For the 5th consecutive year, a bill that would amend the statute of limitations for sexually abused minors has died in the New York State legislature. Unlike other years, this year’s bill covered public institutions, as well as private ones like the Catholic Church. Predictably, it was met with strong opposition from the public school establishment.
This is a victory for civil liberties and a loss for the vindictive forces seeking to plunder the Catholic Church.
It took courage for the pope to speak out against abortion and gay marriage in a Catholic nation that has lost its moorings. Having legalized the killing of the unborn three years ago, and now having said it is okay for two men to get married, Portugal, like much of Europe, is going down the wrong road. If it is acceptable to kill the least among us, it is hard to stop the slide when the next group of social vulnerables is put on the chopping block. And if it is okay to treat marriage between a man a woman as an alternative lifestyle, then there is nothing stopping the descent to recognizing all “partnerships” as equal, the net effect of which is to weaken the special status of marriage. So it was heartening to hear the Holy Father speak the truth, one more time.
The Catholic League is happy to note that New York Assemblyman Richard Brodsky will not seek passage of a bill that would have presumed consent of organ donation. We joined Assemblyman Dov Hikind and several Jewish organizations in fighting this bill.
Last night’s “South Park” episode ridiculed Comedy Central for censoring Trey Parker and Matt Stone: the writers panned the station for not allowing them to depict Muhammad the way they do other religious figures.
Included in the episode was a character of Catholic League president Bill Donohue; he was previously featured in another show. But in last night’s episode, Donohue had no speaking role, an indication, some are speculating, that Comedy Central is wary he might mimic his Muslim brothers if provoked.
When asked whether this was true, Donohue said, “I don’t use machetes when I’m angry—I usually just reach for another cold one.”
America magazine blogger Michael Sean Winters warns his fellow Catholic liberals that they ought to think twice about advocating lay leadership in the Catholic Church. He writes that “liberals should be especially aware that if there were elections for lay leaders, it is more likely than not that Bill Donohue and George Weigel and Raymond Arroyo would win at the Catholic polls.” But Winters isn’t too happy with such a prospect. “I will take my chances with the clericalist patriarchy, thank you very much.”
Bill thanks Michael for thinking of him, even if his comment is not exactly a vote of confidence. He adds that voting is for wimps, which is why he prefers a coup.
JERUSALEM, APRIL 12, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The Jewish former mayor of New York is affirming that “continuing attacks” by the media on the Church and Benedict XVI have become “manifestations of anti-Catholicism.”
Edward “Ed” Koch, who also served as a U.S. Congressman from 1969 to 1977, stated this in a blog published online Thursday by The Jerusalem Post.
“The procession of articles on the same events are, in my opinion, no longer intended to inform, but simply to castigate,” Koch asserted.
He acknowledged that the sexual molestation of children is “horrendous,” noting that this is a point of agreement among “Catholics, the Church itself, as well as non-Catholics and the media.”
On this point, the politician and political commentator said, the Pope has openly proclaimed his abhorrence for the crime and compassion for the victims.
Koch noted that “many of those in the media who are pounding on the Church and the pope today clearly do it with delight, and some with malice.”
He continued: “The reason, I believe, for the constant assaults is that there are many in the media, and some Catholics as well as many in the public, who object to and are incensed by positions the Church holds, including opposition to all abortions, opposition to gay sex and same-sex marriage, retention of celibacy rules for priests, exclusion of women from the clergy, opposition to birth control measures involving condoms and prescription drugs and opposition to civil divorce.
Salad bar
“My good friend, Cardinal John O’Connor, once said, ‘The Church is not a salad bar, from which to pick and choose what pleases you.’
“The Church has the right to demand fulfillment of all of its religious obligations by its parishioners, and indeed a right to espouse its beliefs generally.”
The Jewish politician clarified that he personally does not agree with the Catholic position on these issues, but he added that the Church “has a right to hold these views in accordance with its religious beliefs.”
He affirmed: “Orthodox Jews, like the Roman Catholic Church, can demand absolute obedience to religious rules. Those declining to adhere are free to leave.”
Koch stated his belief that “the Roman Catholic Church is a force for good in the world, not evil.”
As well, he said, “the existence of 1 billion, 130 million Catholics worldwide is important to the peace and prosperity of the planet.”
“Of course, the media should report to the public any new facts bearing upon the issue of child molestation,” Koch affirmed, “but its objectivity and credibility are damaged when the New York Times declines to publish an op-ed offered by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan on the issue of anti-Catholicism and offers instead to publish a letter to the editor, which is much shorter and less prominent than an op-ed.”
Enough
He asserted, “I am appalled that, according to the Times of April 6, 2010, ‘Last week, the center-left daily newspaper La Repubblica wrote, without attribution that certain Catholic circles believed the criticism of the Church stemmed from a New York Jewish lobby.'”
Koch clarified that if these “certain Catholic circles” were referring to the Times, it should be stated that the publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., is not Jewish, but rather Episcopalian, and its executive editor, Bill Keller, is also a Christian.
“Enough is enough,” Koch said.
He continued: “Yes, terrible acts were committed by members of the Catholic clergy.
“The Church has paid billions to victims in the United States and will pay millions, perhaps billions, more to other such victims around the world.
“It is trying desperately to atone for its past by its admissions and changes in procedures for dealing with pedophile priests.”
Koch concluded by quoting the words of Jesus, as recorded in John 8:7: “He
In a letter to the editor in today’s New York Times, Julie Green Bataille, Associate Vice President for Communications at Georgetown University, responds to Maureen Dowd’s April 7 column, “The Church’s Judas Moment.” In the column Dowd’s brother Kevin wrote, “Georgetown University agreeing to cover religious symbols on stage to get President Obama to speak
Bataille notes “numerous religious symbols remained visible throughout the hall during the president’s remarks.” It matters not that crosses and stained glass windows were on display in the hall. What matters most is that only the religious signage (including the name of Jesus) that was behind the president—therefore in plain sight of television cameras—was covered to provide a “standard backdrop.”
Catholics were upset with the university—one that refuses to display crucifixes in its classrooms—for selling out its Catholic identity and could not care less that religious imagery was on display outside the shot of a camera lens. The cowardice of Georgetown was appalling last year and the continued spin tells us all we need to know about what is going on there.
This weekend we will know whether the American people will be saddled with a fiscal nightmare for decades to come, or will escape relatively unscathed. We will also know whether we will take the first deadly step down a slippery slope that will lead to social engineering on a massive scale. We most certainly will know whether Americans will be forced to subsidize the killing of innocent human life. If all that isn’t enough to make a healthy man vomit, we will know whether we have entered a stage that Tocqueville warned about in the early 19th century–a condition known as democratic despotism. Finally, the fact that they have chosen to deliberate all this madness on a Sunday–in a nation where 8 in 10 are Christian–is an affront to the religious sensibilities of most Americans. A more shameless gang would be hard to find.
Catholic League members will be happy to learn that our good friend Kevin (Seamus) Hasson of the Becket Fund just won a major victory in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirming the constitutionality of “one nation under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Click here for the Becket Fund’s press release.
A rabbi, Baruch Lebovits, is on trial in Brooklyn for repeatedly molesting a troubled teenager in 2004 and 2005. His accuser testified in court yesterday that he was offered money by a member of the Hasidic community to recant his allegations. Lebovits faces up to four years in prison. He also awaits trial for accusations by two other people.
The New York Post and the New York Daily News reported this story on pages 28 and 18, respectively. The scandal-loving tabloids have frequently featured front-page stories when the alleged perpetrator was a Catholic priest. Funny how an accused rabbi does not merit the same treatment.