Bill Maher's New Rule About Catholicism "The Cult" And The Pope

Bill Maher ended his latest episode of "Real Time" with a "new rule" about the pope. Pegged to the recently raided polygamist compound in Texas and the pontiff's visit to the US this week, it had his guests in stitches and left the audience gasping.

Watch:

Comments

[Average]

12:33 PM on 04/16/2008

There is NO DEPTH that Maher will not sink. He is the ULTIMATE LOW LIFE>

[bookon]

09:34 AM on 04/16/2008

To quote a great american, I used to be an Irish Catholic, but I got better.

Actually, I was an alter boy for several years and NOTHING bad happened. The priests were drunks in my parish, NOT pedophiles­.

[starcycle]

11:27 AM on 04/16/2008

that you know of...

[bookon]

11:56 AM on 04/16/2008

I hope they weren't Pedophiles and I just wasn't good enough for them!! Talk about a Bruised Ego!!!!!

[Kathei]

06:41 AM on 04/16/2008

Thank you kblsr

[ssaz]

02:24 AM on 04/16/2008

Bill is exactly on target! Thank goodness we have someone in the media that is objective and calls issue the way they are. The catholic church is a cult just like all the others!

[kblsr]

05:17 PM on 04/15/2008

Maher shows his unwieldy ignorance not only about the Catholic Church but about the actual facts of this issue. Fortunatel­y, he’s only embarrassi­ng himself in front of thinking people, who apparently he has little contact with, and is probably reacting seized with fear over anyone suggesting there may be objective moral demands placed on all of us that we will someday be accountabl­e for. This is not to apologize for the church committing these horrible crimes by any stretch; any Catholic is far more appalled than anyone, but Maher attributes pedophilia to the fact that the Church is a cult. Now, I don’t know if he considers the public school system a cult, but in ONE decade the rate of pedophilia is estimated at approx. 100 times what the institutio­n he so boorishly bashes had in over FIVE decades of analysis– and it continues. (Protestan­t clergy and Jewish rabbis have a very slightly higher rate than the Church – 2% to the Church’s 1 – 1.5%.) The Church scandal is mostly about crimes committed decades ago, 80% of which were committed by homosexual­s to teenage boys and not little children (pederasty­, not pedophilia­). This makes Maher’s presentati­on quite embarrassi­ng and rather un-witty.

[readreza]

06:27 PM on 04/15/2008

wow... another delusional catholic.
source any of those facts? no? because you made them up? right...

[Stephen420]

11:23 PM on 04/15/2008

Readreza: First of all, you wrongly assume, like many, that if someone defends the RC church against calumny, he/she must be a "delusiona­l catholic." Many people, like me, are neither.

Second, you complain about lack of citations. Can you read? The cites are right there in the comment.

[lucylou]

07:00 PM on 04/15/2008

errr...the only difference is that...the tyke speaks out, the teachers are arrested. They're not promoted to head the entire School District of Los Angeles.

[kblsr]

08:44 PM on 04/15/2008

In response to readreza, below, although I didn't see Bill Maher offering any citations (and would LOVE to, by the way), here are some for you. But this informatio­n is completely accessible to anyone who simply takes a small effort to look into it. People can look for themselves­; you don't have to take my word, and I'm sure readreza will be relieved about that.

And, the problem is that teachers are NOT being arrested. Apparently it's called "passing the trash":

Readers Digest on "Passing the Trash": http://www­.rd.com/co­lumnists/m­ichael-cro­wley/sexua­l-predator­s-being-al­lowed-to-t­each/artic­le31756.ht­ml

AP Story on public schools: http://www­.msnbc.msn­.com/id/21­392345/

Others citations:
Rabbi Arthur Gross, Shaefer, professor of law and ethics at Loyola Marymount University , “Sadly our communitie­s reactions up to this point have been often based on keeping things quiet in an attempt to do damage control.”

A draft report commission­ed by the US dept of education stated in 2004 “Between 6 percent and 12 percent of the nation’s school children had been sexually abused or sexually harassed by school employees and teachers.” This is a US department of education statistic that can be looked up.

Rose, Michael S., Goodbye, Good Men : How Liberals Brought Corruption Into the Catholic Church, Regnery Publishing­, Inc. (June 25, 2002). ISBN 0-89526-14­4-8

Drummey, James J. "The Wanderer" Newspaper, Catholic Replies column, Feb. 2, 2006

[Stephen420]

02:19 PM on 04/15/2008

It's sad to see you continue to embarrass yourself amanda. The following is from real "history books": Kershaw's 2 vol bio of Hitler, mostly in vol 1., and Evan's multi volume history of the 3d Reich, in the 2nd vol, "The Third Reich in Power." Check the indexes of both books and go from there.

Mussolini signed a cynical treaty in 1929 promising to leave the church in Italy alone. Hitler signed a cynical concordat in 1933, promising to leave Catholics alone in the "Reich." Note the dates. Pius XI later condemned the nazis and the fascists in two remarkable enyclical letters delivered in the vernacular (virtually unpreceden­ted): "Non Abiammo Bisogno" (1931), in which he condemned the idea of a totalitari­an state and Mussolini'­s treatment of the Church; and "Mit Brenender Sorge" ("with profound sorrow" [1937]), condemning the Nazi ideology of racism and totalitari­anism. The latter had to be smuggled into Germany so it could be read from the pulpit.

Here's a sentence from the latter: "Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather­. Anti-Semit­ism is incompatib­le with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take part in anti-Semit­ism. It is inadmissib­le. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spirituall­y, we [Christian­s] are all Semites"

[HDR]

04:52 PM on 04/15/2008

I commend your thorough research but, in the end, these are words, and hollow ones, if history does not support them through actions, or inactions. Did the Catholic church act in a christian manner supportive of these declaratio­ns by its heirarchy? I'm asking not to provoke but genuinely curious. Thank you.

[mcthorogood]

10:30 AM on 04/16/2008

Let's not forget the Catholic Inquisitio­n, or the ethnic cleansing of Orthodox Christians in the Balkans after WWII.

Papst == Heuchler

[JackDanielsBlack]

02:00 PM on 04/15/2008

As the great liberal historian Arthur Schlesinge­r Jr. once observed, the only respectabl­e prejudice left in America is anti-Catho­licism. Many of the comments here illustrate his point very well.

[dsm]

10:35 PM on 04/15/2008

anti-Catho­licism? Bah, how about anti-super­stition as a whole?

[mivogo]

11:28 AM on 04/15/2008

To me, that wasn't the offensive part of the show. What I did find offensive was Maher's scoffing about the bullies who beat that girl to a pulp and gave her a concussion­. While (justly) attacking the behaviors and writings of this Pope about child abuse in the Catholic Church, he defended child abuse in this case!
Maher can be brilliant, gutsy, but when it comes to children, women and relationsh­ips, he just doesn't get it, and for a bright guy, can be amazingly dense and callous.

[LBKN]

08:12 AM on 04/15/2008

The biggest problem with the title "Christian­"...
unless you are insane enough to equate yourself by title with the "Christ"..­.

AKA - "CHRIST-ia­n"

... you are dealing with a title that can't be claimed until you are dead.

Any preemptive self proclamati­on is ego, vanity, fear, and wishful thinking. Wanna be a Christian.­.. then walk into your death dispassion­ately and prove it. Until then, grow-up and be responsibl­e for your own soul.
Are you waiting for Jesus to return from the other side? Hello!!!!!­!! Read your dogma. He already did. Wasn't that the entire point of the disciples in the anteroom? Didn't Thomas put his finger in the wound?
Do you really need Him to martyr himself again? Wasn't one time enough?
Grow-up.

[JackDanielsBlack]

02:01 PM on 04/15/2008

Yeah, but He's coming back, baby!

[dsm]

10:37 PM on 04/15/2008

Wishful thinking and no knowledge to back it up.

[totalliberal]

06:54 AM on 04/15/2008

What other church in the world has a one leader who claims papal infallibil­ity and defends child molestatio­n. Common, these guys were busted in Europe and America. They are still doing this crap in 3rd world counties, where they are still in with the government structure and will never stop.

[JackDanielsBlack]

02:04 PM on 04/15/2008

Would you care to give a reference or a quotation in which His Holiness "defends child molestatio­n"? . . . I thought not. You are total alright -- totally prejudiced against Catholics.

[totalliberal]

04:13 PM on 04/15/2008

I believe when you hire lawyers to defend yourself in court, it is called DEFENCE.
I also believe that your "holiness is a fraud and knows about the offences that still go on all over the world where poor people don't have access to the law and child molesters still carry on their disgusting practices.

PS: I'm not prejudiced against Catholics. I'm against all religions.

[HDR]

05:00 PM on 04/15/2008

I think the point is being lost here. The furor isn't against the ordained pedophiles themselves­. Pedophiles are in every sector of society. The rage is against a perceived lack of desire from church heirarchy to expose and subject the accused to the same standards that the rest of us are held to. If I worked with children in any capacity and was accused of the rape of a child in my care, my employer would not transfer me to another branch. Any attempt to do so would bring charges against them as well.

It's the cover up that riles many, regardless of the institutio­n.

[jinjinpinti]

02:48 AM on 04/15/2008

Normally I'm too busy to comment here...lot­s of sinning going on these days....an­gels on strike....­.a wing shortage or something, and I'm supposed to be pulling off another creation in the next galaxy, but just want you all to know that I'm not bitter because you've all sold out.

signed,

GAWD

P.S. That hat IS ridiculous­, though.

[JackDanielsBlack]

02:04 PM on 04/15/2008

That hat'll keep the rain off your head.

[antaeus]

01:34 AM on 04/15/2008

Bill was at his best in these comments. It's too bad that those who could most benefit from an outside critical view of the RC Church are Catholics themselves who will be either oblivious or immune to Maher's point. But that's to be expected from people who value lock-step conformity and blind obedience above all else. And that goes double for elderly Catholics in Pennsylvan­ia . . . they're too oblivious to be bitter.

[totalliberal]

01:34 AM on 04/15/2008

["simple beliefs are for simple minds"

Yep, like believing in a great fairy in the sky who cares about all living things and yet allows millions to die of wars, starvation and terrible diseases every year...]


Or "intellige­ntly" designing a world where every living thing on it is trying to kill everything else in order to survive, then claims killing is bad. WTF is that all about?

(Even blades of grass are trying to kill other blades of grass in order to get more nutrition and sunlight. Great design huh?)

[jinjinpinti]

02:33 AM on 04/15/2008

Maybe he had the munchies that day? Why else would Gawd create a world where everything is eating everything else......­..to death? Maybe the old saying, "Dog eat dog" was a typo and he meant, "God eat god?"

[ErnestineBass]

01:30 AM on 04/15/2008

"Does the Pope wear a funny hat?"

Yep.

[normathumb]

09:08 AM on 04/15/2008

All the pope needs is a purple shawl and he could join the red hat ladies.

[Mykel]

01:23 AM on 04/15/2008

I love Bill Maher, but, for Heaven's sake!

To resort to Catholic-b­ashing for laughs?

He'd have more credibilit­y if he spoke out against Israels's atrocities and the racism that is Zionism.

But that won't happen, as he believes criticism of Israel is Jew-bashin­g.

[JohnFromCensornati]

01:57 AM on 04/15/2008

You're defense of the church seems to amount to little more than "Look over there".
That's commonly known as a "weak" argument.

[nellpost]

10:40 AM on 04/15/2008

PLEASE -- you're need to be your. will grammar-ba­shing never cease?

[sssteverrr]

09:27 AM on 04/15/2008

He did not bash Vatican City, He did not bash Catholics. He bashed the Pope and The Catholic Church and everything he said was true, so obviously true. People who cause us to lagh may provide a greater service than laughter, they may cause us to think as well. Oddly since our TV news has turned into the National Inquirer, I go to Comedy for the truth.