As Hollywood shamelessly rushes to demand the release of Roman Polanski, convicted of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, a Jesuit priest reminds America of a shameful double-standard.

Polanski has, until the other day, been able to live his life in Switzerland without facing justice for his crime. Hollywood continues to embrace and even defend him, welcoming him to film festivals and condoning his continued direction of films.

Yet if Polanski were a priest rather than director, Hollywood and the rest of America would be demanding his imprisonment and even pointing to his offense as an inherent problem with the church.

“Imagine if the Knights of Columbus decided to give an award to a pedophile priest who had fled the country to avoid prison,” Father Tom Reese, S.J., points out. “The outcry would be universal.”

Writing for the Newsweek/Washington Post website, he adds that “Victim groups would demand the award be withdrawn and that the organization apologize. Religion reporters would be on the case with the encouragement of their editors. Editorial writers and columnist would denounce the knights as another example of the insensitivity of the Catholic Church to sexual abuse.”  And then he adds:  “And they would all be correct. And I would join them.”

Reese asks, “But why is there not similar outrage directed at the film industry for giving an award to Roman Polanski, who not only confessed to statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl but fled the country prior to sentencing?”

Hollywood has a very well known double-standard when it comes to people they like. Barack Obama, who opposes gay marriage, is simply awesome and a genius. They worship him. Carrie Prejean, who opposes gay marriage, gets torn to shreds and attacked because she opposes gay marriage. Both Obama and Prejean have the same position on the same issue, but Obama is given a pass because they like him.

The same goes for the Polanski case. Were Polanski and priest or Republican politician, Hollywood would be mocking him and be totally on board with him facing justice. But he’s a film director who can give them gigs, so they rush to his defense and demand his release — regardless of what he’s done.

Via Hot Air Headlines.