It has just come to my attention that cast member Pete Davidson of “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update segment said, “If you support the Catholic Church, isn’t that the same thing as being a R. Kelly fan?”
As a Catholic and as grand knight of St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus Council No. 5911 in Douglaston, I find this statement most appalling. The Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens have called this “a disgraceful and an offensive skit” and has requested a public apology as an insult to all Catholics. Well, I totally agree.
The church has had problems with sexual abuse by priests, addressed the problem and has tried to help victims. And the comparison with the singer R. Kelly who is under a 10-count indictment with abuse of minors is a comparison that hurts many victims.
The Brooklyn-Queens Diocese is dedicated to helping sexual abuse victims and seeing to it that clergy abuse never happens again. For “SNL” to have such a lack of insensitivity by writers, producers and the cast around this painful issue in my opinion is quite disturbing.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
Mineola
