On Monday, Patricia Heaton, the star of “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle” and a devout Catholic, minced no words attacking members of the media who vilified the Covington Catholic High School students for actions they did not commit regarding their encounter with a Native American man near the Lincoln Memorial on Friday, after the March for Life. Heaton issued a searing series of tweets addressing those who had attempted to ruin the boys’ lives, pointing out that their rush to judgment could not be ameliorated by their subsequent apologies,
She started by writing, “I’m seeing what I believe to be sincere apologies from some journalists and verified media persons regarding their lack of professionalism in rushing to judgement re the #CovingtonCatholic situation.”
She continued, “These apologies are welcome and necessary, but they don’t address the damage that cannot be undone which was inflicted upon young people who are about to embark on adulthood – applying to colleges, looking for employment, etc.”
Heaton pointed out that the damage done by insinuating something was wrong with the school would also hurt the students immeasurably, writing, “These young people will forever have these smears follow them through their life every time they proffer their resume with the word ‘Covington’ on it. It will also affect anyone who ever has or ever will attend that school. The damage is incalculable.”
She noted that the perpetrators of the attacks on the boys would likely emerge scot-free, tweeting, “And yet those who perpetrated this destruction, no matter how unintended, are still at their jobs, with nary a consequence for their reckless behavior.”
Heaton posited that an apology without any punishment was meaningless: “It seems to me that an apology without some kind of accompanying action which speaks to the seriousness of their transgression – a suspension from work, some loss of pay – renders any apology empty.”
And another comment that the media would never regain the public’s trust as long as it was intransigent about its mistakes: “Some kind of compensatory action would go a long way in signaling their recognition of the seriousness of their transgression and help to restore what’s left of the public’s very fragile trust in their reputations as trustworthy journalists.”
And her conclusion, which seemed, sadly, logical enough: “However, I don’t believe this will happen.”
Heaton has brought her fiery attitude to large issues before; last September she fiercely denounced Pope Francis for asking journalists to investigate abuses of children in the Catholic Church rather than reveal the information itself, tweeting, “Or @Pontifex could just release all the records himself and save everyone a lot of unnecessary time and trouble, right? Stop trying to paint obfuscation and coverup as some kind of heroic act.”
When she was challenged that the Vatican was not a corporation, and didn’t release records, Heaton fired back, “Your arrogance is quite bold. The laity is the church. They have sacrificed finances to give their children a catholic education, have tithed, followed church tradition, looked for guidance. To have any moral authority, @Pontifex must release any reports of abuse. Period.”
She concluded, “My grandmother had 15 children – Catholic Mother of the Year. My father sent all 5 of us to catholic school on a reporter’s low salary and faithfully tithed to parish, Boystown and Maryknoll Missions. My sister is a Nashville Dominican. Transparency now … I don’t care if every previous Pope is exposed. My allegiance is not to any man or institution, but only to Christ crucified and risen, who warned that it would be better to drown with a millstone around your neck than to cause his little ones to stumble.”