George Pell and His Antagonists

I believe that, of all believers in the world, Christians are the most persecuted. The late anti-communist activist B.A. Santamaria, who along with Cardinal Pell had a role in establishing Aid to the Church in Need here in Australia, was wont to say that anti-Catholicism was the anti-Semitism of the intelligentsia. I understand that the saying is attributed to the American historian and poet Peter Viereck. He made the comment around 1960 when John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, was running to become president of the United States, against the Republican Richard Nixon. As we know, Kennedy won, narrowly.

Viereck’s words are not so relevant today, since many intellectuals are into both anti-Catholic sectarianism and anti-Semitism. Indeed, anti-Semitism is rife in large parts of the world, including Australia.

The driver of anti-Semitism in Western nations can be found in the universities and the intellectuals and students who inhabit the campuses, as well as among some Islamist groups and…