“Catholicism is seen as a very visible type of Christianity so people assume that they know things... they think they know what they can take potshots at,” said Smith, director of the graduate program at the Ryerson School of Journalism. She used as an example the popular representations of Catholicism in the media, such as the recurring plot of the priest who can’t reveal a murderer on the crime drama Law and Order.

Smith believes other religions receive less criticism because people realize they don’t know anything about them so they’ll just stay mum.

“But it’s not that people don’t know about Islam,” said Coren. “They’re terrified of questioning Islam. They know that if they attack the Church the worst thing they’ll get is an angry letter.”

“It’s perceived that the powerful group can take it and that’s why you can make fun of men but you can’t make fun of women,” said Kay, a columnist for the National Post. “And right now, Catholics are the new men. They were very powerful but now it’s fair game because until that balance is righted, Catholics are seen as the whipping boy.”

Coren pointed to Catholic education as one reason youth don’t fight back against negative perceptions of Catholics.

“Catholic education in Canada is overwhelmingly unCatholic, non-Catholic, even sometimes anti-Catholic... It’s not that they’re rejecting their Catholicism. They don’t know what it is to reject because no one has taught them.”

“If you know your Church, you can defend your Church,” said Lilley, Sun Media national bureau senior correspondent.

But Smith said it’s important to remember that not all Catholics hold the same views.

“One of the biggest challenges in terms of perceptions of the Church is just how different our Church is.”

Lewis, religion reporter for the National Post, said that while some newspapers portray the Church in a positive light, this isn’t the case for the majority of media outlets.

“People write bad news,” said Lewis. “Bad news makes news faster than good news.”