The repercussions from last month’s viral video of a confrontation between a group of Catholic high school students and a Native American man in Washington, D.C., feed into the schism of faith and politics in the U.S.
And some of the aftermath effects have the potential to spill over into Canada.
A quick recap: it was an encounter, ironically enough at the Lincoln Memorial with the great emancipating president gazing down, between Black Hebrew Israelites, American Natives and Catholic teenage boys, some of whom were wearing “Make America Great Again” caps.
A video from a camera phone instantly went viral on social media and sparked a firestorm of accusations, misleading statements and even death threats against the most prominent teen in the video who stares down the Native elder beating a drum.
The students from Covington Catholic High School, a private boys’ school in Kentucky, were there as part of the annual pro-life March for Life. The Natives and Black Hebrew Israelites were there for separate marches and demonstrations.
The Catholic boys’ behaviour was immediately condemned, including by Church leaders, but other evidence later surfaced indicating the viral video did not depict exactly how things unfolded, including the boys being taunted by other demonstrators.
In no way am I condoning their behaviour, but it may not have been as racist and threatening as originally reported. An independent investigation is under way.
Still, the damage has been done to the reputation of the Catholic boys and Catholic education in general. The encounter underscored schisms in America and put religious education at the fore.
How could it potentially impact Canadians? (more...)
I'm Catholic. I have examined Evangelicalism and found it direly wanting. It is theologically bankrupt and pastorally disastrous. Most evangelicals I've know have had troubled and broken marriages. Their schools are nowhere near Catholic schools in quality. I strive vigorously to keep my family insulated from the Evangelical storm swirling around our community. It is not atypical that an Evangelical tweet-fight ended up in the laps of Catholic school children and their parents. I've seen such stupidity degrade the pro-life and pro-family movements. Catholics need to extricate ourselves from the Lutheran lovefest and present ourselves authentically in the public square. Letting the televangelists and other quacks speak for us has done nothing but subject us to ridicule and contempt. It makes us the useful idiots of a Luciferian empire. We will still be here when they are long gone. We don't need to affirm or legitimize their memes-of-the-day.
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