Posted on 09/03/2009 10:25:47 AM PDT by NYer
LOS ANGELES, CA, September 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In all of his 16 years defending the rights of Catholics, the President of the Catholic League has "never seen a more defamatory, obscene and vicious show on TV." League President Bill Donohue was referring to the August 27 edition of the CBS/Showtime program Penn & Teller.
The half-hour show libeled the Catholic Church with impunity, blaming the Church for, as Donohue put it, "every evil in history." Show host Jillette said the "intolerance, greed, paranoia, hypocrisy and callous disregard for human suffering" was the hallmark of the Catholic Church. Others on the show branded the Church as an "amoral" and "power hungry" institution that is just worried about its "cash flow."
Donohue said on Fox News that, "Penn & Teller's Nazi-like assault on Catholicism that took place on August 27 will go down in history as one of the most vile, obscene programs ever aired in any nation. That CBS, which owns Showtime, allows this to go on is positively unbelievable."
Donohue has requested a meeting with CBS officials to discuss the matter. He spoke to one official by phone Monday, but the Catholic League told LifeSiteNews.com that no official meeting has yet been held.
This week the League commenced a mass mailing of DVD copies of the outrageous episode to bishops and religious leaders across the nation. 414 bishops, hundreds of influential Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Orthodox Christian, Muslim and Mormon religious leaders across the United States are to receive the packages.
The League has also posted the complete program on its website here. (WARNING- HIGHLY OFFENSIVE AND FOUL LANGUAGE)
The League is encouraging all people of good will, Catholics and non-Catholics alike to demand that CBS cancel the Penn & Teller show.
Donohue describes just a few of the falsehoods in the program, saying: "Jillette lied about the Vatican's reaction to Sabina Guzzanti, an Italian foul-mouthed comedian who staged an assault on the pope in 2008: the pope never sought to throw 'her sexy ass in jail' and never once sought any punitive measure against her - it's all a bald face lie! Jillette lied about a 1962 Vatican document - it was a statement about penalties for priests who used the confessional to solicit sex: it was not a cover-up for sexual misconduct! He lied about Pope Benedict XVI - he had absolutely nothing to do with overseeing cases of priestly sexual misconduct in the United States! And so on."
The show interviewed anti-Catholic activists who masquerade as Catholics in order to have them bash the Church. Said Donohue, "Spokesmen for Catholics for Choice, SNAP and Dignity - three anti-Catholic groups that lie about their Catholic status - twisted, distorted and ridiculed Church teachings on sexuality."
The League has provided contact information for CBS officials so that they may hear the voices of many requesting that the Penn & Teller show be cancelled.
Contact CBS rep Nancy Tellem at nancy.tellem@tvc.cbs.com
-Or-
Mr. Leslie Moonves
Chairman of CBS
7800 Beverly Blvd., Rm. 23
Los Angeles, CA 90036-2112
Matthew Blank, the Chairman and CEO of Showtime.
Matthew.Blank@Showtime.net
From what I've read and heard from the man in his public persona, I think that Penn Jilette is one of those atheists whose disbelief is driven by a deep-seated anger toward God for allowing the good to suffer along with the evil. Most of the atheists that I know personally are the same: they'd love to believe in God, but the fact that He (for his own unknowable reasons) permits the good to suffer while the evil ostensibly prosper offends their reason and innate sense of justice. (I can't say that I blame them; many holy people have also experienced the same anger towards God, as we see in Scripture. I myself have shaken my fist at the Almighty on more than one occasion.)
Many atheists are people of good will who have been driven from Christ by the hypocrisy and weakness of people like me (i.e. weak and unfaithful Christians), and more than a few are intellecually gifted, creative, or otherwise "abnormal" people who have personally suffered injury and abuse at the hands of others acting in the name of Christ. I'm guessing, of course, but based upon his work I believe that Penn Jilette may be such a person.
In any case, I'm not trying to defend this televised attack on the Catholic faith. Neither will I watch it. That being said, I think our best response as Catholics is to ignore this sort of essentially superficial criticism and redouble our efforts to live up to our faith. Being better Christians won't win us any popularity contests, of course, but it will allow us to lead well-intentioned atheists and non-Christians back to Christ by our examples.
They’ve always been this vile - it’s just that they let it show a little more overtly.
“They even get Charlie Rangel on camera saying he doesn’t understand the tax code.”
#####
Rangel doesn’t even understand the concept of complex devices such as shoelaces.
If I were Bill Donohue I’d be more disturbed by that farcical Mass of the Christian Burial that took place in Boston last Saturday. The church (my church) just turned itself into a joke. When do you think they will canonize St. Teddy the woman and baby killer?
“If we had sharia law we could just kill them!”
Just be patient. It is coming.
As far as I can tell, Bill Donohue and the Catholic League have said nothing about Kennedy's burial Mass.
Penn should follow his own advice and...
Season 3 had an episode that dealt with religious ‘icons’ in general (called ‘Signs from Heaven’ I believe). Last season (6) had one that really bashed hard Islamic jihadism and people who give it a pass in a ‘World Peace’ episode.
Penn & Teller are hardcore libertarians and do a nice job roasting the Left in alot of episodes. However their obnoxious brand of atheism is tiresome. Their show also features alot of needless profanity and other “shock value” crap that detracts from their points and instances of true wit. I wish they had more confidence in the ability of a clever argument to entertain. Penn in particular seems to think constant cursing is the height of rebelliousness but it just makes him sound like a 12 year old. I remember they had a good show on the organic food scam that was ruined by their unfunny banter.
“I’m looking for it in those seasons but I don’t see an entire episoded dedicated to Mohammad/Islam in any season. Which episodes are you speaking of?”
Critics of religion like these guys and Bill Maher tend to be very bold when it comes to attacking religions that won’t fight back, like Catholics, Evangelical Christians and Mormons, but I don’t hear them say nearly as much about Islam.
First Amendment anyone?
BTW, I’m still waiting for Mr. Donahue to explain why Teddy the waitress sandwich Kennedy received a Catholic funeral. I’m sure it is on the way. Just like an explanation on why Pelosi still receives communion. SARC
Based on the title, I thought this post had something to do with the desecration of the church when a Funeral ‘mass’ for a well-known reprobate, apostate, and supporter of abortions, homosexual marriages, and other anti-Christian policies, was televised last week...
That's not quite the same treatment that Penn and Teller are giving the WHOLE episode on the Vatican, is it?
Every single advertiser on the entire CBS family of networks? I think you’d basically have to stop buying things.
But it isn’t ‘ignoring’ as was implied. Kind of like South Park (something Donahue has also gone after) P&T are equal opportunity offenders.
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