A female student at Carnegie Mellon dressed up as the Pope from the waist up and naked from the waist down passed out condoms to other students at an annual art school parade.
To make it even slightly more offensive, she shaved her hair down there in the shape of a cross. Now clearly, this was meant to be offensive and in your face.
The Diocese has asked CMU to take action against this kind of hateful behavior but CMU said they’re unsure if their community standards were violated.
Excuse me?
Bishop David Zubik said he understands that “when we’re growing up we do stupid things” but he added that the behavior of this young woman crossed the line.
CMU issued a statement saying they’ll continue to review the incident. This is purely hate-filled. There’s no other explanation. Can you think of what the college would do if this type of speech were aimed at Jews, Muslims, or any other group for that matter.
If this doesn’t fall beneath their “community standards” it’s because they perhaps don’t have any.
Here’s a television news story with Bishop Zubik:
April 30, 2013 at 2:54 am
name another religious leader…
The pope is an easy target because the media makes him a star. No one does a Brian Dole impression.
Offended because he was identified, croc tears.
April 30, 2013 at 3:05 am
Only one news affiliate, in the largely Catholic region of Pittsburgh, even saw fit to report this story.
April 30, 2013 at 3:17 am
…..yessureee….
…..she will now be known as an imbecile for the rest of her life!
…..and that's being charitable!
April 30, 2013 at 3:34 am
…..actions do have consequences,
…..and higher education "is" wasted on some people!
…..someone went into "obscene" debt for this?
April 30, 2013 at 3:21 am
is there a picture of the woman?
April 30, 2013 at 3:42 am
The Cross shaved on the pubic hair crossed the line. Why? Jesus died on the Cross. She can disagree with the Church and even mock us half naked as the Pope passing out condoms, but she is blindly ignorant at the most basic knowledge of one of the world's largest religions. Jesus died on the Cross, and even if she didn't believe he was Christ. Jesus is still a man crucified.
I wonder if she supports the death penalty? That is what she is expressing on pubic area. How else do I read it?
April 30, 2013 at 4:31 am
If she'd done an anti-gay, anti-Muslim, anti-black or anti-Semitic "art piece," there would be no question whatsoever that the university would be bringing her up on formal harassment charges for hate speech. There is also no question that this was a calculated anti-Catholic "art piece." The only question is, will the university have the guts to connect the dots in this case, or will they declare open season on Catholics?
April 30, 2013 at 2:29 pm
Hilarious to read you all clutching at your pearls. It wasn't so long ago Catholics were burned at the stake for protesting – and it wasn't so long before that Catholics were doing the burning.
Welcome to Freedom of Speech.
April 30, 2013 at 2:56 pm
Rioting by Catholics in 3…2…1…(crickets chirping).
If they aren't sure if community standards have been violated then there aren't any community standards left to violate.
April 30, 2013 at 3:50 pm
contrarian: Only TRUTH HAS FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Jesus Christ is TRUTH. So, this individual mocks TRUTH. some freedom? " Get a picture. She needs to carry this into eternity.
April 30, 2013 at 4:03 pm
Contrarian– pure freedom of speech had not existed on college campuses for a very long time now. Which of the other groups I mentioned could be harassed in such a way and face no consequences?
April 30, 2013 at 4:07 pm
Maybe justice will be done in the end and she won't be able to find a job like a lot of college graduates these days.
April 30, 2013 at 4:54 pm
There is a simple test that must be considered here: How would CMU have responded had the woman dressed as a Muslim, but naked from the waist down. I don't think it takes a great deal of thought to recognize that a) she would have been suspended and b) the news coverage would have been all over the country.
And if that is the case, then CMU's hypocrisy is writ large.
April 30, 2013 at 5:34 pm
Mary De Voe
You are entitled to your religious beliefs. You are not entitled to impose them on me, this lady, or anyone else.
William Meyer
Do you really want a world where the most offended, most socially backward, most likey-to-resort-to-violence get to call the shots? My goodness – I think you do!
You know, everyone, as Christians I'd have thought you might consider "forgiving" this poor girl, but of course not, that's not what you're about at all.
One thing I've learned from reading thru this website: mocking Catholics, BAD. Systematically covering up child abuse to protect the Catholic Chiurch, GOOD.
April 30, 2013 at 5:53 pm
Both my husband and I are CMU alum. It is a sad day for us.
April 30, 2013 at 6:24 pm
And "contrararian" throws down the obligatory one-note song – covering up child abuse, yeah right, child abuse never happens outside the Catholic Church. Yes, we Christians are sinners. We know it. That is why we have so much respect for the Man on the Cross and why we are offended when He is offended. It is not mocking Catholics that is bad, we expect that and we treasure it because Jesus promised it would happen. The mocking is of Christ and that we don't stand for. We die for it. And I am speaking for a lot of Catholics when I say, yes, we pray for that misguided young lady. Jesus died for her sins too. And yours.
April 30, 2013 at 6:59 pm
Of course, the big loser in this are her parents who were foolish enough to sign on to her going to Carnegie Mellon and the tax payers if she got a student loan.
April 30, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Contrarian,
Why seek out a news story with no seeming connection to you, just to attempt to mock people who seemingly have no connection with?
Your cliched 'attacks' reveal your dependence on 'straw man' skewed images of the Catholic Church constructed by those who seemingly hate the idea of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church rather than the reality of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.
A little research will reveal to you that you are depending on anti-Catholic constructions that bear little similarity to the real thing.
God bless.
April 30, 2013 at 8:16 pm
contrarian:
I am a Catholic and I forgive the poor girl, all the more easily because her act was more pathetic than anything else.
And I challenge you to find one post on this blog that asserts that "Systematically covering up child abuse to protect the Catholic Chiurch [sic]" is good.
Oh – and I forgive you too. God bless you; I hope we'll meet in Heaven.
April 30, 2013 at 8:24 pm
Contrarian you are badly confused. My point was that it's a cheap shot taken precisely because the media will assist. Were a similarly cheap shot taken against Islam, the media would come unglued.
As to the young woman, she needs our forgiveness and our prayers.
Try not to twist that.
April 30, 2013 at 8:24 pm
DON'T feed the troll.