Catholic poohbah pans Disney

In England, the Roman Catholic Abbot of Worth, Christopher Jamison, claims the Disney Corporation is garnering humongous sums of money from children and other unsuspecting adult dolts by "exploiting spirituality."

Not only so, but our consumerism is going to cost us our souls.

Better check the bottom of your shoes! Oh, sorry. Wrong kind of souls!


The whole idea of Disney, says Abbot Jamison, is to convince us that life isn't worth living unless we "live the full Disney experience."

I wonder if the Abbot fell off one of rides at Disney World and hit his head. Good grief! Disney and every other corporation has the same objective; to sell their products! Coca-Cola claims we need to drink Coke to have a worthwhile life. Ford tells us we won't have a worthwhile life if we don't drive a Ford car. Bill O'Reilly thinks we must watch his show to have a worthwhile life. And J.C. Penney, which sends at least one catalog a day to our house, is adamant in reminding us how important the Penney's corporation is to living a worthwhile life.

The good abbot sounds like a TV evangelist, all of which, with high drama and melodramatic music, threaten viewers with the scourge of their fantasy hell unless they turn to Jesus because, they cry, that is the only way to live a worthwhile life. Oh, yes, send money, too.

Evidently, Abbot Jamison has a new book soon to be released called Finding Happiness, in which he pushes the notion that living more simply is the key to worthwhile living. Simple living, and not buying Disney products will put us on the road to "happiness."


And there's no problem with that. Prelates and other pretenders to righteousness have been writing books for eons, each of them claiming to have uncovered the secret of a worthwhile life. A few of these books may even contain a kernel of truth.

But - here's the irony and the hypocrisy - for a Roman Catholic Abbot to castigate the Disney corporation for the exploitation of spirituality - of children mostly - is, to put it mildly, the difference between the pot and the kettle.

If any institution exploits children spiritually it is the Roman Catholic Church. From the moment of baptism, when a child becomes "saved" through the efficacy of that sacrament, through first communion and confirmation, exploitation is the name of the game. Children are taught that outside of the church (Roman Catholic) there is no salvation! They are taught Roman doctrine with a vengeance, and warned they must believe it all or go to hell!

But, as we have learned, in many cases they are taught much more than that! Let's put it this way: Any Catholic parent who allows his/her child to serve at the altar or be alone with a priest for any amount of time should be sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor in a nunnery, for that is to put one's child at risk.

How many thousands of priests have been adjudged pedophiles? How many bishops have covered up their crimes? How many thousands of victims are still out there crippled with guilt and shame, silently bearing their wounds?


So, Abbot Jamison, get off that horse and ride some other cause. Disney may use every legitimate device they can to entice young people to purchase their products, but at least they give something of value in return, unlike your church which has too often given them hell on earth.