Alright, so the title is from a Division of Laura Lee song and has barely any connection to the subject at hand, but I still like it.
Anyway, I now have two special treats. First is the letter to the editor response by our school's President, decrying my article posted
here. Following that is my own response I'm having placed in the Opinions section right alongside the letter to the editor. I think the letters speak well for themselves. (Names have been omitted to protect the inflammatory.
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I think some comments are in order on Gabriele -------’s article “Converting Television: The New Catholic Channel.”
I’m not surprised the Catholic Channel doesn’t hold his interest. It isn’t meant to be entertainment, and college students are not its primary target market. In our culture, we are more and more seeing “entertainment” as the primary benchmark to judge the worth of all communication. I think our Core Curriculum shows that entertainment isn’t the only or even primary purpose for communication, at least not in serious books, films, or TV programs. The Catholic Channel targets viewers seeking to increase their capacity to know, love, and serve God. If you are not into that, then I suspect the programming won’t hold you.
Although there is much more that could be said, I would like to mention two points that make me rather sad. The first is about Communion hosts. In Dachau, the Nazis had a special “Priest Block” numbered 25487. It contained about 3,000 Catholic priests and some other clergy at any one time on their way to death. How many frightened men in trembling fear consecrated a bit of stale bread from dinner so Jesus could be with them as they passed into eternity? Finally there is Mr. -----’s “Amazonian Nun.” I hope this isn’t an oblique reference to Sr. Dorothy ----- who received posthumously an honorary degree from SJC. Upperclassmen will recall Sr. Dorothy was murdered with a gunshot to the head by a hired killer while she sat in the dirt reading her Bible. She was an activist nun trying to save the Brazilian rain forest and its indigenous people. Our award was to recognize her martyrdom.
Editorials like “Converting Television…” attempt humor by mocking others and their beliefs. It is a difficult way to get laughs because it relies on bigotry as do jokes about gays, women, and minority people. Such material often backfires as the audience widens. To some extent, it reminds me of the bigoted humor of the early part of the 20th Century when we Catholics were often hated and ridiculed for our Faith.
As President and thus publisher of “-----------,” I apologize to any readers who might have been hurt and/or offended by “Converting Television: The New Catholic Channel.”
Sincerely,
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November 12, 2007
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Since it was my article that has inspired some controversy, I thought it prudent to better explain it and myself.
First of all, I was in no way thinking of Dorothy ----, or any nun in general, when I wrote of the Amazonian Nun. In an attempt to further the super hero joke, I was making a reference to the comic book and television character Wonder Woman, who is an Amazonian. I would never belittle the memory of Dorothy ---- or anyone would give their life to make this a better world.
As for the rest of the article, the target audience was as much Catholics as anyone else. Further, I am not anti-Catholic, and I am a Christian myself, sharing most of the same beliefs. Part of the intended humor of the article is what happens when entertainment and religion attempt to merge. As shown, I do not view the media’s affect on religion as positive, nor do I support the misuse of religion for entertainment purposes that is often evident in the real world.
Finally, I did satirize many elements of the Church and Christianity in general. I believe that an important role of both college and journalism is not just to inform but also to inspire debate and discussion about our views. Beliefs and faith, of any form, are the foundation of our lives. Left untested, they may falter under the pressure of crises and true attacks. By challenging our own beliefs, and even being able to find humor within them, we make sure that foundation is strong and resilient.
