"Pope and the Witch" in the National Catholic Register

Anthony Flott has a byline in the National Catholic Register; and from his position in Nebraska, HE can smell the sulpher oozing from the cracks and crannies in the U of M Theatre Department...so why can't Minnesota Catholics?

To recap, the University of Minnesota is endorsing flagrant Catholic-bashing, supported by all the big media chains around here, primary of which is the Star Tribune, which, incidentally, hasn't won a Pulitzer Prize for a record-breaking length of time and their financial record is in the toilet.

Yet that doesn't stop their editors from epitomizing the author of the blapsphemous play, Dario Fo, with regard to his accolates as a Nobel-Prize winning playwright. Yet let's keep in mind that Fo did NOT win any awards for THIS particular play, it's never had great reviews or attendance, and in fact, the only thing it does is highlight his intolerance of Catholics and Catholicism. So if we go with the popular logic, since The Strib hasn't won any prizes, can we completely discredit them to the same degree that they use this prize to credit this hack of a playwright?

That's my first question in logic to you all. Why does the media think that Fo's status as a prize winner give him any credibility in this topic? It's a red herring and only serves to display the depth of ignorance and lack of defense for their endorsement and propagation of religious intolerance.

Now, let's leave the substandard media offerings behind us, and focus on the criticisms of those of us defending our faith; taken from Flott's article, a comment by anti-Catholic play director Robert Rosen:

Though it doesn’t debut until March 1, Rosen says he already considers “The Pope and the Witch” a success. “And we haven’t even begun rehearsals yet,” he says. “The amount of talk, Internet talk and print has been amazing.”



Both people who purport to be "good Catholics", and people who support the play think that they are logical in stating that Catholic outrage has fueled publicity for the play. But let's remember how Satan works.

I'd like to use another example, taken from Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ". Remember in the Agony in the Garden, Satan whispered sweetly yet menacingly into Jesus' ear, saying, "A man cannot take on the sin of the world..."

Satan always tries to discredit; he tries to stem the tide of affront to his work, for the battles fought by believers against Him always leaves him crushed, as opposed to his own hellish goals. So it goes that when people say, "Your protest only fuels support for X endeavor", it is really Satan running scared, doing all in his power to intimidate so that we will be quiet and stand down.

And that is exactly what play supporters are trying to do by saying that the letters written by we protesters only fuel publicity. This very claim should cause us all to open our eyes and see what is at work here; and it sure ain't the stagehands. Everyone in support of this play gives witness to their position as pliable puppets in the hands of the devil, and if we let them dissuade us from defending our faith, then we have lost. And folks, we Catholics can't afford another loss; we are under attack as it is. Why would we want to make it easy for the enemy?

And more false logic; supporters of any anti-Catholic agenda love to say that our outcry against that which offends us is "censorship", but I have YET to see a similar-themed attack against Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, or any other major religion. Yet we as Catholics are supposed to "buck up and take it". Fine, we can take some punches, but we have no problem in hurling spears back...and we tend to have very good aim.

Catholics, as a rule, are not violent people. We protest, but we don't bomb, nor do we threaten any such thing. We respect human life, and the rights of others to disagree. But that is not to say we are doormats. Far from it! Words carry weight, and a good logical defense is worth more than a few trite, unsupported words from a sulpher-smelling University with no leg whatsoever to stand on.

I know of a few Catholics who will not take this lying down, nor will we accept the ridiculous lack of logic in the "defense" taken up by the U of M and their brainwashed anti-Catholic supporters.

We will continue to speak out against this blatant attack against our faith, and we, encourage all of you to do the same.

I'd like to thank Anthony Flott for taking the time to publicize this issue at a national level, and for local bloggers Ray Marshall and Janice LaDuke for speaking out so strongly in defense of the Church.

And for you local Catholics who currently subscribe to substandard anti-Catholic poor-excuse-for-a-newspaper Star Tribune...isn't it time to cancel your subscription to them and purchase one for the National Catholic Register?

And don't forget to withhold cash from any U of M sponsered event, boycott any alumni requests for funds, and write to the appropriate authorities in protest of your tax dollars going to support a University that perpetuates, illegally, an affornt and demonstrable intolarance to your faith while hiding behind a pretext of "First Amendment Protection".

We have a right and a duty to stand up for the truth, and if we aren't willing to take the flack for speaking out on behalf of Jesus, then we don't deserve to call ourselves Christians.

Don't let the media or ignorant supporters of "Pope and the Witch" intimidate you from responding with righteous indignation to the insults layered upon you; If all those who call themselves "Catholic" would have the backbone to speak out, then this play would never again see the stage.

That's true power. Use it.