On April 7, Sean Kittridge (“Sex crime registry ineffective, check the Church instead”) posted yet another opinion article mainly addressing the Catholic Church. The piece, saturated with satire, suggested that instead of reforming our current sex offender registry, we instead should “isolate sex offenders the only way the remnants of the Holy Roman West know how: by giving them collars and calling them Father.” While his attempts at humor may have been fitting for an adult cartoon series and late night talk shows, it had absolutely no place in an academic setting.

Opinion pieces are great tools in that they don’t have to be objective; there is a freedom in the chosen approach, connecting the topic to other relevant topics or ideas, etc. However, when the chosen approach overwhelms the topic at hand, the approach in this case being satire, it stops being an opinion piece and begins to take on the characteristics of an angry MySpace blog. Clearly, Kittridge has a bone to pick with the Catholic Church; this isn’t his first piece (see “Catholic Church might be due for an update”) and most certainly won’t be his last. What I find disturbing about these articles is a lack of understanding of an institution and Kittridge’s repeated sweeping generalizations of Catholics and the Catholic Church. Last time I checked, “sweeping generalizations” do not make a good journalist; at best, they make an ill-informed one.

“Mom and dad don’t have to lie awake worrying whether Johnny’s being taken advantage of during the long days at St. Dominic’s — because he is.”

“See someone in black robes? He’s either looking for a Renaissance Festival or he’s molested an altar boy.”

How is this acceptable journalism? It’s hate writing. It’s meant to propagate fear based on ignorant stereotypes. We’ve all taken a history class and we’ve all been made aware of the bad things that happened in the name of Jesus and Christianity centuries ago. I understand it still happens today. That does not, however, give everyone a free pass to slander and stereotype the institution — slander that, were it to be committed against an institution besides the Catholic Church, would have this campus up in arms.

Kittridge, you had some valid points in there. I think. But they were totally and completely lost in your tactless, stereotypical style. There are effective ways to use humor — your article failed.

Keeley Johnson ([email protected]) is a sophomore studying Spanish and Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian studies.