Bishops' Orwell-speak

George Orwell, a fun feller.

You've got to hand it to the Catholic bishops. They've got this Orwell-speak thing down pat.

The headline over at the NYT is "Bishops say rules on gay parents limit freedom of religion". I burst out laughing every time I see this Orwellian statement. Allow me to translate for you.

Here's the expanded version of that angry statement by the bishops:

Bishops say rules that limit their ability to discriminate against gay parents and deny them services available to everyone else infringe on their god-given right to act viciously and hatefully to one segment of society.

That's the Orwell trick, most recently typified by the names of Bush's signature policies, such as "No Child Left Behind" for a program that left all the children behind. Or the names of rightwing hate organizations, such as Focus on the Family, for an organization whose only goal is to destroy gay-led families. Or NOM, the National Organization for Marriage, whose only goal is to destroy gay marriages. It's the Orwell trick. It's quick and easy. And as you can see, even stupid people can master it.

So here the bishops join in, heartily heaving Orwellian phrases left and right. They're not discriminating against gay people. Oh, no, no, no. Heaven forbid! They're victims of an anti-religious policy that limits their "freedom". I trust everyone sees through this. (And let's hope so. This story is number 7 on the most emailed list at the Times, or was last time I looked. I trust people are sending it around with a note that says, "Can you believe the chutzpah of these bishops?!")

The Roman Catholic church crossed the line a long time ago. It's just another hate group now. Hopefully, the Southern Poverty Law Center will soon add the church to its official list.