The Jesuit Father Tom Reese is spot-on:
Imagine if the Knight of Columbus decided to give an award to a pedophile priest who had fled the country to avoid prison. The outcry would be universal. Victim groups would demand the award be withdrawn and that the organization apologize. Religion reporters would be on the case with the encouragement of their editors. Editorial writers and columnist would denounce the knights as another example of the insensitivity of the Catholic Church to sexual abuse.And they would all be correct. And I would join them.
But why is there not similar outrage directed at the film industry for giving an award to Roman Polanski, who not only confessed to statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl but fled the country prior to sentencing? Why have film critics and the rest of the media ignored this case for 31 years? He even received an Academy award in 2003. Are the high priests of the entertainment industry immune to criticism?
Of course. In our culture, when it comes to sex, celebrities are beyond good and evil. At least Polanski isn't a orthodox Catholic or committed Evangelical of any sort. In his cultural milieu, that would be the unforgivable sin.
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I don't know about other prominent liberals, but Whoopi Goldberg has just publicly made some of the sickest and stupidest defences of Polanski yet.
And as far as public school teachers go. During the height of the news coverage of the priest scandal the NY Times ran ONE front page story about how the situation is far worse numbers wise in the public schools. That was the last I read of that topic in that journal of liberal wisdom.
It's hard to believe that anyone could be so stupid as to suggest that teachers who abuse children get a pass of any sort.
In fact, I've seen teachers who've done NOTHING have their lives ruined by imaginative/lying minors.
Law enforcement takes such things VERY seriously.....
The Hollywood elite are truly scum. There is no defense for what Polanski did.
At the elementary school I attended a teacher was sued for sexual harassment for using the word "diaphragm" when discussing pulmonary anatomy. I am not joking. The judge tossed out the case, but it took a good deal of the school's time and energy
Father Reeses's comments, as well as those of the Pope, show only that the Catholic Church still has an institutional problem. Polanski deserves condemnation. But he's one dude. As Dreher and others have shown, for decades, the Catholic Church systematically covered up sexual abuse, often rewarding the perpetrators.
I deal with criminals more than most who read this blog, and I have to deal with sentencing issues. There's a fine line between arguing that your sentence is out of whack with those given to others and minimizing your crime. Here, Reese is comparing the relative lack of condemnation for a single bad actor to the systematic facilitation of systematic rape of children by members of his institution. Give me a break.
Also, I tell some of my clients that they are "spit on the sidewalk" defendants. They have done stuff bad enough that they have a big target on their backs for mistakes that others might get away with or get slapped on the wrist for. The Catholic Church has brought itself to that point through tolerance (even facilitation) of systematic rape, cover up, and the half-hearted acceptance of responsibility.
If you want to show that you are truly repentant for a crime, you need to stop saying, "Well, he did it, too!" Father Reese's comments indicate that he and his church do not understood what they have done, have not taken responsibility for it, and have not truly repented.
And yes, like many others, I hold the Catholic Church to a higher standard than Hollywood directors. That's a sign of respect for the Catholic Church, not the directors. Does Father Reese really want us to respect the Church the same as we respect Hollywood directors?
Here's the start of a version of Father Reese's statement that would have shown repentance:
"I'm saddened tat many of Polanski's supporters failed to learn the lessons the Church painfully learned over the last few decades. . . ."
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