"We are all Catholics now"

Remember hearing about John F Kennedy's famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate; "Ich bin en Berliner"?( I am a Berliner) He indicated that he was one in solidarity with Berliners whose city was divided by the Iron Curtain for nearly half of the Twentieth Century. It is an example which many are following today by Tweeting. "We are all Catholics now".
 I was in Europe in the late 1980's and crossed the Iron Curtain in Hungary, Yugoslavia and Poland. It struck me how the police on the train would always check for stowaways on the way OUT of the Communist countries. No one wanted to get in.
 Poland was in the midst of the uprising of Solidarity when I visited in December of 1988, and, on the feast day of the Immaculate Conception, Catholic Churches were full to overflowing, attendees kneeling on frozen cobblestones of two hours, the Mass was followed by rosary and hymns. The Churches were festooned with gold and white bunting  the Vatican colors, crowned by Blessed John Paul II's Papal Coat of Arms.  There was a feeling of freedom I hadn't seen in Hungary and Bosnia. Freedom to express your faith. That freedom led to the overturning of the Communist empire of forty years without a shot being fired. Solidarity had won out over oppression. Becasue these people had realized that the most precious freedom, freedom of religion, is the bedrock upon which all other freedoms are built.
That is an important lesson for Americans in the light of the HHS mandate that Catholic institutions cover contraception in their employee health plans. If non-Catholics can say, "We are all Catholics now" as JFK said, "I am a Berliner" and the Poles expressed Solidarity, then the evil plans of the Obama Administiration will be overcome. They want to divide and conquer people of faith, one group at a time, till they own our very souls.
They are dong more than looking out for women's health. (As if carcinogenic birth control pills were part of health care!)  They are pushing against the moral authority of the Catholic Church in American society. Every oppressive regime  has to oppress the Church to gain complete control over the populace. That is why the Obama Administration is citing polls which prove that Catholics are divided on the issue of birth control. It is a sad fact, that there is dissention among the faithful on contraception, however, we can take this opportunity to unite against an enemy who wants to destroy the moral fiber of this nation, by diminishing the power of the Catholic Church. If all people of faith stand united against the the thin edge of the wedge, the HHS mandate, then the Adminstration will not succeed in mandating abortion coverage, which is the real agenda.
Don't be fooled by any compromises offered to the Church. Remember the compromise which Catholic Congressman Bart Stupak accepted. It was a ruse, Obama knew it and so did we. We will not be fooled into accepting a compromise this time.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on how President Obama’s spokesmen are defending his healthcare plan mandating that Catholic institutions provide for services they deem immoral:
David Axelrod of the Obama campaign said yesterday that “We certainly don’t want to abridge anyone’s religious freedom, so we’re going to look for a way to move forward that both provides women with the preventative care that they need and respects the prerogatives of religious institutions.” Similarly, White House press secretary Jay Carney said yesterday that “the president is very interested in finding the appropriate balance between religious beliefs and convictions.”
Both men are insincere. We know that there was division in the Obama administration when the Obama edict was being contemplated, and that the president sided with extremists like Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (anyone who raises money for a man dedicated to performing partial-birth abortions is obviously an extremist; she did so for Dr. George Tiller). So they had plenty of time to figure out a way not to punish Catholics, and they still decided to drop the hammer.
White House supporters of Obama’s edict are pointing to a poll that shows a slight majority of Catholics supporting Obama’s plan. But the poll is flawed. As always, the question affects the outcome. The poll never mentioned that the federal government would place sanctions on Catholic institutions if they did not comply, and that ultimately it could lead to pulling federal funds to Catholic hospitals, effectively shutting them down. Nor did the poll mention that the Obama plan mandates that Catholic entities provide abortion-inducing drugs. In short, the question was dishonest. Just wait until all Catholics find out what’s really at stake.
What Obama is doing is just an opening for mandating abortion coverage in every healthcare plan.

We can stand as one people of faith, Jews, Muslims, Christians, who say to the Administration. "We are all Catholics now" and you will NOT divide us to weaken our resolve to stand up for our rights under the First Amendment. You will be overcome at the ballot box in November.
Mr Obama, you are being put on notice; this will not stand in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.You will be a one term president.

CATHOLICS DECIDE THE ELECTION

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on last night's election results:

For the past few decades, Catholics have decided who wins elections nationally. After the McGovernization of the Democratic Party in 1972, Catholics were left homeless: they felt betrayed by the Democrats and were leery of the Republicans; they have been up for grabs ever since. Last night they proved once again that of the three major religions in the U.S., they are the ones that count most: Protestants never abandon the Republicans, and Jews never abandon the Democrats.
Catholics voted 58-40 for the Republican candidates last night. This was a dramatic 20-point swing from two years ago. What caused Catholics to bolt is not clear, but there is one issue that surely played a major role: the out-of-control debt. Practicing Catholics (the others should not be counted as Catholics for polling purposes) understand the virtue of self-denial, and by extension, they value belt tightening at home. What they don't appreciate is promiscuity, be it sexual, fiscal or otherwise.

Michael Sean Winters, a liberal Catholic writer, bemoans what happened, saying that the Democratic loss means "Anti-poverty efforts are off the table." This is cause for celebration: the anti-poverty efforts of the Obama administration has resulted in a poverty rate of 14.3 percent, the highest national rate since 1994. If a jobs-centered economic plan is adopted, the poverty rate will likely decline.
Here's something to watch. The Department of Health and Human Services is now pondering whether to adopt the ACLU's initiative that would force Catholic hospitals to provide emergency abortions as a condition of receiving federal funds; this would effectively close most of them. If this were to happen, a whole lot more than six in ten Catholics would vote for the Republicans in 2012. The fact that the Obama administration is even giving this serious consideration is something that every Catholic in the nation should know about. Had last night's results gone the other way, it's a sure bet the anti-Catholic agenda would have benefited.

Jeff Field
Director of Communications
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

The culture of tweens is backing off

It has long been known that the sexualization of our culture is driven by materialism, making money from the so-called tweens, from, age 8 to adolescence, a big marketing group. What this means is that companies are trying to market the same goods that teenagers buy, lip gloss, I-pods,DVDs,  thongs, and padded bras to little girls. YES I said padded bras.
But now, thanks to the heat the Catholic Church is suffering for 50 year old abuse cases, a Brittish store is re-thinking the wisdom of selling padded kiddie bras. Seems they don't want to be labelled pedophiles. Someone should have told them only the Catholic Church can be labelled with that name. There is NO statute of limitation for public schools who abuse children, in fact, in Connecticut, they can't even be sued. They can and do abuse children with impunity. The Shakeshaft Report underlines the indisputable fact that public school teachers are ten times more likely to abuse children, and the media spiked the story. And now, the CT Legislature wants to open up the statute of limitations beyond the 48 years for church abuse cases stretching back 50, 60, or 70 years. Just for priest abuse cases.
No worries, go ahead and sell kiddie bras, you are safe from the P-word.
HT MerctorNet

New York Times unfairly attacking Pope Benedict

Catholic League president Bill Donohue takes on the New York Times:
On March 10, the New York Times ran an article on sex abuse in the Catholic Church stating that in Austria a priest abused a boy 40 years ago. Yesterday, readers learned of a German case where a man says he was abused in 1979. But when Rabbi Baruch Lebovits was found guilty last week on eight counts of sexually abusing a Brooklyn boy, the Times failed to report it. This is not an accident—it is deliberate.
Worse, on Saturday, the Times ran a front-page story saying that in 2002, when the sex abuse scandal in Boston hit, the pope—then Cardinal Ratzinger—"made statements that minimized the problem." No quotes or evidence of any kind were given. "Minimize the problem." Interesting phrase. In 2005, the Times reported that in 2002, Ratzinger believed that "less than 1 percent of priests are guilty" of sex abuse (it was later found that 4 percent was a more accurate figure). The Times characterized his remark by saying he "appeared to minimize the problem." Looks like they got their talking points down just fine.

What the Times could have said over the weekend was that on January 9, 2002, three days after the Boston Globe broke the story on sex abuse, it ran a story reporting that Ratzinger had sent a letter to the bishops worldwide saying that "even a hint" of the sexual abuse of minors merited an investigation. But to do so would have compromised the conclusion it sought to reach.


If the Times were truly interested in eradicating sex abuse, it not only would report on cases like Rabbi Lebovits, it would not seek to protect the public school establishment. But it does. Here's the proof. Last year, there were two bills being debated in Albany on the subject of sex abuse: one targeted only private institutions like the Catholic Church, giving the public schools a pass; the other covered both private and public. The Times endorsed the former.

Contact NYT Public Editor Clark Hoyt: public@nytimes.com

Stupak under attack from NOW

from Bill Donohue of the Catholic League:

Mary Pollock, legislative vice president of the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for Women, yesterday accused Rep. Bart Stupak, a Catholic, of imposing his religious beliefs on the nation. “It is outrageous and un-American,” Pollock said of the pro-life congressman.

Commenting on this remark is Bill Donohue of the Catholic League:
Smear words have been used against virtually every religious, racial and ethnic group in American history. Fortunately, they are rarely voiced anymore. Unfortunately, it is still fair game in many quarters to indict Roman Catholics. One of the most vile canards ever invoked against Catholics is the rap that they are “un-American.” This bigoted slur has its origins in the early part of the 19th century. It is more than disconcerting—it is disgusting—that it is still being made against Catholics in 2010. That it should come from the mouth of a radical feminist activist is not wholly surprising, but it is reprehensible nonetheless.
As the clock winds down on the health care bill, anti-Catholicism is raising its ugly head with greater frequency. It is time for men and women of goodwill from all faith backgrounds, and on both sides of the abortion issue, to unequivocally denounce these bigoted expressions. What Mary Pollock said should be condemned by everyone.
Contact the Michigan president of NOW, Renee Beeker: Presidentminow@aol.com

Senate to vote on anti-Catholic bigot Dawn Johnsen

from Bill Donohue of the Catholic League:

After failing to win approval to head the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department last year, Dawn Johnsen was renominated by President Obama this year. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved her; her nomination will now go before the full Senate

.In the minds of many, on both sides of the aisle, Dawn Johnsen is considered controversial for many reasons. Of interest to the Catholic League is one issue—her anti-Catholic bigotry.

In 1988, Dawn Johnsen worked on a brief, United States Catholic Conference v. Abortion Rights Mobilization, that sought to strip the Catholic Church of its tax-exempt status. The brief could have targeted all those religions which are anti-abortion, but it did not. Instead, it singled out the Catholic Church for punishment.
I am writing today to every member of the Senate asking just one question: Are you aware that Dawn Johnsen, who will soon be voted upon by the full Senate, sought to strip the Roman Catholic Church of its tax-exempt status in 1988?
My letter is intended as a big FYI.

Obama Administration's Harry Knox is an anti-Catholic bigot

Tonight on Hannity, American Papist blogger Thomas Peters discussed the scandal of Harry Knox, anti-Catholic who is on, of all things, the committee of Faith Based Initiatives. Typical radical Obama appointee.
In a recent press conference, a reporter asked him to retract his statement that "the Pope is hurting people in the name of Jesus" and he reiterated his bigotry. Even in the light of the evidence that condoms do NOT prevent the spread of HIV, he cannot overcome his bigotry, his vitriolic hatred of the Church.
Harry Knox is a homosexual activist and anti Cathholic bigot with a long track record of anti-Catholic activism. Knox once said of the Kof C " they are foot soldiers in the discredited army of oppression".

Tucker Carlson was right, he should be thrown out, and if Obama weren't so thick-headed, he would. Pat Buchanan said on Hannity's radio show today, that rather than calling for Knox's outsting, that the people should see what voting for Obama got them. Then make him a one term president.
Even Chris Matthews used that term tonight. Guess the thrill is gone, huh, Chris? Maybe he has enough Catholic soul buried deep down in him to feel the barb of the Knox bigotry.
Let's hope Catholic voters are listening.
The St Michael Society has a petition to kick Knox the bigot out of the Office of Faith Based Initiatives, where he is certainly up to no good.
Sign the petition to have Harry Knox removed from office for his anti-Catholic bigotry.

Maaaatha Coakley says devout Catholics should not work in Emergency Rooms

The hotter than hot Senate race in ( whoda thunk-it) Massachusetts just reached the boiling point. Scott Brown is pulling ahead, and, as if to help him,  Maaatha Coakley just put her foot in her mouth.

Martha Coakley, a Catholic herself,  in an interview quoted on Jill Stanek's blog stated that if Catholics were obedient to the teachings of their Church on life issues, they'd better not work in the ER.

Coakley: I would not pass a bill, as Scott Brown filed amendment, to say that if people believe that they don't want to provide services that are required under the law and under to Roe vs. Wade that they can individually decide to not follow the law. The answer to that question is no. And let's be clear, 'cause Scott Brown filed an amendment to a bill in MA that would say that hospital and emergency room personnel could deny emergency contraception to a woman who came in and been raped.
Pittman: Right, if you are a Catholic, and believe what the Pope teaches that any form of birth control is a sin. ah you don't want to do that.
Coakley: No we have a seperation of church and state Ken, lets be clear.
Pittman: In the emergency room you still have your religious freedom.have that. You can have religious freedom but you probably shouldn't work in the emergency room.
Coakley: (... uh, eh...um..) The law says that people are allowed to

Massachusetts is the most Catholic state in the nation. Will Catholics stand for such a blatant attack on their faith? Or are too many of them living sinful lives, which violate the Church's prohibitions of birth control and abortion, living in sin as unmarried couples to care about this open assault on Catholic teaching? Americans are fair-minded people, if they don't obey a moral law, they are gentler to others who have the same moral weakness. Just look at how the bishops of CT allowed Plan B to be used in cases of rape in Catholic ERs in Connecticut. The State Legislature was poised to allow conscience protections, and the bishops made it clear that they were comfortable with this violation of the ban on birth control and abortion. Plan B is more than birth control, it may cause a baby already conceived not to implant on the uterine wall, thus causing an early abortion. So Catholics in CT are obviously too far gone to put up a fight to confront assaults on Catholic teaching.
Lets hope that our neighbors to the North have learned from our sorry example.
The next few days should be a test of what is left of Catholicism in Massachusetts. Are Catholics finally willing to become Catholics first and Democrat Kennedy syncophants second?
Cardinal O'Malley, we know you can't endorse a candidate, however, wouldn't this be a good time to remind your flock of Canon 915? Archbishop Burke has taken this occasion to remind Catholics that they are Catholic first, especially in the voting booth.

“The minister of justice bears a most heavy burden, the burden of emptying himself of himself, in order to have God alone before His eyes, in declaring what is just and right on behalf of his fellow citizens.”
However, according to the archbishop, the current society is one which is hostile to the true administration of justice, trying “to force individuals and institutions to cooperate in egregious violations of the natural moral law.”

“In such a society, the administration of justice is no longer a participation in the justice of God, an obedient response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, but a façade cloaking our own selfishness and refusal to give our lives for the sake of the good of all our brothers and sisters.”

Bill Donohue never hesitates to jump into the melee when Catholicism is under attack:

When Martha Coakley, a Roman Catholic, was asked whether she supports conscience rights for health care employees, she offered a resounding “NO.” So completely wedded to the extremists in the pro-abortion community, Coakley would not allow Catholic doctors and nurses—who unlike her accept the teachings of Catholicism—to recuse themselves from participating in procedures they find morally repugnant

Coakley said that if she were asked to consider a bill that would say “if people believe that they don’t want to provide services that are required under the law and under Roe v. Wade, that they can individually decide to not follow the law. The answer is no.” When asked by host Ken Pittman about the rights of Catholics who follow the teachings of the Catholic Church, Coakley offered the separation of church and state mantra. Pittman then said, “In the emergency room you still have your religious freedom.” Coakley conceded that point but hastened to add, “you probably shouldn’t work in the emergency room.” Translated: You really don’t have a right to exercise your religious-liberty objections.

This is the opinion of the attorney general, the chief law enforcement agent in the state of Massachusetts. She effectively told practicing Catholics who work in the health care industry that they ought to get another job. As far as she is concerned, those who invoke a right to conscientious objection—a staple of religious liberty—should lose.

President Obama says he supports conscience rights for health care workers. The Catholic bishops support conscience rights. Survey after survey show that the American people support conscience rights. But Martha Coakley does not—she says they’re all wrong. Glad to know which side of religious liberty she is on.

We in  Conncecticut have Plan B abortifcacient contraceptives used in our Catholic hospital emergency rooms. We have gay marriage, which will soon be taught to innocent children in our public schools. We are also a very Catholic state which has lost its way. We need theleadership of a man with a backbone  like Bishop Tobin of Rhode Island. We need a good example of our neighbors to our north who are about to vote in a pro-life man for the first time in many, many years.
Go Scott Brown!
Long live Catholicism in Massacusetts!

CT State Rep Chris Coutu applauds Catholic power

Amid complaints in Maine and DC about the Catholic Church's supposed 'interference' in politics, by their support of God's teachings on  life and marriage, it's refreshing to hear one of our elected representatives praise Catholics who stood up to the outrageous efforts of the CT Legislature to kick Catholic pastors out of leadership of their own churches.

I cover his comments in my latest article in the Hartford Catholic Examiner.

Catholic Church under fire from homosexual activists all down the East Coast

Not only is the Catholic Church under fire in Maine for opposing same sex marriage, in Rhode Island fordefining what it means to be Catholic, but also in DC if it refuses to acknowlege same sex unions.

It's starting to cost to be a Catholic, and it doesn't show signs of improving any time soon. When the homosexual activists lose in the ballot box, they take to the courts. They have big money to impose their intolerance on the rest of us. Not even the needs of the poor move them, they will have their relationships recognized. What they don't realize is that no matter what laws they pass, God's opinion of sin has not changed and can't be legislated. Thankfully the Catholic Church is saying this loud and clear.

from the Family Research Council.
"The D.C. City Council took one step closer to allowing same sex "marriages" in the District of Columbia on Tuesday when they voted the legislation out of the Committee on Public Safety & Judiciary. The panel refused to include protections for religious organizations--putting at risk the numerous churches in the region that provide goods and services to the needy who would have to decide between their faith or compliance with the city's commands. One of the largest area provider of relief services, the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, took a stand yesterday, just as their counterparts in Massachusetts's had done in that state, and refused to back down to the D.C. Council's bullying tactics. The Catholic Church provides a wide range of direct services for those in need in our nation's capitol, including physical and mental health care, legal care, immigration, employment services, counseling, shelter, education, adoption, foster care and services for the developmentally disabled. During the committee proceedings many of the council members were openly mocking religious concerns and one councilman, David Catania, told those gathered that if people of faith refuse to comply with his demands, the city will find someone else to take over everything they do. That will be very difficult for the city to do for they will quickly find, without faith there is little good works. It is very telling of the priorities of these politicians who would put the desires of the homosexual community over the needs of the poor. "

Anti Catholicism; All American Pastime?

"It is not hyperbole to call prejudice against the Catholic Church a national pastime. Scholars such as Arthur Schlesinger Sr. referred to it as "the deepest bias in the history of the American people," while John Higham described it as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history." "The anti-Semitism of the left," is how Paul Viereck reads it, and Professor Philip Jenkins sub-titles his book on the topic "the last acceptable prejudice."
Archbishop Dolan of New York
The good Archbishop points out examples, mostly from the New York Times of blatant bias against Catholics. For example: public school sexual abuse statistics show rampant unreported child abuse which goes unreported while a Franciscan who fathered a child with a consenting adult woman is treated as big news.

Maureen Dowd goes ballistic, reciting a litany of presumed sins of the Church because the Vatican has the nerve in her opinion to visit communities of women religious, the way it visited US seminaries. Twice.

This is part of the fabric of American journalism. And they wonder why no one is buying the Times, while Fox News is having a banner year.

Read the entire article on Fox News Forum.

When it really costs us to be Catholic: Belmont Abbey College

The President of Belmont Abbey College has done a fantastic job of recovering the college's Catholic identity. Enter in the anti-Catholic bigots, who have decreed that Belmont Abbey must cover something the Catholic Church has forbidden in it's employee health care plan.
Birth control.
Would a Muslim or Jewish University be forced to serve pork?
No, however, its always open season on authentically Catholic institutions.
Take heart, Belmont Abbey, it means you are serving God well when the devil takes an interest in you.
Here's a column in the Wall Street Journal by Patrick Reilly of the Cardinal Newman Society. The EEOC ruled that contraceptives were mandated by a law covering pregnancy discrimination. Say what?! Reilly explains.
"The difference, however, between the EEOC's guidance and the North Carolina law is that the latter exempts religious employers such as a Catholic college, whereas the commission fails to consider that the tenets of a faith may preclude an institution from offering such benefits.
And that's the rub: Increasingly it is clear to Catholics and other religious groups that without very clear exemptions for religious employers—and conscience protections for individual doctors, nurses, pharmacists—federal health-care laws and guidelines could severely restrict religious freedom in the U.S."

Angels and Demons: Fiction posing as Fact

If you are considering going to see "Angels and Demons" this weekend, go ahead. Just remember it's FICTION. Here are the facts, in my piece on Catholic Online. I'll be seeing the film myself and give you my take this weekend.

Angels and Demons: Fiction posing as Fact

from the Catholic League
ANGELS & DEMONS” NEEDS DISCLAIMER

Catholic League president Bill Donohue explains why he wants a disclaimer in “Angels & Demons”; it debuts in Rome today and opens in the U.S. on May 15:

“India’s Censor Board has asked that a disclaimer be put in ‘Angels & Demons’ saying the movie is a work of fiction. It has also asked that certain scenes be deleted from the movie. The Board explained its position by saying ‘It has its guidelines and its duty, and if it thinks a film, any film, disparages a religious community or hurts religious feelings, it should take action under its code.’

“The Catholic League would like to see the same disclaimer inserted everywhere the movie is shown. The disclaimer is needed because director Ron Howard, drawing on the book by Dan Brown, is playing both sides of the street: he, and Brown, alternate between promoting their work as fact and fiction. Thus, to set the record straight they need to come clean and do for the rest of the world what they have already agreed to do in India—insert a disclaimer indicating its fictional nature.
“The Catholic League believes that cutting scenes is an infringement on the artistic rights of those associated with the film and therefore does not endorse this approach. But a disclaimer is different: it is nothing more than a variant of truth in advertising.
“India is only two percent Christian. If Sony, the film’s producer, and Howard have no problem putting in a disclaimer in India, they surely should be prepared to do the same wherever the movie is shown. When Sony released ‘The Merchant of Venice’ it opened with a disclaimer condemning anti-Semitism. Howard opened ‘A Beautiful Mind’ with a disclaimer noting how the film contains fictional aspects not found in the book by that name. Catholics, obviously, expect the same degree of respect.
“This is where the rubber meets the road: Howard says he is not anti-Catholic. Let’s see what he says about my request.”

Another anti-Catholic Obama appointee

from the Catholic League
OBAMA APPOINTEE HARRY KNOX
UNFIT TO SERVE

Harry Knox, director of the religion and faith program at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, has been appointed by the Obama administration to serve on the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Catholic League president Bill Donohue explains why Knox is unfit to serve:

“On the home page of the Human Rights Campaign, it says that Knox was ‘denied ordination because he is gay.’ This is patently untrue. He was denied ordination in the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ because he is a sexually active homosexual. Regardless, it is his open disdain for Catholicism that makes him a bad choice to serve on the Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

“When Pope Benedict XVI recently said that condoms are not the answer to HIV/AIDS, he was simply voicing common sense: the promiscuous distribution of condoms has coincided with a precipitous increase in HIV/AIDS. But to gay activists like Knox, the pope is a liar. Indeed, he instructed the pope to ‘start telling the truth about condom use,’ holding the Holy Father accountable for ‘endangering people’s lives.’ He never explained how calls for abstinence could possibly jeopardize anyone’s life. Knox even went so far as to say that because the Knights of Columbus—like most Americans—oppose gay marriage, they are ‘foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression.’

“Though Knox is not Catholic, he could not resist blasting the Catholic Church when it decided a few years back to ban homosexual candidates for the priesthood who ‘supported gay culture.’ He branded this commonsensical position ‘an attempt at mind control’ and a ‘dangerous and immoral’ stance. In other words, he wants the Catholic Church to accept candidates like himself, practicing homosexuals so radical that even liberal mainline Protestant seminaries turn them away.

“Catholics take note: the Obama administration would never appoint an anti-gay person to any post. But it has no problem appointing anti-Catholics.”

Harry Knox, director of the religion and faith program at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, has been appointed by the Obama administration to serve on the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Catholic League president Bill Donohue explains why Knox is unfit to serve:

“On the home page of the Human Rights Campaign, it says that Knox was ‘denied ordination because he is gay.’ This is patently untrue. He was denied ordination in the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ because he is a sexually active homosexual. Regardless, it is his open disdain for Catholicism that makes him a bad choice to serve on the Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

“When Pope Benedict XVI recently said that condoms are not the answer to HIV/AIDS, he was simply voicing common sense: the promiscuous distribution of condoms has coincided with a precipitous increase in HIV/AIDS. But to gay activists like Knox, the pope is a liar. Indeed, he instructed the pope to ‘start telling the truth about condom use,’ holding the Holy Father accountable for ‘endangering people’s lives.’ He never explained how calls for abstinence could possibly jeopardize anyone’s life. Knox even went so far as to say that because the Knights of Columbus—like most Americans—oppose gay marriage, they are ‘foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression.’

“Though Knox is not Catholic, he could not resist blasting the Catholic Church when it decided a few years back to ban homosexual candidates for the priesthood who ‘supported gay culture.’ He branded this commonsensical position ‘an attempt at mind control’ and a ‘dangerous and immoral’ stance. In other words, he wants the Catholic Church to accept candidates like himself, practicing homosexuals so radical that even liberal mainline Protestant seminaries turn them away.

“Catholics take note: the Obama administration would never appoint an anti-gay person to any post. But it has no problem appointing anti-Catholics.”

Carl Anderson on RB 1098

The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Colombus writes a historical perspective on trusteeism and RB 1098. It seems its always open season on Catholics. We haven't overcome our anti-Catholic attitude as reflected in the legislation.
Read the entire opinion piece in the Stamford Advocate.

Our Tax Dollars funding anti-Catholic video

from the Catholic League

LINK TV MOCKS CATHOLICISM;
VIDEO PRODUCED WITH FEDERAL FUNDS

On February 3, Link TV featured a three and a half minute video that mocks Catholicism. The media outlet is available as a basic service in more than 31 million homes that receive direct broadcast satellite TV.

The video, “Divine Food,” opens with a priest waking up to a rumbling noise that shakes the religious symbols and statues in his room. He proceeds to a Catholic church where he discovers several wafers near a cup (the implication is that they are consecrated Hosts). In a disrespectful manner, he chews them vigorously and then admonishes the statues that are “looking at him.” He falls asleep in the church and when awakened he is asked to say Mass, which he refuses to do. The priest then makes large wafers out of dough and gives the pancake-like substance (which he calls the “Body of Christ”) to confused parishioners at Communion. The video ends when he drops the remaining “Hosts” into a dirty aquarium.

Here is what Catholic League president Bill Donohue said about it:

“This video first aired last summer, right after a professor from the University of Minnesota intentionally desecrated the Eucharist. Now it’s being shown again. At first we thought this was just another loony attack, but then we found out that Link TV is funded by foundations that support anti-Catholicism. To wit: the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Wallace Global Fund and George Soros’ Open Society Institute all fund Link TV, and all are generous contributors to Catholics for Choice, a notoriously anti-Catholic front group. Worse, of the three co-producers of the video, one of them—ITVS—is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a public entity.

“So here we have the urbane bigots in the foundation world, and a taxpayer-funded organization, underwriting anti-Catholicism. We will ask Link TV to pull the video. We hope we don’t have to do more.”

Contact Link TV media head, Julia Pacetti: jpacetti@linktv.org. We’ll contact the others involved. To see the video, click here.

Anti-Catholicism in High Gear

ELECTION ISSUES SPARK VITRIOLIC RESPONSE

The Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion, and its endorsement of the pro-marriage resolution in California, Proposition 8, has triggered an avalanche of criticism, much of it vitriolic. Here is a sampling:

· The National Catholic Reporter blasts all the bishops—“Not one among the bishops has had the courage”—to take on pro-life Catholics who have allegedly “distorted” the abortion issue
· Rabbi Brad Hirschfield criticizes Cardinal Egan for being anti-abortion, saying, “We need to stop litmus testing each other over single issues” like abortion. “We”?
· Catholics for Choice says that pro-abortion Catholics “are in good company, and in good conscience” for rejecting the Church’s teaching on this subject
· Rev. Daniel Kanter, a Unitarian, says the Catholic Church “employs a measure of fear” to get Catholics to oppose abortion
· Rev. Jonathan Tran, a Baptist, opines, “If the Church doesn’t tell us what to do with our ballots…and genitalia, who will?” “Us”?
· Professor Frank K. Flinn says the Catholic Church has not always been opposed to abortion, implying that the Catholic Catechism, the bishops and the pope are all wrong
· Rev. Geoffrey Farrow, a gay priest, says the Catholic Church’s opposition to gay marriage represents a “hurtful” theology
· Atheos, a musician, says Proposition 8 “is nothing but Bigotry—good ol’ Christian bigotry”
· Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez says that “Speaking up for the dignity of gay people must be a greater sin than being accused of molesting minors”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responds as follows:

“Even worse are American Atheists, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. All accuse the Catholic Church of abusing its power by favoring Proposition 8, yet none says anything about the more than 100 houses of worship and religious organizations which oppose it. Their hypocrisy is appalling.”

Eucharist desecration back on YouTube

Time to voice your protest of YouTube's violation of it's own rules. Click on the petition form at America Needs Fatima. Robert Ritchie, director of America Needs Fatima, explained: "As Catholics, we believe the Host is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Witnessing the desecration of the Host causes anguish to Catholics all over the world."
Ritchie added: "In the past, YouTube has removed videos offensive to Jews and members of other religions, including one showing a teenager urinating on a Holocaust memorial. Why can't Catholics be afforded the same respect for our deeply held beliefs? "
"The desecration of the Host is not an acceptable form of free speech. The only message it conveys is one of unremitting hatred," Ritchie said.
Read the entire article at LifeSiteNews.com

Holocaust survivors grateful for help from Pope Pius XII

from the Catholic League
Today, Pope Benedict XVI is welcoming a group of Jewish Holocaust survivors. Arranged by the Pave the Way Foundation, the group will personally thank the pope for the Catholic Church’s intervention in saving their lives in Italy during World War II.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed this event today:

"Despite attempts by embittered ex-priests and seminarians, and others, to discredit Pope Pius XII's heroic efforts in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust (as many as 860,000 were saved), the evidence is mounting that Pius was a 'Righteous Gentile.' What is happening in the Vatican today is another reminder of just how great a man he was.

"October 9 marks the 50th anniversary of Pius' death. To mark this important event, the Vatican announced yesterday that a convention will be held November 6-8 to honor his work; a photo exhibit will be on display in the colonnade of St. Peter's Square from October 21-January 6. Millions of Catholics hope that eventually Pius will be beatified and then canonized. The Catholic League certainly supports this process.

"Those who disagree with this assessment have a lot of explaining to do. For example, the true test of the Catholic Church's role in rescuing Jews was in Italy, and nowhere in Europe were more Jews saved"fully 85 percent"than in Italy. Also, the chief rabbi in Rome during the German occupation, Emilio Zolli, once said that "no hero in all of history was more militant, more fought against, none more heroic, than Pius XII." Indeed, Zolli was so moved by Pius' work that he became a Catholic after the war, taking the pope's name as his baptismal name.

"Finally, today's meeting of Jewish Holocaust survivors thanking the pope for what the Church did to save their lives says it all. No amount of revisionism can change that."

To help educate your family on the important role the Church played in helping holocaust survivors in WWII, rent the 1983 made for TV film, "The Scarlet and the Black" starring Christopher Plummer and Gregory Peck about Monsignor O'Flagherty who hid POWs and refugees in the Vatican under the watchful eye of the Nazis who occupied Rome during the war.