Plagiarism: Not So Enigmatic

In his response to the latest Mel Gibson scandal, the Bishop says "He is obviously something of an enigma; but, then, in some people's eyes, I daresay so am I." Unfortunately, this principle doesn't apply to the Bishop's plagiaristic activities.

After all, it's pretty hard to be "mysterious" in the face of Google; a plagiarism-detector anyone can use. Time and time again, I've exposed him as a blatant plagiarist. Rather than admit it, he'll delete the incriminating post or turn nasty. Strange actions for a man of the cloth.

The latest example, "Mel Gibson", shows how his heavily his "answers" to reader queries rely on Wikipedia. He just can't bring himself to cite their actual source. But, once again, Google comes to the rescue. Here's a few points of comparison. Firstly, the Bishop's blog entry:

Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney when he was twelve-years-old. He later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.

And now, Wikipedia's "Mel Gibson" page:

Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Here's what the Bishop says about Mel's Traditionalist Catholic background:

Gibson was raised a Traditionalist Catholic. When asked about the Catholic doctrine of Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, Gibson replied: "There is no salvation for those outside the Church ... I believe it. Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She's a much better person than I am. Honestly. She's ... Episcopalian, Church of England. She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff. And it's just not fair if she doesn't make it, she's better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair. I go with it." When he was asked whether John 14: 6 is an intolerant position, he said that "through the merits of Jesus' sacrifice ... even people who don't know Jesus are able to be saved, but through Him." Acquaintance Father William Fulco has said that Gibson denies neither the Pope nor Vatican II. Gibson told Diane Sawyer that he believes non-Catholics and non-Christians can go to heaven.

Which was also obviously cribbed from Wikipedia's "Mel Gibson" page:

Gibson was raised a Traditionalist Catholic. When asked about the Catholic doctrine of "Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus", Gibson replied, "There is no salvation for those outside the Church ... I believe it. Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She's a much better person than I am. Honestly. She's... Episcopalian, Church of England. She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff. And it's just not fair if she doesn't make it, she's better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair. I go with it." When he was asked whether John 14:6 is an intolerant position, he said that "through the merits of Jesus' sacrifice... even people who don't know Jesus are able to be saved, but through him." Acquaintance Father William Fulco has said that Gibson denies neither the Pope nor Vatican II. Gibson told Diane Sawyer that he believes non-Catholics and non-Christians can go to heaven.

You'll also find that the Bishop resorts to a lil Internet Theology 101 when discussing beliefs concerning the Virgin Mary as "co-redemptrix": portions of "his" writings have been taken from Wikipedia's "Co-Redemptrix" page.

To his credit, the Bishop doesn't just rely on Wikipedia to "write" his blog entry: he also steals from ReligiousTolerance.org, too. Compare this from the Bishop:

Mel Gibson's precise religious affiliation is obscure in most people's eyes. He once considered entering the Roman Catholic priesthood. He has described himself as "an old-fashioned Catholic," and has made speeches opposing abortion access, the use of contraceptives, and equal treatement and rights for homosexuals and lesbians as heterosexuals receive. Gibson experienced a spiritual crisis in the mid-1990s at the age of thirty-five. He told The New Yorker magazine: "I got to a desperate place ... And I just hit my knees. I had to use [Christ's] wounds to heal my wounds." During September 2002 he revealed that he no longer believed in the Roman Catholic Church as an institution, saying: "I agree with everyone who says the Vatican is a wolf in sheep's clothing."

With this extract from ReligiousTolerance.org's "About Mel Gibson" page:

Gibson's precise religious affiliation is unclear. He once considered entering the Roman Catholic priesthood. He has described himself as "an old-fashioned Catholic." He has made speeches opposing abortion access, the use of contraceptives, and equal rights for gays and lesbians. He experienced a spiritual crisis in the mid 1990s at the age of 35. Gibson told The New Yorker magazine: "I got to a desperate place...And I just hit my knees. I had to use [Christ's] wounds to heal my wounds." During 2002-SEP, he revealed that he no longer believed in the Roman Catholic Church as an institution. He said: "I agree with everyone who says the Vatican is a wolf in sheep's clothing."

In the midst of all this copy-n-pasting, the Bishop leaves room for some of his own scanty thoughts, and indicates, that, yes, there appears to be a conspiracy perpetuated against Gibson: "I regard him as a talented, albeit troubled, soul who might very well be facing a conspiracy to ruin his career since the making of The Passion of the Christ."

Hmm, yes. I'm sure his career tailspin has nothing to do with alcoholism, anti-semetic and other racist remarks, oh, and those horrendeous leaked phone calls to his ex, Oksana Grigorieva. But I digress.

Going by recent comments made by Gareth J. Medway, one of Farrant's close associates, plagiarism's not just restricted to the Bishop's blog. Seems like the printed word cops a fair serve, too:

A few pages back 'Vampire Researcher' was complaining that 'Man, Myth and Manchester' contained material that belonged to someone else's copyright. He did not mention that issues 6 and 7 of that booklet series drew attention to the fact that a certain biography of Lady Caroline Lamb was verbally almost identical to the two previous biographies of Lamb by Henry Blythe and Elizabeth Jenkins. Also, that a book about the 'Grail Church' contained almost nothing that was not to be previously found in various books about 'Celtic Christianity', such as those that were sold in the 1960s at Arnold Leese House in Notting Hill Gate. (The late Arnold Leese had been the author of 'Out of Step: Incidents in the two lives of an anti-Jewish camel doctor'; he fell out with Owsald Mosley, and nicknamed him 'The Kosher Fascist'.) These plagiarisms certainly violate other people's copyright.

The "certain biography" would be Manchester's Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Life of Lady Caroline Lamb (1992); a work he keenly promotes elsewhere:


Hopefully the Bishop and his supporters will learn a lesson about leveling "copyright violation" charges against their opponents. If not, then they should turn to Matthew 7:3 for a reminder.