Knoxville's Catholic bishop today has publicly criticized a pamphlet distributed by a Pigeon Forge Baptist church as "hateful, discriminatory and full of prejudice and bigotry." Bishop Richard F. Stika of the Diocese of Knoxville issued a press release in response to the recently publicized distribution of anti-Catholic literature.
"I wish first to state my deep respect and love for my Protestant brothers and sisters, with whom we acknowledge and worship but one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," Stika said in the release.
"At this moment, however, I am greatly saddened by the reprehensible acts of prejudice and hatred of a few souls who, out of ignorance of Catholic teachings, have promoted the distribution of anti-Catholic tracts.
"These tracts contain outright lies and blatant exaggerations."
According to The Mountain Press newspaper, the pamphlet distributed by a Pigeon Forge Baptist church suggests that the Catholic Church was founded by the devil and that Catholics worship a cookie.
Father Jay Flaherty, who leads Holy Cross Catholic Church in Pigeon Forge, told The Mountain Press that he wants federal investigators to look into the matter; Flaherty said a student at Pigeon Forge High gave a member of Flaherty's church the leaflet titled "The Death Cookie," a reference to the Catholic sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Conner Heights Baptist Church Pastor Jonathan Hatcher told The Mountain Press that his congregation decided to distribute the leaflet as a way of trying to present its beliefs.
The leaflet is distributed by Chick Publications, a California-based publishing house, the Mountain Press reports.
Stika, though, countered:
"The rationale one Baptist pastor gave in support of distributing these reprehensible, discriminatory and bigoted tracts was that he was trying to point out the primary difference his church has with Catholics. ... Unfortunately, this pastor does not have a correct understanding of what the Catholic faith teaches in this regard."
Stika argued that "the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence asserts that in the Holy Eucharist, Jesus is literally and wholly present - body and blood, soul and divinity - under the appearances of bread and wine. ...
"Catholics recognize that many of our Christian brothers and sisters do not share our belief in the Real Presence," he said in the release.
"Even though we may not share the same doctrinal belief, we are thankful that our Christian brothers and sisters of different faiths deeply respect the Lord's Supper and what it represents. ...
"As bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville, I pray that all Christian pastors will develop a spirituality of ecumenism, with a willingness to explore with other Christians the common beliefs of our Christianity - primarily our belief in the one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ - rather than focus on our differences."
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