This morning, Newsmax.com featured a headline noting that Catholic League president Bill Donohue has been likened to Osama bin Laden. Donohue was surprised by the comparison. He had this to say: “I’m not like bin Laden. He’s a lot taller than I am.”
In today’s New York Times, about Rosie O’Donnell:
“‘She’s offended a lot of people,’ Mr. Donohue said. ‘She’s a train wreck.'”
Click here to read University of Chicago law professor Geof Stone’s take on the Supreme Court upholding the ban on partial-birth abortion. According to Stone, “Here is a painfully awkward observation: All five justices in the majority in Gonzales are Catholic. The four justices who are either Protestant or Jewish all voted in accord with settled precedent. It is mortifying to have to point this out. But it is too obvious, and too telling, to ignore.”
So much for the image of the grumpy, emotionally-repressed clergyman: a new University of Chicago survey shows that being a “man of the cloth” is the most satisfying profession in the U.S.
The university’s National Opinion Research Center found that 87% of America’s clergy, spanning all religious backgrounds, are “very satisfied” with their chosen profession.
For Catholic priests, the numbers look even better. Five years ago – even while the entire priesthood was being slammed in the midst of the sex abuse scandal — the Los Angeles Times reported that 91% of priests claimed happiness with their vocation.
Kenneth Woodward published an article on the First Things website today called “Imus and Me,” which will be of interest to readers of the Catalyst and “Chatterbox.” We recommend making a visit to www.FirstThings.com, not only for this piece, but also for the countless fine articles printed in the magazine and on its website.
Joy Behar, a panelist on ABC’s “The View,” is a former Catholic who denigrates the Church at every chance she gets. Today’s show proved no exception. When asked if she is superstitious, Behar remarked, “When I was a kid I used to be because the Catholic Church has a lot of that sort of thing in it, but then I sort of grew out of it.”
What is clear is that Behar hasn’t grown out of her obsession with blaming the Catholic Church for her own issues. Just recently, on March 26, Behar admitted her lack of knowledge about the Bible, claiming, “I never read the Bible as a child because I was Catholic.”
Behar would have viewers believe that it’s the fault of the Catholic Church that as a kid she was afraid of broken mirrors and too lazy to pick up a Bible. Sorry, Joy, but we’re not buying it.
Today’s New York Times contains an article by Kenneth Woodward titled “The Presidency’s Mormon Moment.” In the piece, Woodward discusses polling data of likely voters in the upcoming presidential election. He reports that “Among those who identify themselves as liberal, almost half say they would not support a Mormon for president.”
Asked about a sculpture in which presidential candidate Barack Obama is depicted as Jesus, a spokesman for the senator had this to say: “While we respect First Amendment rights and don’t think the artist was trying to be offensive, Senator Obama, as a rule, isn’t a fan of art that offends religious sensibilities.” Read the Associated Press article about this here.
Today, Bill Donohue sent the letter below to members of the Connecticut General Assembly:
Dear Connecticut Legislator:
I have no doubt that all of you share my contempt for state officials who ask patently illegitimate questions of expert witnesses who testify before them. Unfortunately, two members of the state legislature, Representative Michael Lawlor and Senator Edwin Gomes, did just that on March 26.
To be specific, both men asked a series of questions of Brian Brown, executive director of the Connecticut Family Institute, that probed his religious convictions as they pertained to same-sex marriage. If you think I’m exaggerating, listen to the audio at http://ctnv1.ctn.state.ct.us/J/jud_3-26-07.wmv. or read our transcription of the relevant portions of the discussion by visiting http://catholicleague.org/3-26-07_transcript.htm.
It is entirely legitimate to ask witnesses about the source of their convictions, religious or otherwise. But when the questions become personal, intrusive and persistent, a line is crossed. Mr. Brown was not called to testify about his personal religious beliefs, but to explain why he takes the side he does on a public policy matter. Separation of church and state, it needs to be stressed, cuts both ways: Just as it would be illegitimate of me to ask Rep. Lawlor and Sen. Gomes to go on record explaining their personal convictions about the wisdom of Catholic teachings, it is equally illegitimate of them to pepper expert witnesses about their private beliefs.
Senator Joseph Lieberman is an Orthodox Jew who cares deeply about Israel. As well he should. It would be obvious—even to Lawlor and Gomes—that a line would be crossed if Senator Lieberman were subjected the kind of probing questions regarding his religious convictions that Mr. Brown was.
I hope this is the last time I have to address this issue. Rep. Lawlor and Sen. Gomes should rest assured that if this continues, my response next time will not be in the form of a letter.
Sincerely,
William A. Donohue, Ph.D.
President
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
NB: To view a video on AirMaria.com showing highlights of the relevant portions of Mr. Brown’s testimony, click here.
In a March 27 column, the Chicago Tribune’s Eric Zorn had this to say about the Illinois Senate passing a bill that makes it mandatory for public schools to begin each day with a moment of silence: “The proposal is rotten—sneaky, unnecessary and intrusive.”