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Stirring up the Windy City
Throwing mud at the Catholic Church
has become fashionable. Whether it be blasphemous artwork,
insulting movies or sacrilegious plays, open anti-Catholicism
is wide-spread and ever present. Convinced that this is due
to Catholics failing to stand up for their beliefs, three
full-time volunteers of the American Society for the Defense
of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) set out for Chicago
on September 21 to take such a stand.
From York, Penn. they traveled to
help rally Chicago Catholics to a September 25 protest in
front of the Chicago Reader's downtown office, in response
to Garret Gaston's blasphemous cartoon, "La Petite Camera,
Papal Makeover." (To read a report of this cartoon, click
here)
Outfitted with hallmark red capes and
10,500 invitations they hit the streets to tackle three days
of vintage TFP-style campaigning. Three days passed, all the
flyers were gone, spirits were high and everyone eagerly awaited
the protest, merely hours away.
In their anticipation, however, they
stopped to reflect on several incidents they had experienced
in the streets. As always, responses varied from all-out support,
to indifference, to blind fury.
Some feigned courage in face of the
campaign. One man read the invitation and after awaiting a
favorable traffic light which would offer him an escape route,
crumpled it up and threw it at a TFP volunteer.
Others walked by the campaign, pretending
not to notice. No amount of speaking or persuading could break
them out of their apparent stupor.
However, others were greatly encouraged.
One young man, looking admiringly at the rampant lion which
bedecked one volunteer's red cape, inquired about the symbol.
After being told about it, he exclaimed, "Yes, that is
exactly how Jesus is going to be when He comes back, He is
going to be rampant and He is going to be a lion!"
Another man stood silently reading
the description of Garret Gaston's blasphemy then adamantly
affirmed, "I am no longer going to allow the Chicago
Reader into my place of business!"
September 25 finally arrived, and the
protesters gathered before noon directly across from the Chicago
Reader offices in downtown Chicago. No huge crowd appeared,
but what the protesters lacked in numbers they made up for
in quality and enthusiasm.
The splendid cast of speakers began
with Pro-Life Action League president Joseph Scheidler, who
observed, "It is characteristic of a civilization in
moral decay that most of its people are not aware of its decay.
A nation in moral drought does not recognize the seriousness
of their sins, because they have no principles to be judged
by. And this describes us now."
Catholic Citizens of Illinois president
Mary Anne Hackett also spoke asking, "Why is Garret Gaston
so filled with hate?" She also warned, "Shaking
your fist in the face of God is dangerous business. Smearing
His Divine Son with vulgar comments is a fearful and serious
thing to do. Jesus said, if you deny Me before men, I will
deny you before My Father in Heaven."
Radio talk show host Kevin McCullogh
persuaded protesters to boycott the advertisers who pay for
the Chicago Reader. "It is one thing to be out
here protesting today, but another way to get the Reader's
attention is to hit them in the pocketbook."
Before leading the rosary, TFP volunteer
Norman Fulkerson, commenting upon passersby ridiculing and
laughing at the protest, encouraged the crowd to never be
ashamed of being Catholic and to pray the rosary with pride.
American TFP founder John Spann also
addressed the protesters, commending them for their presence,
but exhorting them to develop such a burning love of God and
His Church that it will set others on fire with that same
love and prevent such blasphemies from taking place in the
future.
Protest coordinator and TFP Chicago
Bureau director C. Preston Noell also addressed those present.
"Chicago Reader, wake up!" he exclaimed.
"If you think you mock God and the Catholic Church without
consequences you are wrong, dead wrong!"
Mr. Noell also read a letter sent by
Cardinal Francis Eugene George, to encourage the protest.
Writing about Mr. Gaston's cartoon, the Cardinal said, "I
found the cartoon to be insulting and vulgar, but not particularly
original. Though we cannot know the cartoonist's heart, we
do know that he has returned to themes both old and distorted."
Cardinal George also wrote that he was joining the rally through
his prayers.
Catholic banker Joseph Wemhoff reminded
protesters of the words of Pope Leo XIII, who said, "Nothing
emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on
the part of the good." He went on to explain, "Unless
evil is actively resisted, it wins. You know that and that
is why you are here today."
The last speaker of the day was Illinois
State Senator Patrick O'Malley, who commended the TFP initiative.
"I can't think of a more important organization, fighting
for what is important for America than the American TFP,"
he said. "If you look at it, Tradition, Family and Property
my friends, we are talking about the foundation upon which
America continues to exist."
Across from the demonstration, a protest
of another kind took place. A group, which at times swelled
to seven participantsl, gathered purportedly to support the
Chicago Reader's freedom of speech. Ironically, the
literature they were distributing spoke mostly about the American
TFP and little of free speech. The messages which appeared
on their T-shirts further showed their true motivation. One
said merely, "Militant Heretic" while another claimed,
"God is just pretend."
On the following day, the three TFP
volunteers set off for Pennsylvania. The thirteen-hour return
trip afforded them many opportunities for conversation and
many topics were discussed. One and all they remained undeterred
and glad they had stood tall in the face of adversity. They
were all firmly encouraged to march on, certain of the victory
Our Lady promised at Fatima when she said, "In the end
My Immaculate Heart will triumph!"
Their attitudes could be summed up
by the closing words of a philosophical
self-portrait of Brazilian TFP founder Plinio Corrêa
de Oliveira, "The skeptics will smile, but the smiles
of skeptics were never able to hinder the victorious march
of those with Faith."
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