Anti-Catholic Intolerance And Bigotry In Unitarian*Universalism
Two weeks after U*U ministerial hopeful David Kling posted about the anti-Catholic bigotry that he encountered during a U*U "leadership training" at the Midwest Leadership School in July, Patrick Murfin blogs about the alleged anti-Irish bigotry of "famous Unitarian" Theodore Parker and the shameful anti-Catholic heritage of Boston Unitarians on his 'Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout' blog.
Here is the comment that I just posted in response to his blog post, with pertinent embedded links -
UNE EGLISE QUI N'EST PAS TRES CATHOLIQUE
from: anonymous
date: Aug. 13th, 2007 10:40 pm (UTC)
:Anti-Catholicism remained a strain of though (sic) in Unitarianism well into the 20th Century.
Try the 21st century Patrick. There is no shortage of anti-Catholic intolerance and bigotry amongst U*Us, including U*U clergy. . . here and now. Here is a blog post about a very recent example of anti-Catholic intolerance and bigotry on the part of a U*U minister.
http://fortitudeofspirit.blogspot.com/2007/08/every-man-and-woman-is-star.html
When Rev. Ray Drennan verbally defecated all over former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau's Roman Catholic rite state funeral in his appropriately titled 'Wrong Message' Op/Ed piece in the Montreal Gazette I responded by displaying the following picket sign slogans -
UNE EGLISE QUI N'EST PAS TRES CATHOLIQUE
and
A "CHURCH" THAT DESERVES A TRUDEAU SALUTE
If you are wondering what a "Trudeau Salute" is just Google it.
I also wrote a letter to the editor decrying Rev. Ray Drennan's anti-Catholic bigotry, which likely has its root causes in his Presbyterian Orangeman roots. . . only to discover that fifty other people had done likewise. Five representative letters, including one from a "devout atheist" of Roman Catholic background were published, further tarnishing the already seriously tarnished image of the Unitarian Church of Montreal.
:Beacon Press was still publishing—to great success—anti-Catholic screeds in the 1950’s.
Interesting. That might help to explain why the UUA hired an anti-religious bigot who had most of the trappings of a Presbyterian Irish "Orangeman" (except that he was a fundamentalist atheist "Orangeman" as it were) as a U*U minister as recently as the mid-1990s. . .
:UU’s have worked studiously to forget all of this.
Well they have certainly worked studiously to refuse to acknowledge this. . .
:When the topic is brought up, they are apt to stick their fingers in their ears and start humming loudly.
Believe it or not, a few U*Us have acktually done this walking past my picket signs that, amongst other things. . . protest against the anti-Catholic intolerance and bigotry of Rev. Ray Drennan and other "like-minded" U*Us.
:When I have brought the subject up before, I have been attacked for doing so.
Ditto. Indeed I have been physically assaulted by some U*Us for bringing up this and other subjects. Of course the verbal attacks are actually more harmful and damaging than the physical ones.
:And some defend anti-Catholicism as the legitimate aspect of the Radical Reformation heritage of which we are a part.
Yup. . .
:Others point to abuse scandals and the increasingly authoritarian and rigid posture of the Church with a certain smug “I told you so” attitude.
While denying, ignoring and minimizing the abuse scandals and the increasingly authoritarian and rigid posture of the U*U "Church". . .
Robin Edgar aka The Emerson Avenger
Here is the comment that I just posted in response to his blog post, with pertinent embedded links -
UNE EGLISE QUI N'EST PAS TRES CATHOLIQUE
from: anonymous
date: Aug. 13th, 2007 10:40 pm (UTC)
:Anti-Catholicism remained a strain of though (sic) in Unitarianism well into the 20th Century.
Try the 21st century Patrick. There is no shortage of anti-Catholic intolerance and bigotry amongst U*Us, including U*U clergy. . . here and now. Here is a blog post about a very recent example of anti-Catholic intolerance and bigotry on the part of a U*U minister.
http://fortitudeofspirit.blogspot.com/2007/08/every-man-and-woman-is-star.html
When Rev. Ray Drennan verbally defecated all over former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau's Roman Catholic rite state funeral in his appropriately titled 'Wrong Message' Op/Ed piece in the Montreal Gazette I responded by displaying the following picket sign slogans -
UNE EGLISE QUI N'EST PAS TRES CATHOLIQUE
and
A "CHURCH" THAT DESERVES A TRUDEAU SALUTE
If you are wondering what a "Trudeau Salute" is just Google it.
I also wrote a letter to the editor decrying Rev. Ray Drennan's anti-Catholic bigotry, which likely has its root causes in his Presbyterian Orangeman roots. . . only to discover that fifty other people had done likewise. Five representative letters, including one from a "devout atheist" of Roman Catholic background were published, further tarnishing the already seriously tarnished image of the Unitarian Church of Montreal.
:Beacon Press was still publishing—to great success—anti-Catholic screeds in the 1950’s.
Interesting. That might help to explain why the UUA hired an anti-religious bigot who had most of the trappings of a Presbyterian Irish "Orangeman" (except that he was a fundamentalist atheist "Orangeman" as it were) as a U*U minister as recently as the mid-1990s. . .
:UU’s have worked studiously to forget all of this.
Well they have certainly worked studiously to refuse to acknowledge this. . .
:When the topic is brought up, they are apt to stick their fingers in their ears and start humming loudly.
Believe it or not, a few U*Us have acktually done this walking past my picket signs that, amongst other things. . . protest against the anti-Catholic intolerance and bigotry of Rev. Ray Drennan and other "like-minded" U*Us.
:When I have brought the subject up before, I have been attacked for doing so.
Ditto. Indeed I have been physically assaulted by some U*Us for bringing up this and other subjects. Of course the verbal attacks are actually more harmful and damaging than the physical ones.
:And some defend anti-Catholicism as the legitimate aspect of the Radical Reformation heritage of which we are a part.
Yup. . .
:Others point to abuse scandals and the increasingly authoritarian and rigid posture of the Church with a certain smug “I told you so” attitude.
While denying, ignoring and minimizing the abuse scandals and the increasingly authoritarian and rigid posture of the U*U "Church". . .
Robin Edgar aka The Emerson Avenger
Comments