http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200804/POL20080401c.html Group Demands Wright Apologize for 'Garlic Noses' Remark
By Penny Starr
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
April 01, 2008
(CNSNews.com) - The Italian heritage group Order Sons of Italy in America has called on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor emeritus at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and long-time spiritual adviser to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), to apologize for remarks he made in an article published in the church's November/December 2007 Trumpet Newsmagazine, as first reported by Cybercast News Service.
"(Jesus') enemies had their opinion about Him," Wright wrote in a eulogy for the late scholar Asa Hilliard. "The Italians for the most part looked down their garlic noses at the Galileans."
Wright continued, "From the circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth (in a barn in a township that was under the Apartheid Roman government that said his daddy had to be in), up to and including the circumstances surrounding Jesus' death on a cross, a Roman cross, public lynching Italian style. ..."
"Our initial response was that we were offended," Philip R. Piccigallo, national executive director of Sons of Italy, told Cybercast News Service. "These remarks are totally inaccurate and anachronistic and didn't seem to be in the realm of justifiable anger."
Piccigallo said his organization, which was founded in 1905 and has 550,000 family memberships in all 50 states, deliberately waited to respond to Wright's remarks.
"We were in a quandary," Piccigallo said. "We did not want to become immersed in a political media circus, and we did not want to appear to be siding with anyone, but we could not stand idly by. As the story was being discussed or managed or reviewed in various ways, the Italian American aspect of it was omitted. Clearly, (Wright's remarks) were aimed at Italian-Americans."
Trinity United is the church where Obama has been a member for 20 years, and until recently Wright was an adviser on religious issues with Obama's presidential campaign.
"I want to make this point clear," Piccigallo told Cybercast News Service. "We do not want to be seen as manipulating the political forum in any way."
But, he added, careful consideration by Sons of Italy board members - and the "hundreds and hundreds" of e-mails received from members across the country - made it clear that the group needed to take a stand.
"It seems Italians are the last ethnic group that can be treated with total impunity, because we basically accept a lot," Piccigallo said. "We had to do or say something, if not for the record."
Piccigallo said the press release issued Tuesday also was sent to three senators: Obama, Democratic presidential contender Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and GOP presidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Topic: Order of the sons of Italy demand apology from Hussein osama obama pastor (Read 1724 times)