Al Jazeera: Anti-Catholic
What has prompted Aguilar to unleash her venom against the Church? Does it really have anything to do with the awful abuse of children? Not really.
Aguilar does not like the fact that Catholic bishops have forcefully spoken out against the government’s recent attack on religious freedom that attempts to force them to provide contraceptives in health insurance. (Her article is entitled, “The birth control bishops,” if you can stomach it.)
Aguilar realized, however, that she could not attack the Church on her own. So she did what most slippery journalists do when an attack on the Church is in order, and facts and honesty are not all that important.
She went to the angry folks at SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and BishopAccountability.org for support.
First up for Aguilar was SNAP “Outreach Director” Barbara Dorris, who, according to Aguilar, “says the [Church abuse] cover-ups are still happening across the country, yet we rarely hear about them in the national dialogue … ‘Bishops have gotten away with moving these predators from place to place, allowing them to start fresh. They are far more dangerous than the predators,’ [said Dorris].” Uh-huh.
(By the way, the article relays an oft-told story by Dorris of her walking in on a priest in 1991 at her parish abusing a young girl. Dorris has claimed that she called the police and social services, yet the man remains in ministry to this day. Yet, most notably, she refuses to divulge the name of this allegedly abusive priest. Why? Who is “covering up” now?)
Then there was the crabby Terence McKiernan from BishopAccountability.org, who, without a shred of supporting documentation, actually claimed, “Over the course of our conversation, a priest is abusing a child.”
Really?
Well, here are the facts: In all of 2010, there were eight credible allegations of Catholic priests contemporaneously abusing a minor in all of the United States. (See the 2010 CARA report.) Indeed, as we have reported several times before, almost all accusations against priests made today allege incidents from decades ago.
There are even more erroneous and mean-spirited claims in the hate-filled piece. (For example: “Catholic bishops in the US want every single act of sexual intercourse to lead to the conception and birth of a child, but once that child is born, they are on their own, especially if their priest abuses them.” Uhhh … no.)
The bottom line: Al Jazeera, SNAP, and BishopAccountability.org reveal – again – that honesty and truth are not important when attacking the Catholic Church.
(Thank you for the story tip, Matt!)
