In a column in his diocesan paper, Bishop Thomas Paprocki unhelpfully calls out press coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings. The key paragraph reads:
Generically blaming "religion" for terrorist bombings misunderstands the true nature of religion. Authentic religion binds people together in peace and harmony with each other and their Creator. The problem is not religion, but radical Islamist jihadism. It is highly unlikely that a "growing interest" in Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity or any other major world religion would have resulted in the Boston Marathon bombings. Blaming "religion" appears to offer a non-offensive euphemism for those who do not want to insult Muslims, but doing so has the effect of defaming all religions and provides an easy but mistaken scapegoat for those seeking to justify their secularist views.
So, it is okay to scapegoat Islam, but not all religion? Does the bishop not realize that there are religious extremists in every religion? Does he know that a "growing interest" in Hindu has, indeed, led some extremists to self-radicalize in India? Is he familiar with the way religion was exploited by Christians for violent ends through the centuries? Most importantly, does Bishop Paprocki know anything about the rise in hatred and hostility in Boston since the bombings, as seen in the need to bury the suspect who was killed out of state? Does he recognize that it is a bishop's job to try and heal divisions, not throw gasoline on the embers? This man is an embarrassment and the nuncio is well advised to keep a set of already-addressed envelopes, and already printed cards, destined for Springfield, Illinois with the message: "For the love of God, please be quiet."
