Myers Desecrates The Eucharist

[Hassan]

[quote name='lilac_angel' post='1608607' date='Jul 25 2008, 07:29 PM']There is a very large difference between a cartoon and what we believe to be the very Body of God.[/quote]

For Muslims it is not just a cartoon, it was a Blasphemy and a powerful insult to all Muslims. I understand that you believe it to be your God that is fine. However if you minimize and trivialize other people's religious sensibilities, then you are not likely to find much sympathy from others when yours are offended.

I am not condemning the Catholic community at large, I am asking you to look at how many in your community treat other religious, and see how this may affect the lack of sympathy others feel towards Catholics. When I first heard of this act I myself was offended that he would do something like this. However after seeing enough condescending/insulting allusions towards Muslims and other is became less distressing.

I am not trying to insult you, I am simply giving an outsider point of view.

[quote]Remember, we don't believe that it's just bread. If we did, then perhaps that would be a more valid analogy.[/quote]

I understand what you believe. And when I attend Mass I do not receive the Eucharist because I feel it would be disrespectful to the faithful, I simply receive a blessing.

To you it is just a cartoon; to Muslims it is a personal insult that strikes at the very core of their religious faith. You cannot trivialize the pain they feel at seeing their prophet mocked, or their Holy Book desecrated, and then demand that people respect your religious objects. I understand that not all Catholics fall in these categories; however I am talking about a very vocal part of your faith community.

[quote]He threatened to desecrate and did desecrate Christ's Body. Those who are angry are justified, those who respond with sadness are justified, as long as the responses are tempered with Christian forgiveness and love.[/quote]

I never said you did not have a right to be angry. Now many of them were not tempered with love and kindness (not here, the Catholic response in general). Calling someone an extremely insulting and misogynistic term and threatening to bash his f-ing head in is not loving. I never said you were not justified in being frustrated of angry, you have every right to be. I said you may want to focus on your own faith community before setting up this false contrast between the peaceful Catholics and the violent Muslims.


[quote]He obviously knew how much attention this would get him - he obviously knew that what he did was a very controversial thing that would anger many. What did he expect? Anyone with half a brain would know that the act would have repercussions, and he's a professor, so I'm pretty sure he has half a brain.[/quote]

I'm surprised you would admit that the rather vulgar, violent, and threatening response from some Catholics was predictable and to be expected.

[Hassan]

[quote]This wasn't just something that didn't "conform to" our "faith." It was a very overt act of desecration.[/quote]

I was obviously not referring to the desecration given my reference to Birth Control and other things. When you have Bill Donahue calling so many trivial things anti-Catholicism then people ignore genuine complaints, like this one, of someone committing a highly vulgar and insulting act with the intention of offending Catholics.

[quote]And to deny the existence of a very real wave of anti-Catholicism is simply illogical.[/quote]

It wouldn’t be illogical, logical deductions has nothing to do with this. I never denied anti-Catholic bigotry exists. I mentioned that I have experienced plenty of it, and still se it from street preachers. However I have seen the most trivial things labeled anti-Catholic, I have also seen valid criticisms labeled anti-Catholic.

My point is the same one the protagonist in "the boy who cried wolf" learned. When Bill and others continually cry wolf over silly and trivial things, then when the real wolf comes, people likely won't pay attention.

[quote]It's not even all that subtle most of the time. To expect us not to be saddened or angered by it is a little unreasonable and not a proper understanding of human nature.[/quote]

Again, I never claimed you shouldn’t be saddened

[quote]However, we shouldn't stoop to his level, we should respond as Christians.[/quote]

I agree.

In his interview he showed willingness to compromise. I think he said he would consider some deal where a Church leader would renounce threats of violence and intimidation by Catholics in return for the Hosts being returned. I think perhaps Bill Donahue should have spent less time trying to get him fired and more time trying to work with him. He didn’t (so far as I can tell) and now no one has won. The Hosts have been desecrated, and per the wishes of so many Catholics the Qur’an has also been desecrated and now Muslims will have the opportunity to feel the same pain you feel for these Hosts (perhaps next Mr. Donahue can dare him to rub some pork on a Torah roll and toss that away, no reason anyone needs to escape without feeling like the very soul of their religion has been desecrated I suppose). Myers looks (deservedly so) like a bit of a looser with nothing better to do then type in his blog and offend Catholics and Muslims, and everyone is still upset. No good has come out of trying to bully respect

[quote]We don't have to be happy about it (Jesus wasn't happy about everything that went on around him), but we still must act as Christ taught us.[/quote]

And I think if the more high profile members of the Catholic Community in America followed this you may have had a better response.


[quote]Actually, the first definition of "holocaust" in the dictionary is: "Great destruction resulting in the extensive loss of life"... we don't base it on the Jewish holocaust.[/quote]

Let's be honest here and not be to clever by half. When someone says the word "Holocaust" in present American culture, what does almost every single American assume they are referring to?

What other event is called "holocaust" that one would be referring to when they say, "a new Holocaust"?



[quote]The Jewish holocaust was called such a thing because it was one example of the above definition.[/quote]
And what would be another example?

There have been, and are, a disturbingly high number of genocidal atrocities in human history. However it is the systematic genocide of the Jewish People (primarily, but many others died as well) during the reign of Adolf Hitler that is called the "Holocaust".

Can you honestly say that when Catholics claim abortion is "a new Holocaust" they are not making direct reference to the genocidal campaign of Adolf Hitler?


[quote]Many of us are praying and/or fasting as reparations and not focused or even interested in getting him fired. Most responses on this thread have been quite charitable, and I'm sure that a great many Catholic blogs are focused on praying for the man's conversion. To expect us to sit back and say "that's fine, maan, whatever floats his boat" that he drove a nail through the body of Christ and continue about our day as if nothing happened, though, is a little unreasonable to ask of someone who believes in the Real Presence.[/quote]

I never ONCE asked you to do such a thing. I asked you to consider the violent elements of your community, and to take this opportunity to consider how you approach other religions and groups.


[quote]"The average Catholic" is generally misinformed and not at all passionate about their faith and many do not even believe that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, even though that's what the Church has taught since the beginning. So of course those people would not be as offended as more devout Catholics. Not to imply that all right wing people are more devoutly Catholic. Intolerance comes in all shapes and sizes. Homosexuals in Brazil are working on a law that will imprison Christians for showing their differences in beliefs.[/quote]

I never denied that intolerance comes from all sizes. However you all cannot be asked to affect the behavior of Muslim bigots or homosexual bigots, you all as a community can only be asked to affect the behavior of bigots and hateful individuals within your own community, and that is all I am asking.

[BG45]

Lord have mercy on him, some Catholics might...but if a cartoon can set off some overseas Muslims, this will make a frenzy from that margin.

Edited July 26, 2008 by BG45

[Hassan]

[quote name='BG45' post='1608844' date='Jul 25 2008, 09:58 PM']Lord have mercy on him, Catholics might...but if a cartoon can set off some overseas Muslims, this will make a frenzy.[/quote]


point in case

[Brother Adam]

For the record, Bill Donahue is not the only member of the Catholic League. He is merely the president so most communications are sent in his name. Here is a list of the board of directors and advisers:

Board of Directors

[b]Raymond Arroyo[/b]
Thomas Brennan
Nunzio Cardone
Ann Corkery
Kathleen Hunt
William Lindner
Robert Lockwood
Marilyn Lundy
Jerome McDougal
Frank Salas
Jodie Thompson, Jr.
Kenneth Whitehead

Rev. Philip Eichner, Chairman
William Donohue, President
Bernadette Brady, Vice President

David Gregory, General Counsel
Board of Advisors

Brent Bozell III
Gerard Bradley
Linda Chavez
Robert Destro
Dinesh D'Souza
Laura Garcia
Robert George
Mary Ann Glendon
Dolores Grier
[b]Alan Keyes[/b]
Stephen Krason
Lawrence Kudlow
Thomas Monaghan
[b]Michael Novak[/b]
Kate O'Beirne
Thomas Reeves
Patrick Riley
Robert Royal
Ronald Rychlak
[b]Russell Shaw[/b]
William Simon, Jr.
Joe Varacalli
Paul Vitz
[b]George Weigel [/b]

Some of the most respected princes of the Church praise their work. If you believe their work is "trivial" or "boy who cries wolf" and negatively affects the overall view of society towards Catholics you should contact the League with your grievance.

[Aloysius]

Muslims believe God was offended by the image of Mohammad.

We believe God Himself in corporeal form was desecrated.

if something the Muslims believed was actually God himself was desecrated, the Muslim's level of outrage would be greater than it was over the cartoons. Even a desecration of the Koran would not compare if they believed something to actually be God and it were stolen and desecrated.

and nothing, absolutely nothing, would ever justify the level of riots and the damage it caused to innocent people when the muslims were outraged over those cartoons.

in addition, the level of respect expected of non-muslims is waay more than the level of respect we are asking the likes of Myers for. they expect non-Muslims not to do satire against them. all we're asking for here is don't take something from our religious service to desecrate it. now, many of the things Bill Donahue campaigns against are the equivalent of the Muslim cartoons; this particular thing is not.

our level of outrage ought to be accepted as understandably higher than the muslim's level of outrage... and we didn't riot in the streets and burn down universities and murder professors.

[lilac_angel]

[quote name='Hassan' post='1608818' date='Jul 25 2008, 09:47 PM']For Muslims it is not just a cartoon, it was a Blasphemy and a powerful insult to all Muslims. I understand that you believe it to be your God that is fine. However if you minimize and trivialize other people's religious sensibilities, then you are not likely to find much sympathy from others when yours are offended.[/quote]

The thing I myself tend to hear most commonly from Catholics is the discontent over the very rampant attacks on Catholicism that are equal to or even, in some cases, greater than the religious attacks on the Muslim community (like the cartoon) and expressing the discontent and frustration that people are allowed to get away with much more when attacking Catholics than they are Muslims in general. It is much more "politically correct" in many countries to denounce Christianity and blaspheme, whereas it's much less permissible to do so to Muslims.. I think this is what people's points are and where their discontent arises. There is a double standard, and I'm not blaming the Muslims for it, simply what society chooses to deem acceptable or inacceptable.

[quote]To you it is just a cartoon; to Muslims it is a personal insult that strikes at the very core of their religious faith. You cannot trivialize the pain they feel at seeing their prophet mocked, or their Holy Book desecrated, and then demand that people respect your religious objects. I understand that not all Catholics fall in these categories; however I am talking about a very vocal part of your faith community.[/quote]

I think it is wrong as well to trivialize any kind of religious insults. However, we see our religion mocked regularly in movies, pop culture, misrepresented constantly in the media, etc., so I guess sometimes it shows that Catholics feel a bit slighted when the Muslims actually get a response and people respect their wishes, whereas anti-Christian sentiment is only fueled further by our anger and outcry. But on the other hand, we should keep in mind that it's to be expected that the world will hate us. Still, it's our duty to continue to prayerfully defend from outright misrepresentations of our faith and desecrations such as these.

[quote]I never said you did not have a right to be angry. Now many of them were not tempered with love and kindness (not here, the Catholic response in general). Calling someone an extremely insulting and misogynistic term and threatening to bash his f-ing head in is not loving. I never said you were not justified in being frustrated of angry, you have every right to be. I said you may want to focus on your own faith community before setting up this false contrast between the peaceful Catholics and the violent Muslims.[/quote]

We simply cannot control the actions of a few individuals and people who distort our own faith, just as the Muslim community cannot control everyone in their fold. It is indeed wrong to claim ourselves as peaceful as a whole and another religion as violent, for sure, but I didn't see that in this thread, so I guess I wondered why it was brought up here.

[quote]I'm surprised you would admit that the rather vulgar, violent, and threatening response from some Catholics was predictable and to be expected.[/quote]

Oh, no, that's not what I meant. I meant that he should have at least expected angry letters when he threatened desecration and should have expected the people who wanted him fired after the desecration. Not the death threats that stemmed from someone very misguided. But there will always be those who don't respond in the proper manner. He was potentially even aware of this possibility himself, and that this would make our entire faith community look bad, too. All the better to support his "cause"!

Edited July 26, 2008 by lilac_angel

[cmotherofpirl]

The man works for a state supported school and should be fired:
President Robert H. Bruininks
202 Morrill Hall
100 Church Street S.E.
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Via phone: 612-626-1616
Via fax: 612-625-3875
Via e-mail: upres@umn.edu

Chancellor Jacqueline Johnson
309 Behmler Hall
600 East 4th Street
Morris, MN 56267

320-589-6020
E-mail: grussing@morris.umn.edu

[lilac_angel]

[quote name='Hassan' post='1608820' date='Jul 25 2008, 09:48 PM']Let's be honest here and not be to clever by half. When someone says the word "Holocaust" in present American culture, what does almost every single American assume they are referring to?

What other event is called "holocaust" that one would be referring to when they say, "a new Holocaust"?
And what would be another example?

There have been, and are, a disturbingly high number of genocidal atrocities in human history. However it is the systematic genocide of the Jewish People (primarily, but many others died as well) during the reign of Adolf Hitler that is called the "Holocaust".

Can you honestly say that when Catholics claim abortion is "a new Holocaust" they are not making direct reference to the genocidal campaign of Adolf Hitler?[/quote]

When it's termed "a new Holocaust," then yes, it does seem to make that reference. But I don't see that everywhere. I simply see "holocaust" sometimes. Being an English major, I simply see the word for what its meaning is, rather than comparing it to the Jewish Holocaust. Still, I wouldn't compare the two in any case, or make the case of one being greater than the other, because they are both atrocities. Others may not see the murder of millions of babies as serious as another type of mass murder, but Catholics do.

We aren't calling it a Holocaust to belittle or offend another religious group; if anything, we are simply drawing public attention to what it is, according to what the word actually means and represents. We are not saying a "new, worse Jewish Holocaust." I've seen, more commonly, "the holocaust of [x] amount of unborn babies each year"...

Historically, yes, the Holocaust with a capital H commonly refers to the holocaust of Adolf Hitler. But I have also seen the term, admittedly with a lowercase h (but then it wasn't ever talking about millions of people each year) used for other genocides and atrocities in history books, etc., throughout my schooling.

[quote]I never ONCE asked you to do such a thing. I asked you to consider the violent elements of your community, and to take this opportunity to consider how you approach other religions and groups.
I never denied that intolerance comes from all sizes. However you all cannot be asked to affect the behavior of Muslim bigots or homosexual bigots, you all as a community can only be asked to affect the behavior of bigots and hateful individuals within your own community, and that is all I am asking.[/quote]

As Aloyisuis said, Catholics are not rioting or murdering professors over this heinous act, and that happened in the Muslim community over the cartoon.

Death threats are indeed wrong, and we noted that. We are not proud of those in our community who are inappropriately violent or even simply threatening such a thing (which is the case here), and we should probably also be writing letters to them. However, it's less likely that a letter would be as effective to someone who gives extremist death threats than to a learned professor who did a very premeditated act after a long period of time.

Edited July 26, 2008 by lilac_angel

[RosaMystica]

[quote name='doe-jo' post='1607864' date='Jul 24 2008, 10:28 PM']I'm up for another crusade...

Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.[/quote]

So am I! Anyone up for burning him at the stake??

Just kidding

[mortify]

Hey Mandy, nice to see another Eastern Catholic, God bless you and wa salaam!

As for Myers, he'll understand the implications of what he did after he dies.

As for Muhammad cartoons, it's interesting how organized the protests were in the Islamic world over the Danish cartoons, yet after 9-11 there was virtual silence. Guess we see what really offends their religion

[Hassan]

[quote name='Brother Adam' post='1608876' date='Jul 25 2008, 10:23 PM']For the record, Bill Donahue is not the only member of the Catholic League. He is merely the president so most communications are sent in his name. Here is a list of the board of directors and advisers:

Board of Directors

[b]Raymond Arroyo[/b]
Thomas Brennan
Nunzio Cardone
Ann Corkery
Kathleen Hunt
William Lindner
Robert Lockwood
Marilyn Lundy
Jerome McDougal
Frank Salas
Jodie Thompson, Jr.
Kenneth Whitehead

Rev. Philip Eichner, Chairman
William Donohue, President
Bernadette Brady, Vice President

David Gregory, General Counsel
Board of Advisors

Brent Bozell III
Gerard Bradley
Linda Chavez
Robert Destro
Dinesh D'Souza
Laura Garcia
Robert George
Mary Ann Glendon
Dolores Grier
[b]Alan Keyes[/b]
Stephen Krason
Lawrence Kudlow
Thomas Monaghan
[b]Michael Novak[/b]
Kate O'Beirne
Thomas Reeves
Patrick Riley
Robert Royal
Ronald Rychlak
[b]Russell Shaw[/b]
William Simon, Jr.
Joe Varacalli
Paul Vitz
[b]George Weigel [/b]

Some of the most respected princes of the Church praise their work. If you believe their work is "trivial" or "boy who cries wolf" and negatively affects the overall view of society towards Catholics you should contact the League with your grievance.[/quote]


I didn't say their work was, without exception, trivial. Just like I have never claimed that there is not anti-Catholic bigotry.

I have no interest in contacting the Catholic League. I am simply trying to present an outside point of view and invite you all to look at your relationships with other groups and how the affects the way non-Catholics react to your complaints.

[Hassan]

[quote name='mortify' post='1608991' date='Jul 26 2008, 01:32 AM']As for Muhammad cartoons, it's interesting how organized the protests were in the Islamic world over the Danish cartoons, yet after 9-11 there was virtual silence. Guess we see what really offends their religion [/quote]


I don't think is fair, nor do I think you would appreciate that standard being applied to your religion. I do not remember any massive, large scale protests amongst Catholics in response to the IRA bombings of English civilians, or the various authoritarian atrocity wrecking Catholic dictators and military officials in South America. Christian atrocities in Lebanon. I don’t recall any massive protests by Orthodox Catholics during the Serbian led genocides in the Baltic.

I don’t think it is fair to draw the conclusion that Catholics get upset when their religious objects get desecrated but say to hell with everyone else.

[Hassan]

[quote name='Aloysius' post='1608884' date='Jul 25 2008, 10:29 PM']Muslims believe God was offended by the image of Mohammad.

We believe God Himself in corporeal form was desecrated.

if something the Muslims believed was actually God himself was desecrated, the Muslim's level of outrage would be greater than it was over the cartoons. Even a desecration of the Koran would not compare if they believed something to actually be God and it were stolen and desecrated.[/quote]


Why does it matter? If the pain they feel over the Qur'an being desecrated is the same you feel with the Eucharist being desecrated what right do you have to say their outrage is less justified?

[quote]and nothing, absolutely nothing, would ever justify the level of riots and the damage it caused to innocent people when the muslims were outraged over those cartoons.[/quote]

I agree the murders and destruction was not warranted.

[quote]in addition, the level of respect expected of non-Muslims is waay more than the level of respect we are asking the likes of Myers for. they expect non-Muslims not to do satire against them.[/quote]

Really, "they" do? I never knew Muslims had come to some set standard of permutable offense. There is plenty of satire of Islam and Muslims. An American congressman went on a little rant when the first Muslims was elected to the House. Let's not pretend no one is allowed to insult Islam, plenty of people can and do to both Muslims and Islam.

However this is not just about Muslims. I mentioned other cases. I am not saying all or even most Catholics are guilty of this intolerance, I am simply asking you to look at how some very vocal elements of your community affect your image to non-Catholics.

[quote]all we're asking for here is don't take something from our religious service to desecrate it. now, many of the things Bill Donahue campaigns against are the equivalent of the Muslim cartoons; this particular thing is not.

our level of outrage ought to be accepted as understandably higher than the Muslim’s level of outrage... and we didn't riot in the streets and burn down universities and murder professors.[/quote]

no, you all just call him a c____, threaten to bash his F______ head in, try to get him fired and threaten his children.

See? I can generalize too!

Godel said a lot of brilliant things in his life, one of the most brilliant was probably, "all generalizations, with the possible exception of this one, are false".

This is exactly my point. Some Priests did horrific things. They raped children and used their authority to keep these children in a sick concubine like relationship and did unimaginable psychological and physical damage to them. And some Bishops worked to cover these horrific incidents up and make the matter go away quietly. However not all, or even most Priests and Bishops had anything to do with this. And Catholics get (understandably)upset when comedians and others treat all Priests like pedophiles, or make broad generalizations about all Priests being child predators. So why is it acceptable to do this with Muslims? Most Muslims have never killed anyone, never vandalized property or anything like this. Why do you feel it is acceptable to make these generalizations about Muslims?

[Hassan]

[quote name='lilac_angel' post='1608890' date='Jul 25 2008, 10:33 PM']The thing I myself tend to hear most commonly from Catholics is the discontent over the very rampant attacks on Catholicism that are equal to or even, in some cases, greater than the religious attacks on the Muslim community (like the cartoon) and expressing the discontent and frustration that people are allowed to get away with much more when attacking Catholics than they are Muslims in general. It is much more "politically correct" in many countries to denounce Christianity and blaspheme, whereas it's much less permissible to do so to Muslims.. I think this is what people's points are and where their discontent arises. There is a double standard, and I'm not blaming the Muslims for it, simply what society chooses to deem acceptable or inacceptable.[/quote]

I think this double standard is something of an illusion (though I understand who this perception can cause frustration).


[quote]I think it is wrong as well to trivialize any kind of religious insults. However, we see our religion mocked regularly in movies, pop culture, misrepresented constantly in the media, etc., so I guess sometimes it shows that Catholics feel a bit slighted when the Muslims actually get a response and people respect their wishes, whereas anti-Christian sentiment is only fueled further by our anger and outcry. But on the other hand, we should keep in mind that it's to be expected that the world will hate us. Still, it's our duty to continue to prayerfully defend from outright misrepresentations of our faith and desecrations such as these.[/quote]

Yes, and in most movies (particularly in the 90's) if there was a Catholic Priest you could be sure he would be somehow corrupt, a hypocrite, a pedophile, or some other horrid portrayal. However I think Catholics tend not to notice when the same thing happens to Muslims. Think of all the Hollywood movies you have seen. I myself cannot think of a single occasion where a religious, faithful Muslims was portrayed as a hero, and certainly not the main character. Most portrayals of Muslims are overtly raciest and bigoted. Either the submissive empty headed servant like Muslim woman who looks to her husband for approval before speaking, or a ski mask wearing Mujahidin screaming in incoherent Arabic and waving a gun at the poor western woman before the hero kills him and saved the hostage from the dangerous fanatic. Look at news coverage. Please compare and contrast how many times a peaceful Muslims simply going about their lives is put up as opposed to a masked fanatic wavering a Qur'an in one hand and a SAW machine gun in the other.

I understand that you all also get a lot of bad press, but look at the other side. You have dozens of representatives in Congress, your President’s brother and sister in law are Catholics, you have a great deal of very politically powerful Catholics in the United States, and you had over a week of highly laudatory coverage when Pope John Paul the Great died. My point is that while I understand that you feel frustrated at the response Muslims got when some of their community reacted with violence, you must also admit that the Catholic community has much more power, particularly in the United States then the Muslim community. While many Catholics didn't like John Kerry he didn’t have to defend his Catholicism. Obama has constantly had to respond to rumors he is a Muslim. How do you think Muslims feel that a Presidential candidate has to treat being called a Muslim like a smear?

I think things have gotten exponentially better for Catholics in recent years. When my friends mother was growing up she and her family had to lock up their home and hide when the farm next to their hosted a Klan rally (they were Catholics), not to long ago Catholics were viewed with suspicion and it was a matter of great controversy weather a Catholic could be trusted with public office. And this hasn’t totally gone away. I know a man who is a Judge. He is an extraordinary man who truly represents everything good and decent in Catholicism (he’s still a role model for me to this very day). During his election I was furious to see political pamphlets referring to his non-Catholic opponent as "a True Christian" and other disgusting slurs. Yet how many Catholics are on the Supreme Court?

So. I can understand this frustration, however do not see it as totally justified. Catholics have made great leaps in these last few decades and now are an extremely powerful force in the United States. And this power is only growing as more and more Catholic immigrants arrive from Mexico and South America. Oppi and Anthoney had a couple perform a sex act in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, however a Radio Host in New Jersey not to long ago, satirically, called for all American Muslims to be marked with a crescent tattoo on their wrist and was horrified to have caller after caller support the idea and suggest event further measures.





[quote]We simply cannot control the actions of a few individuals and people who distort our own faith, just as the Muslim community cannot control everyone in their fold. It is indeed wrong to claim ourselves as peaceful as a whole and another religion as violent, for sure, but I didn't see that in this thread, so I guess I wondered why it was brought up here.[/quote]
. Perhaps not in this thread but I have seen plenty of Catholics write things with that implication.

[quote]Oh, no, that's not what I meant. I meant that he should have at least expected angry letters when he threatened desecration and should have expected the people who wanted him fired after the desecration. Not the death threats that stemmed from someone very misguided. But there will always be those who don't respond in the proper manner. He was potentially even aware of this possibility himself, and that this would make our entire faith community look bad, too. All the better to support his "cause"![/quote]

Sure, sure, I didn't think you meant it like that. I didn't see any of this on the News, I really don't think he got much attention. Perhaps he got some slaps on the back from people who think just like him. Others like myself, simply lost all respect for him.

I really would like to stress that. I don't support what he did. I have no respect for him what so ever. He didn't do anything to advance tolerance, understanding, or even freedom of expression. He just did a stupid stunt that was enormously offensive to a great many Catholics. I don't think it's fair to call it a "temper tantrum" I'm really not sure what to call it. A grown man and Professor acted with an extraordinary amount of stupidity and showed a total lack of respect for the beliefs of other people. There is room for someone to get hurt over this, by people trying to imitate him. By either a Catholic who decides to respond violently, someone who breaks in a Church to desecrate the Hosts, or trying to run off with a Host during communion, and I think he will be morally responsible for that and will have that weighing on him for the rest of his life. I hope that doesn’t happen but he was very irresponsible