonging to a religion, Scientology, that believes aliens came to this planet 75 million years ago. That is nothing. I was raised Catholic. We believe Mary was a virgin and Jesus ended up walking on water, creating a bottomless jug of wine and rising from the dead.”
Leary then gives his trenchant take on the virgin birth which, trust us, did not jingle the Catholics’ bells!
“We understand Denis Leary is edgy and this is his schtick, that Boston tough guy appeal,” said Catholic League spokesgal Kiera McCaffrey. “But going after the Blessed Mother is the kind of thing that really gets our backs up.”
But the Comedy Central suits think the religious Grinches should lighten up.
“This is satire,” said channel spokesman Tony Fox. “Comedy Central is an adult network and we think Denis Leary has the right to speak freely about what he thinks is funny. We don’t cave to pressure and we’re not pulling the show off the air. That’s not something we’ve ever done.”
No indeedy. Denis’ special is schedule to air again Dec. 17, 19,21, 24 and, of course, 25.
File Under: Season’s Bleatings.
Or a Jewish-Joke-Fest, complete with a ridicule of Israel's sacred beliefs and customs, scheduled for the week of Passover, maybe, to bring in the Spring Sweeps.
Why do we Catholics put up with this kind of insult?
How best to let Denis Iscariot Leary and his Catholic-Bashing Central know how we feel?
"How best to let Denis Iscariot Leary and his Catholic-Bashing Central know how we feel?"
Well, you could always watch something else.
How much outrageous behavior is made to exploit the outrage it produces for publicity?
Anyone who has ever seen Denis Leary's standup would know that his "Christmas special" is nothing like Kathie Lee Gifford's. So yes, change the channel.
I like his tv series "Rescue Me", but I switched channels when Last month I saw the first minute of his Christmas comedy act.
What a courageous idea! And it bears such powerful witness!
You would have been a real world-changing presence in Nazi Germany or even during the days of the Roman persecutions.
Just keep your head in the sand, dear, and it will all go away.
Rock on, Linda! A courageous and witness-bearing concept, indeed!
And one surely destined to right wrongs and make a statement!
Head back in the sand, dear, and all manner of evil and injustice will simply go away (at least for you).
You know, it must really suck to have two problems:
1. Owning a TV set that can only receive Comedy Central and that can't be turned off;
and
2. Being such a f***ing drama queen that one comedian making fun of your particular religion is suddenly equal to living in Nazi Germany.
By not watching, by calling Comedy Central HQ and by speaking disapprovingly to those who think the show is funny.
"How much outrageous behavior is made to exploit the outrage it produces for publicity?"
My daddy always said that if you leave it alone, even the biggest manure pile will dry up and blow away.
Wow, Princess, pushed your tender buttons, did I?
Is that the same mouth you kiss your Significant Other with?
“Merry Christmas,” says Denis. “Tonight we celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, whose mom, Mary, just happens to be a virgin — even after she apparently gave birth to Jesus.At least that is what the Catholic Church would have you believe.“Tom Cruise is taking a lot of (bleep) for belonging to a religion, Scientology, that believes aliens came to this planet 75 million years ago. That is nothing. I was raised Catholic. We believe Mary was a virgin and Jesus ended up walking on water, creating a bottomless jug of wine and rising from the dead.”
Either of these jokes actually untrue?
Well, there are a couple of factual problems. The Virgin Birth is not simply "what the Catholic Church would have you believe." It's actually in Scripture: Matthew and Luke are accepted as canonical by any number of Christian denominations.
And "the bottomless jug of wine" is cute but not at all the word or intent of John 2.
But whatever you do, do NOT let facts get in the way of your responses.
Saw him in interview last night; I guess 'post' performance. . . he waxed on about the hypocrisies of the Church. . .'laughable' he offered. . .among other things. I imagined that he thought he was offering impressive, intelligent discourse/criticism; and perhaps to his peers; it was. . .
But he was pathetic in his diatribe and despite the pleasure he takes in his aim; he misses the mark in grand and foolish style.
"Is that the same mouth you kiss your Significant Other with?"
The only people I've heard use the term "Significant Other" are the sorts of folks who can't wait to see Bareback--er, Brokeback--Mountain.
Denis’ special is schedule to air again Dec. 17, 19,21, 24 and, of course, 25.
Thanks!
Do you have what time it will air on those days?
This is the anti-Christ in action, folks.
Beware the anti-Christ! Oh, and...
Merry Christmas
Are either of those actually jokes?
Aren't jokes supposed to be actually funny or something?
Quality is another question altogether ;~D
ROTF!!!!!
Methinks thou dost protest too much . . . Princess!
Caught the first few minutes and thought "this is stupid" and turned the channel.
OK - let me put it this way - which of those quotes depicts in some scandalous way what Catholics believe... or in any way makes Catholics look bad? - I mean really!
By way of disclosure, I'm not Catholic, and I defended the South Park "Mary" episode recently aired on Comedy central and protested by this same group. That's why I clicked on this thread, out of curiosity. And after ~that~ controversy, which I thought was baseless because SP is never gonna be bullied into retiring the episode, well, this seems like a tempest in a teapot.
Real men change the channels.
Well, it's hard to reason, let alone argue, with someone who is impressed by the courage and wit of SP.
That's pretty much ALL I need to know!
Merry Christmas!
<<< - Typical guy - We don't care about what is on TV; we care about what 'else' is on TV. The wife has to sneak around behind my back to play with the remote.
Again - a courageous response and witness-bearing solution!
Thank you!
And Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you too. :~D
And I'm not being sarcastic.
Well, I believe in free speech. I don't have to like what is said. So yes, I make a statement in favor of one of our founding principles.
But not very well.
Don't hold your breath.
Good point. We might not even know this was on if the original poster hadn't done so much advertising for it.
Luke 6:27-45
27: "But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28: bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
29: To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
30: Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again.
31: And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.
32: "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33: And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34: And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35: But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.
36: Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
37: "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;
38: give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."
39: He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40: A disciple is not above his teacher, but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher.
41: Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
42: Or how can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
43: "For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit;
44: for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
45: The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
If we were moslems, we could get some suicide bombers to address the insult, but that's not the way of Jesus.
I understand that this is a "Christmas" special, so Leary is going to perform a heartwarming solilique that the Virgin Mary was not a virgin. Not since Linus spoke from the Gospel have I been so choked up. I'd like to see the "tough guy" let loose on Islam. Isn't Ramalamadingdong going on now? Maybe he could do a bit about Mohammed being a vicious warlord that porked (pun intended) a little girl. Somehow I don't think Leary's got the stones.
How best...
Cancel your cable and tell your cable supplier, and Comedy Central why you did it.
PS - You can live without cable TV. I've been doing it for 5 years and don't really miss it.
IMO, Leary basically said that it's easier to believe in Tom Cruise's aliens than in the Virgin birth, walking on water, the miracle at Cana, etc.
Merry Christmas back at ya!
As far as your suggestion of a "Jewish Joke Fest" anyone who's ever listented to one of the classic stand up comics, like Myron Cohen, Rodney Dangerfield, Henny Youngman, Mel Brooks, and hundreds of others have all been treated to a hearty helping of self deprecating ridicule of Jewish beliefs and practices.
As far as your suggestion for Islamic Joke fests, well since Islamics are willing to kill anyone who satirizes their religion, I think we won't be seeing a lot of it anytime soon. Is the Catholic League prepared to go to that extreme to keep Catholic Satire off the airways? If so, then that will probably put an end to it pretty quickly.
So anti-Semitic talk and Muslim-bashing works for Linda?
Like I said, Rock On, Linda!
And Merry Christmas!
Well... OK - so?
I mean really... in every religion there are "unbelievable" acts that people take on faith... and he compares them and makes that point. The reason people believe in these stories ~isn't~ because theirs seems less miraculous, is it?
Thanks for the Bible study, but I'm confused:
Are you saying that the two alternatives available to Christians who may be offended are: 1) kill your enemies 2) say nothing ?
Amazing!
I guess, then, that the REALLY courageous Christians during the Holocaust were the ones who said nothing publically but prayed like crazy for the conversion of the Nazis - even as freight cars filled with Jews rolled through their towns?
Does it strike you that there might be another way?
Less comfortable but more courageous?
Just wondering.
Yeah and George Carlin was raised Catholic as well, and that's what Leary basically is, a George Carlin starter kit. But Leary is funny when he rags on celebrities, I'll give him that.
Merry Christmas to you, too; I see board sentiment is primarily with me.
From Dennis Leary, it is self-loathing. But his words are an affront to (most?)/all Christians.
He's within his rights to deny Christian beliefs but you are correct to ask when the MSM will tackle debunking Judaism and Islam around their high holy days.
It's always the holier-than-thou types that give people a bad taste for religion.
Good point. We might not even know this was on if the original poster hadn't done so much advertising for it.
Right! I love Leary, he's a riot!
'Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion' (The Guardian UK)
"Of all the elements of Christianity, the most repugnant is the notion of the Christ who took our sins upon himself and sacrificed his body in agony to save our souls. Did we ask him to?"
There IS a culture war going on. Or do you prefer to continue to deny that antiChristian bigotry exists?
Antisemitism did not begin (nor did it end) with Adolph Hitler.
Jewish museum in Austria exhibits anti-Semitic objects to provoke debate
Pray.
That's exactly what Jesus said to do...that we were blessed being persecuted.
Rejoice and be exceedly glad, he said, for your reward in heaven will be great.
He didn't say go off in a big huff and cause the enemy even more attention by being filled with anger.
He said pray for them. Act kindly to them in spite of their bad behavior to you.
You aren't compromising the faith by not beating up Dennis Leary. It is enough to say, "This is a rude behavior that does not reflect Catholic viewpoints," or something like that, and let it go. This is not a case of theological teaching. It's a case of someone attacking your beliefs. And we were not taught to attack back, but to show the truth by our actions and love, and our unwillingness to compromise the truth personally. This is the path that Christ himself said to use.
The point being that he questions if these things happened (things believed by most if not all followerrs of Christ, whether or not they are Catholics).
This special is designed solely to be aired when Christians celebrate this miracle.
Odd to have an "anti-Christian special" air during holy days. Isn't it?
I think it is fair to ask where the annual onslaught of ABC, Viacom, Fox, etc. specials are that question whether Mohammed was truly holy during Ramadan and other muslim holy days.
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