Robin Williams Mocks Catholics Priests on Tonight Show

LifeSite ^ | June 19, 2007 | John Jalsevac

[NYer]

BURBANK, California, June 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -  Last night on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," comedian Robin Williams plugged his upcoming movie, "License to Wed." In the film, Williams plays a Protestant minister who forces an engaged couple to go through a grueling marriage preparatory course. But last night Williams went off on Catholic priests, painting them as pedophiles.

Williams pretended to be playing a game where the pedophile is hidden under a cup, suggesting that this was an image of the Church's attitude towards dealing with "pedophile" priests. "Here we go. Find the priest, find the pedophile. Find the priest, find the pedophile. Here you go right now. Move 'em around, move 'em around. Oh, you found the pedophile."

Williams then put his hand over his groin, saying, "You have to realize that if you are a Catholic priest, you have retired this. That's it--no more sex." Then he took a shot at confession, saying "But they are going to put you in a small dark box and people are going to tell you the nastiest sexual stuff they have done."

This is not the only time that Williams has done this routine. In a MoviesOnline interview about his upcoming film, Williams launched into the same routine, also suggesting that the Church should repeal its teachings on priestly celibacy.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded to Williams' routine with outrage. "Isaiah Washington lashes out at one gay person in private, and he is banished from 'Grey's Anatomy.' Robin Williams lashes out against all priests in public, and he suffers no consequence," said Donahue. "To top it off, Williams suggests that most molesting priests are pedophiles, when in fact they are homosexuals. But to make a joke about gay priests could get him into trouble."

"One more thing," Donahue continued, "in an interview with MoviesOnline, Robin Williams recently said that 'you can't poke fun at certain religions,' noting that 'we just made major fun of the Catholic Church but hey, they don't blow you up.' So not only is Williams a bigot and a liar, he's a coward. No wonder he's so well received in Tinseltown."

In the lengthy MoviesOnline interview Williams was asked, "Have you had feedback from any religious groups about any of the religious jokes you've done in the past?"

He responded, "Oh yeah, you always do because organized religion, you can't poke fun at certain religions. Hence, right now [assumes Middle Eastern voice] if I was to dress you in a full Burka, someone would go, "What are you doing?" [normal voice] I mean it's difficult because you have to realize that we just made major fun of the Catholic church but hey, they don't blow you up. The Pope will just excommunicate and you know I haven't gotten a lot of communications originally from him so... "

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

I agree with those that say that Williams is past his prime but on the other hand, people he’s a COMEDIAN. COMEDIAN’s tell JOKES. Like them, not like them, your call, get offended or not get offended, but there’s always the buttons on your remote if something doesn’t pass muster.

[Aquinasfan]

I’ve never understood why anyone thinks Williams’ comedy routines are funny. Some of his movie roles have been well done, but seeing him do stand-up is painful. He’s crude and weird, imho.

I agree. I use his humor as a personality test. The people that I've known that think he's funny tend to be a bit unstable.

[Gerish]

I caught the beginning of the Tonight Show last night. Jay Leno was talking about the Ten Commandments for driving recently put out by the Vatican. He also got a dig in there about pedophile priests. Sadly, their stupidity and ignorance is pathetic.

[klossg]

Bummer.

[trisham]

I use his humor as a personality test. The people that I've known that think he's funny tend to be a bit unstable.

**************

Mr. Trisham was once a fan of Williams, and thought he was a "comic genius". I think it was my persistent negative wisecracks when Williams was on TV that finally brought him back from the dark side.

[orlop9]

It is funny that people only really dislike comedians when their humor hits too close to home...

[chatham]

Robin Williams is another MORON from Sodom and Gamorrah who would be more useful as a pillar of Salt.

The Church continues to draw criticism by not forcefully punishing Priest Homosexuals and secreting their Abuse ‘til
The Statue of Limitations runs out, and taking years to get rid of the filth in the church.

They put more effort into their lastest “10 Commandments of Driving”’ than they have on Homosexual priests of which possibly 20 to 50% of curent priests may be Homosexual.

All of which doesn’t excuse The MORON WILLKIAMS.

[Cheverus]

I was actually going to go see his new movie.....guess he lost two tickets here.

[Eagle Eye]

Then you probably wouldn’t have liked my naughty priest Halloween costume.

Any organization that allows such things to happen and handled it the way they did deserves derision and condemnation. Afterall, they made a mockery of themselves.

[klossg]

I still like the guy even though this movie bums me out. I have liked Robin Williams since Mork. He was great in Popeye, Dead Poets, Good Morning Vietnam, Mrs. Doubtfire, ... He will probably be good in this movie. But, then again who couldn't be good in a movie attacking the Catholic Priesthood in 2007? I hope those who see this movie, enjoy themselves. I also hope they understand that not all Catholic Priests are pedophiles and that there are many more people who are not Catholic priests who are pedophiles. I don't mind them laughing at this terrible situation. I just hope it doesn't cause people to lose heart in Christ or the Catholic Church. I mean many things are not perfect but they are still valuable (marriage, every church in the world, all families, you and me ...)

I am a practicing Catholic. I love my Church and all those who serve Christ in the Church. I pray for those who serve themselves too much. I might see this movie on TV or cable. I just hope that Robin Williams isn't doing it to attack the Catholic Church in general. Sure, it needs reforming - what Church here on earth doesn't. But, I don't think pop culture is in a position to help. So, therefore I think this is just exploitive. The Catholic Church is part of the Body of Christ and I don't think much good can come from exploitation in this sense. And Robin Williams and the producer and director of this movie are only going to profit off this exploitation and may harm some people's understanding of the Body of Christ in the process.

[IrishBrigade]

Any organization that allows such things to happen...

...so you’re suggessting that the Church knew these gay priests were coming into the priesthood, and knowing such, allowed them in with impunity, and whatever predictable results followed, the Church had already takeninto account and couldn’t have cared less about it...is that what you’re saying..?

[orlop9]

In the film, Williams plays a Protestant minister who forces an engaged couple to go through a grueling marriage preparatory course.

Williams plays a PROTESTANT minister, why should this movie cause distress to a Catholic? I understand an objection to his routine on the Tonight Show, but what does that have to do with the movie, seen it already?

[Between the Lines]

>>What faith is Robin Williams?<<

Robin Williams is an Episcopalian. His mother was a Christian Scientist.

http://www.adherents.com/people/pw/Robin_Williams.html

[dsc]

“that would be akin to calling a man who has sex with a 16-year-old girl a heterosexual pedophile.”

Actually, no. A pedophile is attracted to pre-pubescent children. That means up to around ten, eleven, or twelve, depending on the onset of puberty.

In previous eras, girls were eligible for marriage at menarche, or earlier if it was a state marriage. The attempt of some today to define attraction to physically mature young women of child-bearing age as a perversion is unique in human history.

The abrupt and recent turn in our thinking on this issue can be discerned not only from the lyrics of pop songs, but from the legal age of consent.

The age of consent is 16 in 33 of these 50 states, and 14 in three more. It is 17 in 8 states, and 18 in only 8 states.

[ELS]

The age of consent is 16 in 33 of these 50 states, and 14 in three more. It is 17 in 8 states, and 18 in only 8 states.

Do you have a link to that information? I'd like to see a breakdown by state.

[dangus]

There may be no between homosexuality and true pedophilia; they are seperate psychological conditions. But there is definitely a link between homosexuality and the “pedophilia” in the Catholic Church; that was Donohue’s point.

“Pedophilia,” in the strict sense in which it is accurate to say that it is unlinked to homosexuality, is the attraction to sex with infants. Nearly all of the sex-abuse cases in the Catholic Church involved post-pubescent victims. The vast preponderance of such cases were male-to-male incidents. The priesthood scandal was about homosexual predators targeting a safe set of victims, who were young enough to be psychologically dominated, but old enough to be biologically men. It had everything to do with homosexuality, and nothing to do with pedophilia.

[dangus]

>> Homosexuals infiltrated Catholic seminaries in the 1970s. The damage has not been fully undone. <<

Sorry to say, that isn’t true. By the close of Vatican II, the sex abuse was already in full throttle. If there’s a relationship between the post-Vatican reforms and an invasion of liberals or sexual deviants, the it’s that the deviants caused the post-Vatican reforms, and not the other way around.

Even Martin Luther seems to be referring to homosexual perverts when he attacks celibacy. I believe he was victimized, triggering his sexual incontinence and zealotry. I take the fact that he is vague about what he refers to as a sign he is hesitant to reveal what he is ashamed of, inclining me to think that there is something really there, as opposed to his mostly wicked slander; it seems otherwise strange for a slanderer to refuse to divulge accusations.

[dangus]

>> It is funny that people only really dislike comedians when their humor hits too close to home... <<

Wow! I haven’t heard that kind of reasoning since college, when the university folks tried to insist that people only really object to homosexuals when they are suppressing their own homosexuality. Someone could just as easily respond to you by saying that only really dislike moralists when they know they’re going straight to hell.

Of course, that’s not true, but it’s the same type of thinking you are using.

[dangus]

>> Williams plays a PROTESTANT minister, why should this movie cause distress to a Catholic? I understand an objection to his routine on the Tonight Show, but what does that have to do with the movie, seen it already? <<

I certainly thought he was depicting a Catholic priest, from the ads. If he’s Protestant, it’s only a device to explain why the diocese wouldn’t stop him.

[Invincibly Ignorant]

So the Catholic church has never been
guilty of moving pedaphiles around? Is
that your point?