The Michigan Bishops Collectively Grow A Pair

I wasn't sure I was going to post on Bossgirl Gretchen Whitmer's skit with the Doritos and the kneeling influencer, but the response of Michigan's bishops set me to do it. For most of my life, Catholics, especially the bishops, have basically apologized for being Catholic, and they've never really objected to even the most offensive portrayals, like Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag" (1965):

A spoken introduction describes the song as a response to the "Vatican II" council—which, among other things, broadened the range of music that could be used in services—and humorously proposes this rag as a more accessible alternative to traditional liturgical music. The song begins:

First you get down on your knees
Fiddle with your rosaries
Bow your head with great respect
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!

The lyrics mockingly list a number of Catholic rituals such as confession, the Eucharist, and Rosaries, and suggest the irony of modernizing an age-old institution like the church.

. . . Some Catholics criticized "The Vatican Rag" as blasphemous. After one show at the Hungry I, Lehrer's performance of the song led to a confrontation with the actor Ricardo Montalbán, who happened to be in the audience. According to a former Hungry I bouncer, Montalbán approached Lehrer in a fit of rage, yelling, "I love my religion! I will die for my religion!" to which Lehrer responded: "Hey, no problem, as long as you don't fight for your religion." In May 1967, a Putnam County, New York, schoolteacher used Lehrer's "Vatican Rag" and "National Brotherhood Week" as examples of modern satire for her seventh-grade class; the outcry was such that the school board banned the songs and censured the teacher, and she quit three months later and left the area.

Although the Wikipedia entry at the link makes it plain that many rank-and-file Catholics found the song blasphemous and offensive, there's no reference to any Catholic bishops speaking out about it -- and as far as I'm aware, neither did any Kennedy. A web search on "Fulton Sheen Vatican Rag" comes up empty. If you think about it, prominent Catholics at the time were probably more willing to seem aligned with the Berrigan brothers, and objecting to "The Vatican Rag" wouldn't fit the program.

This is a far cry from the days when every Hollywood script had to be run by the Hays Office.

So it's maybe nothing new that an alt right Catholic would condemn the silence of both the media and prominent Catholics at Gov Whitmer's skit -- that's dog-bites-man:

Here's a question: Where are all the supposedly uber-Catholic Democrats like, say, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi? Why aren't they condemning this disgraceful depiction of the most sacred part of their religion? Biden is play-acting that he's in charge of hurricane relief efforts, while Pelosi is off promoting her new book. Their silence is shameful.

But Pelosi and Biden are both octogenarians and part of the Catholic generation that wanted to be hip like the Berrigan brothers. What's man-bites-dog here is that younger, hipper Catholics, now including a lot of the US bishops, are starting to speak up. From the Diocese of Lansing's web site:

The Bishops of Michigan have expressed their “profound disappointment and offense taken” with Governor Gretchen Whitmer for posting a video skit on social media showing the state's Governor feeding a Dorito corn chip to a kneeling podcaster in a manner that is widely being perceived as a mockery of the Holy Eucharist.

“The skit goes further than the viral online trend that inspired it, specifically imitating the posture and gestures of Catholics receiving the Holy Eucharist, in which we believe that Jesus Christ is truly present,” said Paul A. Long, President and CEO of the Michigan Catholic Conference which represents the seven dioceses of the state, October 11.

Whitmer issued the usual non-apology:

There ZERO serious people who believe this. Whitmer “denigrate[s]” the Catholic faith every day with how demonically pro-abortion she is. Has the @MICatholicConf talked to her about THAT?! Besides, such a post is an admission of guilt! May Kamala lose MI and lose it badly! https://t.co/eYT9aT68Lr

— Rebecca Downs🇺🇸🟦🇮🇱 (@RebeccaRoseGold) October 12, 2024

But the public complaint from the Michigan bishops is part of a trend, with the Archbishops of Los Angeles and San Francisco beginning to take public positions on political issues that affect Catholics, as well as the Archbishop of San Francisco and the Bishop of Santa Rosa denying Nancy Pelosi communion on the basis of her public support for abortion, the Bishop of Springfield, IL denying Sen Durbin communion on the same basis, and Cardinal Gregory of Washington calling President Biden a "cafeteria Catholic".

So far, I'm not aware that Bp Barron has commented on the Whitmer skit, but I'm sure he will if he finds it appropriate. These are not your grandfather's Catholics, nor their bishops.