She Who Will Be Obeyed!: Darla Jaye on our local radio station, KMBZ

February 27, 2008

Darla Jaye on our local radio station, KMBZ

So, there is a conservative talk show host in Kansas City, Darla Jaye (you can listen to her on the internet you wish). I like a lot of what she talks about, but she repeatedly talks about how much she dislikes the Catholic Church. Darla's mom grew up Catholic, and is now an ex-Catholic. That is where Darla gets most of her knowledge of the Catholic Church, from a disgruntled ex-Catholic. Perhaps that is why she doesn't like anything about the Church.

Yes, everyone knows that a lot of bishops really screwed up by hiding the horrifying abuse of Catholic children by some priests - but really, most priests never did anything of the sort. Most still do not do anything of the sort. I believe the estimate is 1 percent or 1 1/2 percent.

And, you know, I think that Darla is not looking at the whole picture of child abuse, all of which is evil and bad. Clergy of other faiths also sexually abuse children. Please check this report which gives a more accurate picture of the failings of all clergy and people in the world.

This page gives a partial list of abuse that goes on in the US by clergy and church leaders in virtually all faiths.

And since, I know that Darla will pooh-pooh those references because they are written by Catholics, here is an article from The Associated Press.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy Darla's show. She has done some amazing things, like accompany the Minutemen to the Texas/Mexican border to report on how they do things. She is a pretty good conservative, too.

However, Darla doesn't seem to ever miss an opportunity to say something that is anti-Catholic.

For example, she was mocking Confession today. She seems to think it means that we can go and do anything evil and then go to confession and all is okay.

That is not what the Sacrament of Reconciliation means. To my mind, one of the things that prevents me from doing bad things is that I would have to confess to a priest what I had done. It also gives people an opportunity to reflect on their lives and their behavior. It is not a get out of jail free card. If you don't do your penance, you are not absolved. We confess to God through the priest.

And then, Darla is seemingly upset that the Bishops of the archdioceses can determine whether or not Catholic schools should send students to exhibits like the one now at Union Station - where human bodies are dissected and plasticized. This is the statement that the bishops released:

(Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS / Feb. 27, 2008) Catholic moral teaching regards the human person as a unity of soul and body, spirit and matter -- beings capable of freedom and love in communion with other persons and with God. As such, the body is more than just a vessel for the soul. The Church’s concern for human dignity extends to the body even after the soul is no longer present.

The bodies of the dead deserve respect and charity, preserving the God-given dignity of the human person. In lieu of immediate burial, the Church does allow for – and in some cases commends - the conscientious free choice of persons to “donate” their bodies for legitimate scientific research and educational purposes. In these instances, the deceased body and its parts deserve respectful interment.

Concerning the “Bodies” exhibit, one of our brother bishops recently wrote, “The public exhibition of plasticized bodies, unclaimed, unidentified, and displayed without reverence, is unseemly and inappropriate. Whatever the merits of ‘Bodies’ as an educational exhibit, and however well-intentioned the exhibit’s creators might be, we believe that the use of human bodies in this way fails to respect the persons involved.”

We regard the “Bodies” exhibit as an unfortunate exploitation of that which is “real” to teach something that could be accomplished by use of models. As such it represents a kind of “human taxidermy” that degrades the actual people who, through their bodies, once lived, loved, prayed, and died.

For these reasons, we do not believe that this exhibit is an appropriate destination for field trips by our Catholic schools.

Apparently, Darla (who I do like quite a lot, but who is rather misinformed about Catholicism), believes that the bishops have put out "edicts" (her word) that we should not go and see the body display. Generally, edicts are put out by the Vatican or a whole bunch of bishops. I see nothing wrong with advising that children should not see the display, as it is extremely graphic.

To those of you who will say that it is educational, well, no doubt, for scientists and doctors and medical students, it is very educational. The Church has no problem with medical students dissecting the cadavers of people who have left their bodies to science. I know that because both my mom and my dad left their bodies to medical schools for that purpose.

That is not at all the same as agreeing to have their bodies turned into plastic see-thru bodies.

And as everyone is aware, there is absolutely no proof that the bodies used in this display were given freely by the persons before their 'natural' death.

Kansas City is very intolerant towards Catholics. We do not need a talk show host exhibiting the same kind of ignorance that I have run into before. So please, Darla, do a little research before you make your pronouncements against Catholicism. All churches are made up of human beings, and all human beings are imperfect sinners.

I could write a lot more about this, but I won't, as I'm getting tired!!

Posted by Beth at February 27, 2008 10:50 AM

Comments

The "edicts" she is talking about are probably Pastoral Letters. The chief priest i a parish may write such a letter, and read it from the pulpit. It then becomes advisory on the congregation.

While stationed in MA in the late '60's, birth control was the big issue for the Church, and there were many Pastoral Letters written on the subject, and the Archbishop of Boston and Worcester both tried to convince parishoners that the letters were binding.

What happened next was that the Catholic population of MA, then at almost 85%, began to decline, and has been declining since.

Posted by: Rivrdog at February 27, 2008 8:10 PM

The last acceptable prejudice in the US is anti-Catholicism. As the late Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen said almost two generations ago, "There aren't 100 people in America who hate the Catholic Church because of what she believes but millions who hate the Catholic Church because they don't know what she believes." Or words to that effect.

Posted by: JimC at February 28, 2008 6:07 PM