Real Catholic Blog

Pope Benedict XVI elevated two Americans to Cardinal this week, including Archbishop Raymond Burke. This is good news. Archbishop Burke has been at the forefront of defending the faith from those within the Church who would water it down to the point of meaninglessness. In 2004, as Archbishop of St. Louis, he warned Catholic politicians, such as Senator John Kerry, who defend abortion, to refrain from receiving Holy Eucharist. While angering many, including a host of his brother bishops, he spoke the truth and defended Church teaching. In recent years, he has headed the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, which is the Vatican equivilant of the Supreme Court (see Greg Burke’s LiveShots blog at FoxNews.com). Upon his elevation, he said in part:

I am deeply humbled and honored by the announcement that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI intends to name me to the College of Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church at the Consistory which he has convoked for this coming November 20th. Having received the news of the Holy Father’s intention, I express my deepest gratitude to His Holiness for the great confidence which he has placed in me, and I renew my commitment to serve Him, as Shepherd of the universal Church, in total fidelity and with all my being.

Pope Benedict appointed 24 cardinals in all, 20 of whom are under 80 years of age. Only those under 80 can participate in a papal conclave. The other American is Archbishop Donald Wuerl, of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. Extensive comments by both Americans can be found at the Catholic News Agency.

The HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a bawdy comedy by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, had a decidedly anti-Catholic scene in its most recent episode. David, who plays himself, urinated on a painting of Jesus. But it’s not the first time he has incorporated anti-Catholic insults into his show. A few years ago, he mocked people playing Joseph, Mary and others in a live nativity scene.

Bill Donahue of the Catholic League released a statement (read here) in which he asked:

Was Larry David always this crude? Would he think it comedic if someone urinated on a picture of his mother?

Deal Hudson, of InsideCatholic.com, told FoxNews.com:

Why is it that people are allowed to publicly show that level of disrespect for Christian symbols? If the same thing was done to a symbol of any other religions — Jewish or Muslim —there’d be a huge outcry. It’s simply not a level playing field.

More on the controversy can be found here at popeater.com. In fact, there are two poll questions there, including one asking if David should apologize. As of tonight, the responses to both questions are overwhelmingly anti-David. We encourage you to vote and pile on to send HBO — and Hollywood secularists in general — a message.