Wednesday, October 08, 2008

YouTube: sacrilegious videos back on-line

Action: please sign the petition and protest by email (here's the address: editor@YouTube.com; here's a standard protest letter and a way of sending it). What are they playing at? As we reported a few days ago, after a huge protest from the Catholic community YouTube pulled these videos of consecrated hosts being desecrated - but only for a few hours. They are back on-line and we have to go back to complaining about it.

The on-off policy seems to be a characteristic: they've been doing it also with their censorship of pro-life videos. Perhaps they think we won't notice that they've undone what they did in response to protests.

A big hat-tip to Catholic Rights: see his discussion.


From the

Catholic League
: Under the name fsmdude, a Canadian man, Dominique, has posted over 40 videos on YouTube desecrating the Eucharist. Catholic League president Bill Donohue responds as follows:

“On September 29, I wrote to YouTube CEO Chad Hurley asking him to take down these offensive videos. I left a phone message for him on October 3, but he refuses to respond. Accordingly, I have posted my own video on YouTube calling attention to this matter.

“It was a professor from the University of Minnesota, Morris campus, Paul Z. Myers, who started the war on the Eucharist this past summer by intentionally desecrating a consecrated Host. Because Myers committed this act off-campus, the University did nothing about it. The latest copycat, however, has violated YouTube’s own ‘Community Guidelines.’ YouTube makes it clear that it does not ‘permit hate speech,’ defined as ‘speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion….’ It also says it ‘is not a shock site.’ Now if desecrating what Catholics believe to be the Body and Blood of Christ does not constitute hate speech, as well as expression designed to shock, nothing does.

“In August, YouTube took down a video of a teenager who urinated on the Holocaust memorial in Rhodes, Greece. That was not only the right moral choice, it was consistent with its own strictures. Catholics deserve the same sensitivity, and that is why we are asking YouTube to take down these unconscionable videos. It is not only right morally, it is in compliance with its own guidelines.”

From 'American Needs Fatima':

In only 7 days, 18,201 people have respectfully asked YouTube to pull the offensive videos that show the Holy Eucharist being desecrated, including one being flushed down a toilet.

I believe these videos violate YouTube’s hate policies, for they are sacrilegious, offensive to the Blessed Sacrament and demeaning to Catholics and to the Roman Catholic faith. But since YouTube has NOT heard us, although pulling the videos for a few hours, it’s time to turn our petition into a protest!

Please go here to send your NEW protest message to YouTube.

By YouTube seemingly resolved to give a platform to these host desecration videos, many Catholics will reasonably conclude they agree with these videos’ deep anti-Catholic bias. After all, it seems that YouTube has removed videos with content offensive to Jews and Muslims. For example, a video showing a teenager urinating on the Holocaust memorial was pulled. So was the trailer to a Dutch documentary that claims that Islam inspires intolerance, murder and terror.

But videos with the Holy Eucharist being desecrated seem to be OK. In my opinion, this is a double standard. I know you will not accept this. And that is why I ask you to:

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Pope Leo XIII's Prayer to St Michael

Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust down to Hell Satan, and all wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen