# Should priests talk to the press about their parishoners? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-priests-talk-to-the-press-about-their-parishoners/842649 "2019-10-29T15:37:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-priests-talk-to-the-press-about-their-parishoners/842649/21 "2019-10-30T16:16:57Z")
So, if one priest mentions to another priest that he’s been molesting little boys, that must be kept secret; but if a politician doesn’t toe the line a priest can hold a press conference about it. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-priests-talk-to-the-press-about-their-parishoners/842649/22 "2019-10-30T16:58:54Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Nope - from the Catholic Church’s view, Biden isn’t just saying that he doesn’t think it’s right to impose “Catholic rules” on everyone. They don’t refuse Communion to politicians because they support easier divorce laws or to those ( approximately 100% ) who support the concept of civil marriage\* or any number of issues that the organized Catholic Church believes are wrong in one way or another or think are binding on Catholics but don’t necessarily seek to impose on others. In the view of those refusing him Communion , he’s in favor of legalized murder. Even though he says he is personally against it and wouldn’t be involved himself, he wants it to be legal and to allow people to make their own choice. Imagine some politician supported a law that dehumanized a group of people in some way - maybe it made slavery legal, or permitted infanticide. Not just any law that you might disagree with, but one that in effect says “These beings are not people and are therefore not worthy of protection under the law.” I think this would all be easier to accept if it was the Church’s actual position. But the Church actually didn’t refuse communion for supporting slavery, and doesn’t now for supporting the death penalty or putting separating immigrant families and putting them in concentration camps. Most damningly, the church explicitly endorses treating LGBT people as ‘not people’ who don’t deserve equal protection under the law in multiple areas, and treating children molested by priests as not worthy of protection from sexual abuse under the law. The Catholic Church has a long history and current practice of deciding that ‘these beings are not people and are therefore not worthy of protection under the law’ for people that are indisputably people, not just small clusters of undeveloped cells with no consciousness, which makes the rhetoric ring more than a bit hollow. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-priests-talk-to-the-press-about-their-parishoners/842649/23 "2019-10-30T17:36:26Z")
When Jesus was questioned and criticized about eating with sinners, he replied by telling his critics that those were the people who needed him. Perhaps that priest should have read the Bible before deciding to deny Christ’s sacrament to anyone who is a believer. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-priests-talk-to-the-press-about-their-parishoners/842649/24 "2019-10-30T17:41:18Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > When Jesus was questioned and criticized about eating with sinners, he replied by telling his critics that those were the people who needed him. Perhaps that priest should have read the Bible before deciding to deny Christ’s sacrament to anyone who is a believer. One more time: _This thread is NOT about the denial of Communion. This thread is about clergy releasing this information to the press._ ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-priests-talk-to-the-press-about-their-parishoners/842649/25 "2019-10-30T19:55:17Z")
As a Catholic, I can’t think of any positive reason to tell the world “Hey, I denied that guy Communion!” or benefit it provides to me as a member of the Church. It feels petty and small and begging for attention. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-priests-talk-to-the-press-about-their-parishoners/842649/26 "2019-10-30T20:45:41Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > As a Catholic, I can’t think of any positive reason to tell the world “Hey, I denied that guy Communion!” or benefit it provides to me as a member of the Church. It feels petty and small and begging for attention. I second this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-priests-talk-to-the-press-about-their-parishoners/842649.md?page=1)