Crusoe wrote:
In all likelihood, I misspelled “liberal”. But you’re right, it’s not really significant.
Long time Onion reader here. As Astro said above they take shots at everyone. They do take lots of shots at organized religion and the RCC being arguably the most organized (Christian) denomination may get a disproportionate number of hits but I see no real anti-catholic agenda. They seem to pick on white middle America the most so it is hard to say they are biased against any race, religion, or sexual orientation. The Onion is not for the thin skinned.
NP: Dark Tranquility - Damage Done
Ah, satire. Stings sometimes, don’t it? That’s the point of satire: to make you laugh and make you think. If you’re not laughing, chances are it’s making you think about shit you’d rather not – or it’s making you face the fact that there are plenty of people out there who vehemently disagree with your worldview, which is never exactly comfortable.
The Onion is hardly the first publication to take the RCC to task over what many people perceive to be an immoral religious stance. Moreover, the Onion has also taken on God directly. We’ve got God ordered to break up into smaller dieties, God saying no to a paralyzed boy’s prayers, God diagnosed as bi-polar, God re-flooding the Middle East, and Jesus killing abortion-clinic workers. And that’s just int eh top 10 search results for “God.”
Nothing is too great or too small for The Opnion to skewer. That’s what makes it so much fun.
Oh, c’mon! Its only a matter of time before the Protestants (and everybody else) get roasted. The Onion is complete and total farce.
Uh. Yeah.
Not like God’s always the bad guy either: http://www.theonion.com/onion3734/god_clarifies_dont_kill.html
Exactly, its called irony.
bifar if you find this article offensive, maybe you shouldn’t be reading The Onion…
Point-Counterpoint: The Onion
I think that Onion article on Catholicism was not entirely accurate
by bifar
I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I read satirical news items, I expect a certain level of journalistic integrity. I have just as much of a sense of humor as the next guy, but when an article only presents one side of the story in order to “poke fun”, it goes beyond the bounds of good-natured tomfoolery. It may be the current fashion to “push the boundaries” in order to get the biggest laugh, but the editors of The Onion would do well to remember the lessons of masters such as Bil Keane and Charles Shultz, men who could consistently leave their audiences in stitches without spreading disinformation. Satire should be crafted so as to educate, as well as to amuse.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I just saw a New Yorker cartoon that inaccurately represented current social conventions.
bifar needs to lighten the fuck up
by Pope John Paul II
Jesus Christ, it’s guys like this that make me wish I’d just opened a restaurant or something. Dude, it’s a joke! Lighten the fuck up! Personally, I thought it was hilarious. Did you see that picture of Cardinal Bevilacqua? You better believe I mailed him a copy the second I saw his face, glowering at those pathetic children like some old crank. In fact, I think he was the one who mailed me the article where I supposedly forgave the children molested by priests. I couldn’t believe the picture they used of me in that one – I look like I’m about to fall asleep! Those guys crack me up – I’m always a little disappointed when I open up the newest edition and the Holy Church is nowhere to be found. God bless them.
And it’s not as if the Onion hasn’t been on the other side of a related issue:
Point-Counterpoint: Reproductive Rights
I’m So Psyched About This Abortion
And then there’s this one, which may be a sideways jab at Catholics, but which stands on its own as a work of comedic art:
I could see Bevilacqua saying that.
Yeesh. What about When Jews Attack? Or whatever?
Criminy, I think that’s hysterical! If THAT is your idea of “too far”, well, I’d hate to see what you made of the one about forgiving the molested kids, or the where the Pope starts blessing everything in sight-including the contents of his own bedpan.
The Onion does sometimes get stupid about religion. Not offensive, but I find it unfunny when they do seem to think they’re humorously mocking a religious tenet (I recall an Onion article with mocking tone which said something along the lines of “Homosexual man suppresses true desires for religious reasons”) when in fact that’s actually the whole point of the religious tenet (in that case, self-sacrifice of immediate physical pleasure for spiritual reasons). It just kind of falls flat to me.
That said, I don’t think it’s offensive. And they’re definitely not anti-Catholic, as others have said, they do this to everyone.
Just as an aside, I’d like to say that my ALL TIME favorite Onion article was “Mother Theresa Sent to Hell in Wacky Afterlife Mixup” I guess that was kinda harsh on the Catholics, too, but I laughed so hard my eyes were bleeding.
No, really!
As a Catholic, I would say its because the Catholic Church is funny. They say and do dumb things and expect **not ** to be made fun of?
Heck, you better not watch South Park then. . . .
My all-time favorite (on my fridge) is this Point-Counterpoint. Cracks me up every time.
As an aside, I thought the way the Onion handled 9/11 was fantastic. Their decision to write the articles they did were exactly what I needed.
You mean someone actually criticized the Catholic Church for its stance on birth-control? How can this be? Bifar, you must have been the only one in the theater not laughing during Monty Python’s “Every Sperm is Sacred” song.
Interesting juxtaposition to recent Atlantic (October) article on “The Next Christianity.” Discussing how Euro-Americans are currently in the minority of Catholics - and will become increasingly so.
Estimated that by 2025, almost 3/4 of all Catholics will be found in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Of 18 million Cath baptisms in 1998, 8 mill took place in Cewntral and S Amer, 3 mill in Africa, and just under 3 mill in Asia.
The next papal election, 57 of 135 cardinals eligible to vote (>40%) from Southern hemisphere nations.
Interesting times a coming.
Are you kidding me? That chapter was a scream! I just wish he wasn’t such a jerk when he was talking about liberals.
Personally, I thought that the furthest they’ve gone was the “Teeny Baby Trend Big Among Inner-City Teens”, with such quotes as “They’re so fun to collect!”
Contraception is fine. You think the worlds overpopulated now? wait till they eradicate condoms. we’l multiply like ameobas.
I also thought this was pretty tame as far as Onion stuff goes. Anyone remember the paradoy, 70’s-era newspaper with ‘Cambodia to switch to skull based economy’? Yowch.
(I’ve met Bevilacqua several times, by the way, and he really is a lovely guy. It was still a funny article though.)