Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones: The History of Anti-Catholic Violence in the U.S.

Homiletic And Pastoral Review ^ | August 11, 2014 | Fr. David J. Endres

[Heart-Rest]

With the recent surge in anti-Catholicism originating from many diverse sources (including our government and the media), I believe it will be useful to take a look at the violence perpetrated against American Catholics by bigoted anti-Catholics in our past in the U.S. (as described in this posted article). It is vitally important to also begin to examine more closely the ominous signs occurring right now in our country and our world, and seriously consider whether we are heading into another dark and foreboding chapter like that in our past.

[Heart-Rest]

Ping!

Here are some links to selected video clips of various prominent Catholics talking about some of the modern forms of "anti-Catholicism" they are increasingly encountering these days.

   "Scott Hahn Q&A on dealing with Anti- Catholic comments"

   "Fr. Robert Barron on Anti-Catholic Prejudice"

   "Fr. Robert Barron on Anti- Catholicism"

   "Fr. Barron on The Anti-Catholic, Un- American HHS Mandate"

   "Fr. Robert Barron on The Last Acceptable Prejudice"

   "How to confront anti-Catholicism" - Tim Staples

   "Laura Ingraham accuses Joy Behar of being an anti-Catholic bigot"

   "Michael Coren & Bill Donahue: Anti- Catholicism The Last Acceptable Prejudice"

   "Bill Donohue responds to Jamie Stiehm's Anti-Catholic Article"

   "Anti-Catholicism" - Dr. Philip Jenkins

   "Steve Ray on anti- Catholicism"

   "Fr. Mitch Pacwa. S.J.: Life-long Catholic - The Journey Home Program" - (speaks of anti-Catholicism)

[Heart-Rest]

Here are some notorious anti-Catholics from the present and the past.    Some are former Catholics, some are "Catholics-In-Name-Only" (CINOs), and some are not Catholics, but all attack (or have attacked) the Catholic Church and her teachings and beliefs in one way or another.

All Catholics should endeavor to do our best to see if a way can be found to help all anti-Catholics we know to see the light, remove the deep bitterness and anti-Catholic bias from their souls, and turn to the true Church founded by Jesus Christ to obtain healing and reconciliation, and we should enjoin them (like St. Paul) to "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

Some Notorious Anti-Catholics
Anti-Catholic (Protestant Barack Hussein Obama)	Anti-Catholic (Protestant Hillary Rodham Clinton)
Anti-Catholic (Protestant Harry Reid)	Anti- Catholic (Protestant Rev. Jeremiah Wright)
Anti-Catholic (Planned Parenthood Organization)	Anti- Catholic (Homosexuals)
Anti-Catholic (Friedrich Nietzsche)	Anti- Catholic (George Soros)
Anti-Catholic (Protestant Rev. Jesse Jackson)	Anti-Catholic (Protestant Rev. Al Sharpton)
Anti-Catholic (Protestant Jimmy Swaggart)	Anti-Catholic (Margaret Sanger)
Anti-Catholic (Atheists)	Anti-Catholic (KKK)
Anti-Catholic (Mainstream Media Representative - Candy Crowley)	Anti-Catholic (Mainstream Media Representative - Wolf Blitzer)
Anti-Catholic (Ellen Gould White)	Anti-Catholic (Goodloe Harper Bell)
Anti-Catholic (Muslim Terrorists 1)	Anti-Catholic (Muslim Terrorists 2)
Anti-Catholic (Muslim Terrorists 3 - ISIS)	Anti-Catholic (Muslim Terrorists 4 - Boko Haram)
Anti-Catholic (Muslim Terrorists 5 - ISIS)	Anti-Catholic (Muslim Terrorists 6 - ISIS)
Anti-Catholic (Rosie O'Donnell)	Anti-Catholic (Perverts Protesting Against Catholics At Cathedral)
Anti-Catholic (Fidel Castro)	Anti-Catholic (Know Nothing Party)
Anti-Catholic (Communists)	Anti-Catholic (Dim-bulbed Democrats - New Black Panther Party)
Anti-Catholic (Kim Jong-un)	Anti-Catholic (Idi Amin)
Anti-Catholic Cartoonist Work	Anti-Catholic Billboard
Anti-Catholic (Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor)	Anti-Catholic (Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
Anti-Catholic (Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan)	Anti-Catholic (Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer)
Anti-Catholic Traitorous Catholic-In-Name-Only CINO's
Anti-Catholic (CINO Traitor Judas Iscariot)	Anti- Catholic (CINO Traitor Nancy Pelosi)
Anti-Catholic (CINO Traitor Joe Biden)	Anti-Catholic (CINO Traitor Kathleen Sebelius)
Anti-Catholic (CINO Traitor Andrew Cuomo)	Anti-Catholic (CINO Traitor "Sister" Carol Keehan)
Anti-Catholic Media Demons
Anti-Catholic (Catholic-Bashing Entertainment Media Demons) (Can you hear them cackling?)	Anti-Catholic (Catholic-Bashing Mainstream News Media Demons) (Can you hear them shrieking?)
Primary Instigator of All Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholic #1 (Traitor Satan) (Used to live in Heaven - Now the Gates of Hell) (The hideous father of all anti-Catholic lies)

[BipolarBob]

Makes one yearn for the heady days in which The Church held power and could inquisition their enemies does it not? A pity the peasants are literate. A priest can barely molest an altar boy or two before it reaches the papers now.

[Heart-Rest]

Posters and lurkers here may be interested in watching/listening to/reading some of these links, which will shed some light on the truth about the Catholic faith.    (Please ignore any know-it-all anti-Catholic naysayers you might encounter, who may try to sow their own sour brand of anti-Catholic negativity into your soul, and just prayerfully make up your own mind on these issues based on "the light of truth".)

(Try to steer clear of all the "Bible-text-hoppers" too.    It is very easy to come up with some confusing, weird, and even bizarre theories if you hop around to various Bible texts, taking them out of context, and trying to artificially force them together when they really do not belong together that way.)

As a quick illustration of that, check out this two-text pairing:

✝============================================================✝
Text 1:  There came a woman of Samaria to draw water.    Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”    For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.    John 4:7-8
------------------------------------------------------------
Text 2:  Then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife; so you shall purge the evil from the midst of you.    Deuteronomy 22:24
✝============================================================✝

Do you see how easy it is to build a bizarre absurdity by hopping around willy-nilly, from "this" Bible text to "that" totally unrelated Bible text?

Or how about this three-text example:

✝============================================================✝
Text 1:  ...and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces...    Isaiah 25:8
------------------------------------------------------------
Text 2:  When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”    John 2:3
------------------------------------------------------------
Text 3:  Jesus wept.    John 11:35
✝============================================================✝

And check out this outrageously ridiculous Bible text pairing:

✝============================================================✝
Text 1:  When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.    John 19:30
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Text 2:  Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.    Ecclesiastes 1:2
✝============================================================✝

Do you see what nonsense can be developed from the Holy Scriptures simply by hopping around to various biblical texts haphazardly?    Context is of vital importance, and it is also quite helpful to humbly avail yourself of the guidance of God's Church, which the Holy Spirit had the Apostle Paul refer to as "the pillar and bulwark of the truth"   (1 Timothy 3:15).

May God bless all of us with a greater understanding and appreciation of the Love of God, and of the Church Jesus Christ began to build, guide, sustain, and protect, so long ago, just like He solemnly declared He would.

Here are those links:

The Light Of Truth Shining Through The Darkness
"Peter, the Rock, the Keys, and the Chair" Steve Ray		"By Faith Alone" Steve Ray		"Are You Born Again? A Catholic Response" Steve Ray
"Understanding the Eucharist" (Part 1 of 3 - Audio) Dr. Scott Hahn		"Understanding the Eucharist" (Part 2 of 3 - Audio) Dr. Scott Hahn		"Understanding the Eucharist" (Part 3 of 3 - Audio) Dr. Scott Hahn
"The Virgin Mary Revealed Through Scripture" Dr Scott Hahn		"Praying to Mary - A Biblical Defense"		"Sola Scriptura" Patrick Madrid
"Do Catholics Worship Statues?" Catholic Answers ---------- "So Catholics Worship Statues?" Tim Staples		"Why do Catholics make statues and bow down and pray to them when the 10 Commandments say not to?"		"Two Notions of Worship: Catholic vs. Fundamentalist" Karl Keating
"Call No Man 'Father'?" Catholic Answers		"The Institution of the Eucharist in Scripture" EWTN - Scott Hahn		"Who can consecrate the Eucharist?" A Catholic assessment of literal (Eucharist) vs. figurative (plucking out eyes) ---------- The Apostle Paul declaring the literal meaning of the Holy Eucharist in 1 Corinthians 11:23- 30
"Dr. Scott Hahn's Conversion Story To The Catholic Church" (audio) ---------- "Scott Hahn - Saturday Evening Session - Defending the Faith"		"Dr. Peter Kreeft's Conversion To Catholicism From Protestantism"		"Former Pentecostal Pastor Alex Jones Converted To The Catholic Church"
"Jimmy Akin's Personal Testimony"		Tim Staples, former Baptist, who then became an Assembly of God Minister, and is now a Catholic		"Catholic Conversion Stories"
"The Eucharist" Steve Ray		Fr. Mitch Pacwa answers Protestant's questions on the Eucharist versus the metaphor of Jesus as the "door"		"Journey Home - Dr. Ray Guarendi"

[Heart-Rest]

Please pray for the conversion of all anti-Catholics.

[Henry Hnyellar]

Really. We often read here about how blacks need to quit living in the past. Hmmm.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Poor baby -- your reparation check is in the mail.

And, in response to the molestation charge -- per insurance statistics, it occurs more in Protestant churches than in the Catholic Church.

[BipolarBob]

it occurs more in Protestant churches than in the Catholic Church.

Well hey, that makes it all right then. Party on dude.

[Salvation]

Excellent article.

And we can note that anti-Catholicism is alive and well on the web.

[Alex Murphy]

From left to right—Bishop John Hughes, New York, 1844

...if Hughes attacked religious and ethnic bigotry, he also recognized that the dysfunctional behavior of New York’s Irish was more destructive than the discrimination against them. After all, he knew that German immigrants, 40 percent of whom were also Catholic (the majority was Protestant, with a small minority of Jews), were almost immediately successful upon arriving in the country, even though most had come to America with no more money than their Irish counterparts—though they did arrive as intact families to a much greater degree than the Irish. German Catholic immigrants did not experience anything akin to the troubles of Irish Catholics, proving that the source of Irish difficulties was not simply their religion or that their ancestors weren’t English. Tellingly, there are almost no reports of German gangs in the historical period that Gangs of New York—both the movie and the 1928 book by Herbert Asbury on which it is based—portrays.
-- from the thread What Gangs of New York Misses

....a clergyman was the catalyst for the cultural change that liberated New York’s Irish from their underclass behavior. He was John Joseph Hughes, an Irish immigrant gardener who became the first Catholic archbishop of New York. How he accomplished his task can teach us volumes about the solution to our own end-of-the-millennium social problems....

....He immediately stirred up a war over the city’s schools, then run by the Public School Society. Though the society received state funding, it was essentially a private Protestant organization that taught Protestantism and used the Protestant Bible. Worse, from Hughes’s point of view, it had pupils read such books as The Irish Heart, which taught that “the emigration from Ireland to America of annually increasing numbers, extremely needy, and in many cases drunken and depraved, has become a subject for all our grave and fearful reflection.” Hughes (with the support of New York’s 12,000 Jews) wanted an end to such sectarian education, and he wanted, above all, state aid for Catholic schools, just as the state had funded denominational schools before 1826 (with no one dreaming of calling such aid unconstitutional). The outcome of the struggle pleased no one: the Maclay Bill of 1842 barred all religious instruction from public schools and provided no state money to denominational schools.
-- from the online article How Dagger John Saved New York’s Irish

....1841 was an election year in the state of New York. Five days before the election, at a Catholic rally at Carroll Hall, [then-bishop John Joseph Hughes] presented his parishioners with a list of the candidates he favored for council and urged them to vote for them....The Constitution gave Hughes the right to advise his parishioners how to vote, but the Protestant establishment was outraged at what they saw as priestly meddling in politics. Leading the attack, James Gordon Bennett, editor of The New York Herald....Hughes's politicking paid off. All but three of the candidates he had supported were elected. In April 1842, the state passed the Maclay bill. By a majority of just one, New York's Senate voted to end religious instruction in New York's public schools....
-- excerpts from Hour Two of the PBS broadcast God In America

Related threads:
The Hunter’s Point Bible War
Philadelphia’s immigration lessons: How fear and hatred led to 19th century riots
American Anti-Catholicism
Cartoonist Draws Ire of N.J. Irish [Thomas Nast, the father of the American political cartoon]
What Gangs of New York Misses

[narses]

Here on FR we see posts like:

“All of the Lent and Easter abomination is pagan and God clearly condemned it in scripture.”

“God doesn’t smile down on people who celebrate Easter.”

[DesertRhino]

It’s probably because the American Republic was traditionally anti monarchist and anti Europe. Catholics follow an earthly monarchy in Rome, and come from the operating system that created European oppression. Bad optics add they say.

[Salvation]

Wrong. Catholics follow Christ and the successors that are appointed righteously.

[Salvation]

Catholic Ping!

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I'm sickened that, as soon as the reprehensible behavior in question is pointed out to be a more Protestant than Catholic issue, you reply that it is now alright.

Molestation is never "alright." Not even when Protestants do it.

[DesertRhino]

That’s just what I said. .. Catholics believe God himself appointed a monarch and installed him in Rome. The papacy shouldn’t come before the US Constitution in anyone’s mind.
That was always the question. Still is.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Catholics created European oppression? — darn it, somebody should have told those Pilgrims to stay put. If only they had realized that England was a Protestant country and European oppression only went on in Catholic countries.

[DesertRhino]

It happens everywhere. But The RCC has a solid and relatively unique track record of hiding the pervert offenders from the law.

[BipolarBob]

Catholics follow an earthly monarchy in Rome

Oh no, you've done it now. Just because he has a headpiece, scepter, throne and a palace . . don't start drawing any comparisons. I almost forgot the "Pope speaks infallibly" part when the moon is in the right phase or something like that.