Tom Petty Says 'No One's Got Christ More Wrong Than The Christians'

July 22, 2014

Singer-songwriter Tom Petty is not happy with the way the Catholic Church handled the sex abuse scandal, telling Billboard Magazine that "no one's got Christ more wrong than the Christians."

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Petty's new track "Playing Dumb" mourns the victims of sex abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy, and takes aim at the controversial financial settlements the church eventually made.

But while he's tackling controversial subject matter, Petty told Catholics he respects whatever faith they want to have, but that he wouldn't personally continue supporting a church that actively covered up crime.

"Catholics, don't write me. I'm fine with whatever religion you want to have, but it can't tell anybody it's OK to kill people, and it can't abuse children systematically for God knows how many years," he told Billboard. "If I was in a club, and I found out that there had been generations of people abusing children, and then that club was covering that up, I would quit the club."

"Religion seems to me to be at the base of all wars," continues Petty, who was raised, unconvinced, among Southern Baptists. "I've nothing against defending yourself, but I don't think, spiritually speaking, that there's any conception of God that should be telling you to be violent. It seems to me that no one's got Christ more wrong than the Christians."

Via Billboard