Different standards for Catholic vs Protestant clergy offenders

Today's National Post published an article about another Newfoundland Priest who has been charged with child pornography charges. The one difference this time is that the alleged offender is a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada and not Roman Catholic.

Actually, there is another notable difference. In the 24+ hours that this story has been posted on the NP website, not one single comment of condemnation has appeared in the response to these sordid revelations. When it is a Roman Catholic clergyman, within mere minutes the vitriolic avalanche of comments begin to accumulate in the comment threads, usually hitting 100+ responses/comments within the first 24-36 hours. This most certainly is the case whenever the Lahey scandal incites a new report within the pages of the National Post.

Now that the clergyman is a married man with children... and protestant... the story passes without a single comment.

But is this one case not insufficient to justify a charge of general prejudice against the Catholic faith? Yes. However... add to this case the fact that the day before a Lutheran pastor in British Columbia was sentenced to jail for the production of child porn, an event that did not even warrant coverage in the Post - let alone hundreds of condemnatory comments.

So, given that the only major difference in these cases is the denomination of the offender, does this suffice to raise the level of concern about the reality of an anti-Catholic bias within both the MSM, and those who participate in the virtual discussions that follow the posting of the stories on their websites?

It at least gives cause for concern.

Fr. Tim Moyle
Mattawa, Ont