10.18.2010

Red Mass is Another Example of Christian Privilege

silk-red-backgroundImagine that high-ranking members of government, including the Vice President, were caught attending an exclusive invitation-only meeting of some religious group where he or she was warned of the threat Jews pose to the United States. The speaker described a battle between good and evil where Jews were on the side of evil and urged the audience to oppose them. The speaker referred to many contentious political subjects and instructed the Vice President and others in attendance how they should govern on these issues (i.e., with the "good" leaders of this particular religion and against the "evil" Jews). What do you suppose would take place if something like this actually happened and the media learned of it?

Well, something much like it did happen. But instead of Jews being demonized, it was us. The event is called "Red Mass," the religion is Catholicism, and Vice President Biden and five of the nine Supreme Court justices were in attendance.
[Archbishop J. Augustine] Di Noia later decried a trend toward "exclusive humanism" and said, "That innocent human life is now so broadly under threat has seemed to many of us one of the signs of this growing peril."
Not only does the Catholic Church have no business instructing members of our government how to govern, but it is highly inappropriate for such officials to participate in such an event. If Catholics want to attack humanism, atheism, and the like, fine. But they should not have the ear of those who are supposed to represent all Americans when they do so.

H/T Butterflies & Wheels