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“We’re Good”

I’ll drag it through the mud every chance I get. There’s sectarian bullshit in this very comment section you tribal idiots.

These same tight knit immigrant communities youre romanticizing kept the abuse from reaching authorities because everyone knew each other and would run cover.

Philly is right up there with Boston in terms of scale and severity of abuses and the church did nothing but find another parish for predators to hunt.

Take your child abuse apologizing elsewhere. This isn’t some small immigrant city in the south or Midwest. This is/was among the epicenters of unspeakable acts of abuse against children aided and abetted by the Catholic archdiocese of philadelphia

Thanks for the book recommendation, just ordered. I live right around the corner from this and was aware of the riots but interested in learning more.

There is a wonderful book on the riots called The Fires of Philadelphia by Zachary Schrag. Thanks for this post.

There are subcultures who built local identities around these parishes (i.e Irish, Polish, Italian, etc) that are independent of the hierarchical institution of the Catholic Church. St. Michael’s is more reflective (to me) of local Philadelphia Irish than of the larger institution. There’s a time and a place, but it doesn’t need to be dragged through the mud in the context of this post. My own opinion.

lol why the downvotes? the catholic church is despicable and it's a fact that should be reiterated at every turn

I believe that is still the deadliest and/or most property damage to occur during a riot in Philly history.

How quickly people forget that the WS movement are really not their friends.

Don’t even know that he knew that he flipped me when he clipped my pedal.

> Imagine saying this about “the Jews”, which pre-WWII was actually pretty common.

One of the most successful recording artists of all time recently blamed many ills on "the Jews" and dined with a former President. Unfortunately, it's still pretty common.

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I thought the windows were high so you wouldn’t be able to walk by and see them abusing children

I love that I grew up in the area, went to catholic school, and still only learned about the whole event as an adult.

Geez. This is straight up racist. Imagine saying this about “the Jews”, which pre-WWII was actually pretty common.

(Not a Philadelphia thing, but...) Recently watched the PBS Show Finding Your Roots with an Irish theme for Jim Gaffigan’s and Jane Lynch’s family histories.

Jim Gaffigan’s story had a very interesting segment regarding the Know-Nothings and Catholic Church burnings during the 1840s. His family lived in Maine at the time, so unfortunately the anti-Catholic sentiment was a national issue.

The Basilica is the same way. Barely any windows. Instead there are alcoves for statues where some windows would normally go and filled in window-shaped arches

Full wiki for anyone who wants it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_nativist_riots

Any idea of when/if they are going to fix the steeples so they can take down the netting?

St. Michael’s (pictured) and St. Augustine’s were both burned down during these riots. Obviously, subsequently rebuilt. The cathedral’s defensive architecture was a direct response. Notably, the “German” Catholic Church on 5th and Girard (St. Peter’s) was spared during the riots. Definitely a culturally targeted initiative.

The Cathedral was built shortly after this time and you can really see that it’s built like a fortress. Few windows and they are very high to avoid being smashed.

Good article about the parallels: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/09/ashli-babbitt-martyrdom-capitol-riot-death-explained.html

Never forget the Know Nothing movement, this shit ain't new we've seen it flair up repeatedly throughout US history.

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When you tell them you only have a few bucks cash, the card reader miraculously works again.