Catholic League: YouTube 'Age Gates' Offensive Videos

"As part of the Catholic League response to this issue, we are posting a video on YouTube that further explains our position."

NEW YORK, NY (Catholic League) - On October 15, Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke with an official from YouTube's headquarters about his news release of October 7 objecting to 40-plus videos depicting the desecration of the Eucharist. He explains what happened:

"The conversation I had was productive, and the official with whom I spoke was reasonable and professional. She fully understood the gravity of our concerns and admitted that many Catholics have contacted YouTube registering their outrage. Here is where we're at.

"The videos, posted by a young man, Dominique (he goes by 'fsmdude'), have been 'age-gated.' What this means is that the videos are not available to the general public--age confirmation is required. Moreover, the viewer is informed that the material may not be appropriate. The YouTube official stressed that this was a 'preliminary step,' part of an ongoing review process. In other words, they are taking the complaints made by the Catholic League seriously, and may yet decide to implement stronger strictures.

"In the course of the conversation, I made it clear that we do not object to making fun of Catholics, or for that matter Catholic beliefs and practices, just so long as they are made in good taste. Nor do we object to those who might vigorously reject the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. What we object to are situations where it is obvious that the whole purpose of the communication is to deliberately insult Catholics. It is one thing for an avowed atheist to lecture Catholics about their beliefs, quite another for someone to throw the Eucharist down the toilet, put it in a blender, etc. The latter represents malice, having nothing to do with discourse.

"As part of the Catholic League response to this issue, we are posting a video on YouTube that further explains our position. We appreciate the seriousness that YouTube has shown to our concerns and hope they conclude that these videos violate their guidelines."

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The Catholic League is the nation's largest Catholic civil rights organization. Founded in 1973 by the late Father Virgil C. Blum, S.J., the Catholic League defends the right of Catholics – lay and clergy alike – to participate in American public life without defamation or discrimination. It is led by its' President, William A. Donohue, Ph.D.