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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Why not have Muslim congressman investigate Catholic Church scandals, ala Peter King?

Posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2011 at 09:03 PM
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Read more: Congressman Peter King's strange journey from Irish radical to Muslim inquisitor -- I no longer recognize the politician I have known for 25 years

Here's a novel suggestion. Why not have Muslim congressman Keith Ellison investigate the Catholic Church sex abuse scandals?

After all the latest shocking revelations from Philadelphia where 21 priest have now been suspended en masse surely points to something very rotten indeed in the nature of Catholicism.

While not terrorism it is a uniquely filthy crime nonetheless, the abuse and damage of young defenceless children.

There have been 12,000 cases of clerical sex abuse in the United States, a remarkably under reported crime and the real numbers are obviously much higher.

If Congressman Peter King, a devout Irish Catholic, feels certain he can plumb the depths of what is wrong with the Muslim religion perhaps Ralph Ellison can do the same for the Catholic religion.

It is no easy task.

Frank Keating , a prominent Catholic and Oklahoma governor resigned from a Catholic Church oversight committee claiming that bishops were acting like mafia dons covering up evidence of horrific child abuse.

He might be a very interesting witness for the Ellison hearings.

Then there is the possibility that the investigation could go all the way to the top , to the pope himself, who has much to answer for in the realm of child abuse cover-up.

All the above goes to show that we can rarely afford to be holier than thou.

In what I consider the most profound words in the Bible Jesus said 'Let him without sin cast the first stone' when a prostitute was threatened with being stoned to death.

It is the same with Pete King and his like. We are quick to point fingers, to blame it all on the 'other.'

Maybe we should look at the mote in our own eye as another bible lesson suggests.

Read more: Congressman Peter King's strange journey from Irish radical to Muslim inquisitor -- I no longer recognize the politician I have known for 25 years


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60 comments

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kelauggie1 | Mar 13, 2011, 03:34 PM EDT
Patrick Roberts, could you possible be a bigger idiot???

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eiriamach | Mar 13, 2011, 08:05 AM EDT
Read Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" (available on the Internet). If you end up with the impression that the author really hates Irish Catholics and is making a "stupid" suggestion, then you didn't "get" the satire and you need to read it again. Satire is a literary device of ridicule that an author uses to enable the reader to "see through" a really bad policy and rethink his or her attitude toward it. Roberts is writing in a great Irish literary tradition.

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eiriamach | Mar 13, 2011, 07:43 AM EDT
It's a satire, people! Roberts is ridiculing Rep. King's Muslim witch hunt. He's not seriously suggesting that Congress should subject the Catholic Church to the same treatment that King is giving Muslims. There is dangerous "corruption" in both Roman Catholicism and Islam-- cover-ups of thousands of cases of criminal child abuse in the one and a destruction-driven hatred for godless capitalism in the other. We must act consistently. Therefore, however we deal with one, we must deal likewise with the other. Roberts wants you to see that we should not be on any witch hunt! If you do not get the point of the article, you need to ask yourself WHY you do not get it. Why are Rep. King's hearings not transparent to you as demonizing? Why can you not see that the two religions have just enough in common to merit the same treatment? They are not alike in every way; if you push on an analogy, it breaks down quickly. Catholics don't stone adulterers-- but neither do 99.9% of American Muslims. Democratic structures are not natural to Muslims--nor to Catholics! Muslims can become terrorists, and Catholics have allowed priests to terrorize children for decades and moved the terrorist pedophiles from one opportunity for crime to others. If we investigate the one religion for extreme elements, we should investigate the other. Conclusion: we shouldn't investigate the one!

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casualMBA | Mar 12, 2011, 01:11 PM EST
Patrick enjoys Led Zeppelin...Some readers see their music in strong leadership, maintained, elevated, and/or sustained, in a preamble writing world...The Homeland Security Committee's work, and its hearings, grant each American the opportunity to scan the shoreline for the harbor, each of us needs, and defends, for America...Patrick's pen may need to play a different "Stairway to Heaven"...

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maloney | Mar 12, 2011, 02:05 AM EST
Seano...I just love it when the truth makes you talk jibberish.

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casualMBA | Mar 12, 2011, 01:28 AM EST
(multipier effect)

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casualMBA | Mar 12, 2011, 01:26 AM EST
X 1 = National Risk & Personal Jeopardy Y 1 = Nonsense

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seanomelbourne | Mar 12, 2011, 01:07 AM EST
A collection please for some tissues for Jacer and Maloney.

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jacersagain | Mar 11, 2011, 07:49 PM EST
Yes, I agree with those who say that Patrick's off his rocker with this suggestion. For starters, why should anyone who believes in a false religion be invited to investigate scandals in a religion he doesn't believe in and which his religion says all believers of that religion should be stoned to death or beheaded??

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seanomelbourne | Mar 11, 2011, 05:47 PM EST
My!my! Patrick there seems to be quite a few sniveling Christians upset by your blog.

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jamieLM | Mar 11, 2011, 05:06 PM EST
Your column is total nonsense. There is no comparison between Islamic terrorists who murder hundreds/thousands of people and clergy in the Christian community who commit child sexual abuse. Muslims have no right to criticize Christians when they treat their women like 2nd class citizens, or worse. In Arab countries they deny them an education and basic human rights. Men are allowed to murder, even by stoning, their wives and sisters as they see fit. There have been cases of Muslim women being injured and killed in the U.S. by their male family members because they violated some tenet of the Muslim faith. So don't even go there with your completely hypothetical, illogical idea of Muslims sitting in judgment of Christians on the basis of religion.

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ktrush512 | Mar 11, 2011, 09:36 AM EST
Given that Islam was founded by a pedophile (Muhammad "married" a seven year old girl, Aisha, and consummated the "marriage" when she was nine), a Muslim might make the perfect Inquisitor. Better yet, let's elevate Islam to the national religion and impose sharia. Perhaps Mr. Roberts would prefer "legal" and state sanctioned female genital mutilation, child marriages, and honor killings to the "rotten nature" of Catholicism. Of course, a reasonable person would admit the fact that no matter how heinous the acts of clerical criminals, none of their actions are condoned by Church doctrine. That, Mr. Roberts, is the difference between Christianity and Islam.

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sirpeter | Mar 11, 2011, 05:53 AM EST
12,000 cases of clerical sex abuse in the United States.Fu*k this sh*t for a game of soldiers.What does that figure mean Patrick Roberts.12,000 cases and not one use of the word Protestant.So the thickos on IC automatically think it's 12,000 cases of Catholic priest abuse.Seven times you use the word Catholic in this article, along with 12,000 cases of clerical sex abuse in the United States.I smell a rat here.That amount IS TOO HIGH FOR IT TO BE CATHOLIC PRIESTS ALONE.Specifically, there is no reason to assume the rate of child sexual abuse to be greater among Catholic clergy than among Protestant clergy. For instance, in California alone during 2001, there were six convictions involving Protestant ministers and sex-related crimes with minors. There are approximately 46,000 Catholic priests in the United States and 300 cases filed to date, which is under 0.7% of the priesthood. There are approximately 324,000 Protestant churches in the United States. If the math is correct, the number of cases among Protestant denominations could potentially dwarf the size of the Catholic scandal. According to the experts there is 1% to 2% of the population child sex abusers.12,000 cases of clerical sex abuse in the United States. Is that including Protestant clerical sex abuse too??? Which in actual fact is running a few percentage points higher then in the Catholic Church..According to the little bit of research I have done. Robert's stick your novel suggestion, and stop trying to the annoy the Catholics here on IC.

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vincem13 | Mar 11, 2011, 05:03 AM EST
Mr. Roberts, your complete lack of a functioning moral compass and logical reasoning capacity continues to astonish me. Do I fully acknowledge the horrific damage visited upon the victims of Catholic clerical abuse? Most certainly. Was it a sickening display of man's depravity? Without a doubt. Quick question, sir: How many people did these priests and nuns murder? Not a one. Please compare that to well over 2000 on 9/11; Major Hasan's 13 dead at Fort Hood, not to mention a number of murders of daughters by "devout" Muslims; throw in how many might have died due to the Muslim shoe-bomber, the Muslim Christmas day underwear bomber and the Muslim Times Square bomber, and we have a radicaqlly different situation- one that, if only you had the intelligence, you would agree constitutes a matter of national security. On the other hand, the abuse scandal remains with the police and the courts, where sex crimes belong. Just look on the bright side, Mr. Roberts, since stupidity isn't a crime, you get to remain free!

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seanomelbourne | Mar 11, 2011, 01:10 AM EST
McNabb I never accused the Vatican of condoning "bombing"I accused the church of been complicit in the issuing of passports(through OPUS DEI) to east European Nazi's after the second world war to aid and abet their escape to South America aiding Bin Laden by a group is no different.It is not a question of my credibility,but your inability to understand what i had written.

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