I found your opinion piece on the Catholic Church’s response to “The Da Vinci Code” to be quite problematic and out of touch with reality. You completely ignore the Catholic Church’s response to the film and opt rather to express your own bitterness toward the Church. I could sit here and give cogent critiques of all the faults in your article, but I’d rather not waste my time.
Obviously, you have a very cloudy vision of the Catholic Church’s role in the world, so I won’t go on writing about all of the work it does to aid those in need. I won’t waste my time writing about the late Pope John Paul II’s denunciation of U.S. involvement in Iraq. I won’t waste my time writing that, according to Jesus and His Church, all people are sinners, not just gay people, and that all are equally worthy of Christ’s forgiveness. I won’t waste my time writing about Catholic devotion to the Virgin Mary, a woman held with the highest regard by Catholics, and who holds the Church’s highest and most honored position, Mother of God (not quite “vermin”). I won’t waste my time explaining why women can’t be priests (on this subject I do recommend the book “Catholicism for Dummies”). I won’t waste my time talking about the Church’s humanitarian efforts in Africa. No, I won’t go on explaining things that would have been clear had you spent some time actually researching the Catholic Church and its role in the world, or the reasons behind its traditions, instead of making false claims as fictional as the ones in the disputed book/movie.
What I would like to write about is a double standard that I see prevalent in this country, and in this article. I often ask myself this question: Why is it OK to smear Catholicism and make such spiteful remarks about a religion that many hold dear, when to do so about another religion would be seen as disrespectful? As the editor, I wonder if you would allow articles to be printed in the Daily Sundial that so ardently demonized Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, or any of the other many religions in the world, even if only as opinion pieces. My guess is that you probably wouldn’t. Why the double standard? Perhaps it’s because anti-Catholicism is the last accepted prejudice in this country, or that most Catholics are quick to forgive those that ridicule them or their religion. It seems paradoxical to me that people who claim to be open-minded are often so close-minded about Catholicism.
My hope is that you might print this article in your Opinion section in order to provide a different perspective on Catholicism-one not nearly as preposterous as the one you printed-and prove that the Daily Sundial doesn’t stand for anti-Catholic rhetoric. And, Bethania Palma, I truly forgive you with all of my heart for your spiteful remarks about Catholicism.
-Fred Keeler (a Catholic CSUN student)
