"Pancake" and Pedophilia in the Catholic Church
In pancake, Scarlet is now in Delaware, tackling the issue of molestation in the Catholic church. During the past year, there has been a significant resurgence in public interest in pedophilia amongst priests in the Catholic churches across America. Though Catholic churches are not alone in this situation, they have been spotlighted in the mainstream media.
In 1984, the National Catholic Reporter broke the story of the first major pedophile scandal to involve an American priest, Father Gilbert Gauthe of Lafayette, Lousianna (Leo 57). This shocking news came around the time when psychiatric studies were beginning to show a stunning reality: most pedophiles arent people who slip now and then; they are career predators who will never stop (Leo 57). Furthermore, the fact that it was in the Catholic Church, shocked not only America, but the world at large.
Now, in 2003, pedophilia in the Catholic Church has made a huge resurgence into the media. However, now there is evidence of cover-ups of these scandals that go all the way up to the Vatican. Obviously, this has become an even greater shock to the public.
It has become a story about sex and power and the hypocrisy of a church that condemns casual sex among consenting adults while condoning the sin (and crime) of pedophilia within its ranks (Leo 57). It has shocked and appalled the world. As a result, people are starting to question even the authorities of the Catholic Church.
In pancake, Scarlet is definitely questioning these authorities. The pancake image is a reference to the host from Holy Communion, which the Catholic Church believes to be the body of Christ.
She says, Messiahs need people dying in their name (Amos). In other words, no one is considered a Messianic figure until someone has given his or her life in His name. She is talking to the irony of that. You could have spared her, oh but no (Amos), instead you can become a figure to be worshipped if people become a martyr in your name.
Also, the line It seems in vogue to be a closet misogynist homophobe (Amos) is a clear reference to the bad name that the Catholic Church has given to homosexuals. Scarlet is calling the church a misogynistic, homophobic entity, and she is not far off.
Furthermore, homosexuality is being viewed even more harshly because of these incidents of pedophilia. These are incidents of older men forcing themselves onto young boys. This clearly clouds societys views on homosexuality. Because of these incidents, people will to confuse homosexuality with pedophilia, a highly destructive and false conjecture.
These incidents bring up many questions; questions that many more people are beginning to ask. In an article on the subject, Matthew Felling lists the questions that the public has begun to ask themselves:
*Why must priests only be men?
*Why celibacy?
*Are homosexuals inordinately represented in the priesthood?
*Why is the hierarchy so slow to respond to pressing matter?
*Are there pedophiles in the ranks of other faiths clergy, and, if so, how do the numbers compare with Catholicism? (Felling 60)
These questions make Scarlet feel unsafe with the Catholic Church. She says,
I can look your God right in the eye (Amos). She feels the hypocrisy of this establishment that is supposed to represent an all-loving God, yet it condemns so many people. She does not understand how they can say they are doing the work of God. She does not trust them. No matter if she believes in God or not, she does not believe that the people in charge of the Catholic Church are representative of an all-accepting, all-loving God.
The use of the keyboard, raging guitars and bass, and driving drums, really brings the anger of this song to the fore. The idea of Scarlet questioning these authority figures comes to life with the hard-edge that this song brings across to the listener. At times, Amos voice is just as harsh as the guitars and the bass, especially the way in which she drags out the word eye throughout the song.
In 1984, the National Catholic Reporter broke the story of the first major pedophile scandal to involve an American priest, Father Gilbert Gauthe of Lafayette, Lousianna (Leo 57). This shocking news came around the time when psychiatric studies were beginning to show a stunning reality: most pedophiles arent people who slip now and then; they are career predators who will never stop (Leo 57). Furthermore, the fact that it was in the Catholic Church, shocked not only America, but the world at large.
Now, in 2003, pedophilia in the Catholic Church has made a huge resurgence into the media. However, now there is evidence of cover-ups of these scandals that go all the way up to the Vatican. Obviously, this has become an even greater shock to the public.
It has become a story about sex and power and the hypocrisy of a church that condemns casual sex among consenting adults while condoning the sin (and crime) of pedophilia within its ranks (Leo 57). It has shocked and appalled the world. As a result, people are starting to question even the authorities of the Catholic Church.
In pancake, Scarlet is definitely questioning these authorities. The pancake image is a reference to the host from Holy Communion, which the Catholic Church believes to be the body of Christ.
She says, Messiahs need people dying in their name (Amos). In other words, no one is considered a Messianic figure until someone has given his or her life in His name. She is talking to the irony of that. You could have spared her, oh but no (Amos), instead you can become a figure to be worshipped if people become a martyr in your name.
Also, the line It seems in vogue to be a closet misogynist homophobe (Amos) is a clear reference to the bad name that the Catholic Church has given to homosexuals. Scarlet is calling the church a misogynistic, homophobic entity, and she is not far off.
Furthermore, homosexuality is being viewed even more harshly because of these incidents of pedophilia. These are incidents of older men forcing themselves onto young boys. This clearly clouds societys views on homosexuality. Because of these incidents, people will to confuse homosexuality with pedophilia, a highly destructive and false conjecture.
These incidents bring up many questions; questions that many more people are beginning to ask. In an article on the subject, Matthew Felling lists the questions that the public has begun to ask themselves:
*Why must priests only be men?
*Why celibacy?
*Are homosexuals inordinately represented in the priesthood?
*Why is the hierarchy so slow to respond to pressing matter?
*Are there pedophiles in the ranks of other faiths clergy, and, if so, how do the numbers compare with Catholicism? (Felling 60)
These questions make Scarlet feel unsafe with the Catholic Church. She says,
I can look your God right in the eye (Amos). She feels the hypocrisy of this establishment that is supposed to represent an all-loving God, yet it condemns so many people. She does not understand how they can say they are doing the work of God. She does not trust them. No matter if she believes in God or not, she does not believe that the people in charge of the Catholic Church are representative of an all-accepting, all-loving God.
The use of the keyboard, raging guitars and bass, and driving drums, really brings the anger of this song to the fore. The idea of Scarlet questioning these authority figures comes to life with the hard-edge that this song brings across to the listener. At times, Amos voice is just as harsh as the guitars and the bass, especially the way in which she drags out the word eye throughout the song.
