Yesterday, the FBI released its annual report on hate crimes; it reported a 21 percent increase between 2000 and 2001.  Recently, a 51 year-old Chicago Catholic woman was murdered by a 19 year-old man because he objected to the woman’s questioning of his homosexual lifestyle.

Catholic League president William Donohue connected the two events:

“The FBI says that for an act to be dubbed a hate crime it must be determined that hate speech accompanies intimidation in the commission of a crime.  It is clear to nearly everyone that such determinations are highly subjective and open to serious abuse.  That is why the Catholic League opposes hate crime legislation: ascertaining motive is difficult enough but it is further complicated in today’s highly-charged milieu of political correctness.

“To demonstrate the utter futility of hate crime legislation, consider what happened to Mary Stachowicz.  On November 13, after she received Holy Communion at St. Hyacinth Catholic Church, she walked across the street to volunteer at a funeral home.  Above the funeral home is Nicholas Gutierrez’s apartment; he is a janitor at the funeral home.  It was in his apartment that an argument took place about the young man’s gay lifestyle.  Mary asked, ‘Why do you [have sex with] boys instead of girls?’  This was enough to provoke Gutierrez to mutilate her with a knife, place a plastic garbage bag over her head, strangle her and then jam her body in a crawl space under the floor of his apartment.

“A few thoughts on this matter: a) this will not be listed as a hate crime, thus showing how useless this category of crime is b) the killer is going to be charged with a capital offense, thus showing once again how useless this category of crime is c) Mary Stachowicz will never be remembered the way Matthew Shepard is, thus showing how politically corrupt the whole concept of hate crime legislation really is.  The fact is she was murdered for having a Catholic-informed conscience.”

On November 15, Dr. Glenn L. Archer died at the age of 96.  In 1948, he served as the first executive director of Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State; he held this post until he retired in 1976 (the organization changed its name to Americans United for Separation of Church and State in 1982).

Yesterday, Barry Lynn, the current executive director of Americans United, issued a statement saying, “Glenn Archer was a figure of towering energy and intellect” and cited him as “a strong defender of religious liberty through the separation of church and state.”

Catholic League president William Donohue does not agree:

“Barry Lynn’s appraisal of Glenn Archer is incomplete.  As with anyone, no doubt there was a good side to Archer, but it remains undeniably true that he used his ‘towering energy and intellect’ to bash Catholicism.

“It was under Archer’s tutelage that the Roman Catholic hierarchy was dubbed in 1949 as being ‘more dangerous and clever than communism.’  That this was said after Stalin had murdered tens of millions of his own people—starving the Ukrainians to death in the world’s first man-made famine—is truly astonishing.  It was Archer who petitioned the FCC to deny TV licenses to Jesuits because they were ‘an alien organization.’  It was Archer who demanded that cardinals in the Catholic Church have their citizenship revoked.  And it was Archer who asked the House Un-American Activities Committee to investigate ‘the intentions, scope and achievements of Vatican espionage here,’ charging that the Catholic clergy had learned ‘American secrets hardly anyone except the president knows.’

“Not to acknowledge that Archer was an inveterate Catholic basher who received his largest per capita contributions from Christian Scientists, Seventh-day Adventists and Jews is to wash the face of a bigot.”

On November 18, Tampa Tribune columnist Daniel Ruth wrote a column questioning the relationship between Governor Jeb Bush’s religion (he is a convert to Catholicism) and his suitability for public office.  Bush supports school prayer, limits on abortion, school vouchers and the like.

As Ruth sees it, “if Jeb Bush appears for his second inaugural wearing a miter, vestments and carrying a staff, one might conclude he has taken this whole ‘Christian conservative political agenda’ thing just a pinch too far.”  Ruth implores readers to remember that Bush “was re-elected governor of Florida, not vicar general”; Bush, he says, should recall he “won an election, not a canonization.”  Ruth also warns that Bush might “turn the state into a regulatory theocracy.”  Finally, Ruth mocks Bush for converting to Catholicism saying, “he missed out on all the fun of having the living daylights beaten out of him as a child by the Sisters of Holy Inquisition.”

Here’s how Catholic League president William Donohue responded:

“Imagine a columnist from a mainstream newspaper questioning Joseph Lieberman’s Jewishness and his suitability for public office.  Lieberman, after all, is a rabid defender of Israel and partial-birth abortion, two issues that are popular among Jews.  Let’s go further: ‘If Joseph Lieberman appears for his next inaugural wearing a yarmulke, Star of David and prayer shawl, one might conclude he has taken this whole Jewish liberal political agenda thing just a pinch too far.’  Or this: ‘It is worth remembering that Lieberman was re-elected senator of Connecticut, not Chief Rabbi.’  Picture this: ‘Lieberman might turn the state into a regulatory theocracy.’  Finally, because Lieberman never converted to Islam, ‘he missed out on all the fun of learning how brutal and oppressive the imperialist theocratic-state of Israel really is.’

“Ruth is more than a bigot, he’s a hypocrite.  He wants professors fired for views he abhors (see Tampa Tribune, Aug. 25) yet he regularly abuses his own free speech rights.”

New York State does not have a law that mandates the clergy to report sex abuse crimes to the authorities.  This has led some public persons to criticize Catholic bishops for the exemption.  Just last week, Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro blasted the new norms on sex abuse that were approved by the U.S. bishops and called for new state legislation that would add the clergy to the list of mandatory reporters of child abuse.

Catholic League president William Donohue spoke to this issue today:

“I am writing to every member of the New York State legislature urging him to mandate all professionals to report instances of the sexual abuse of minors to the authorities.  In doing so I will also address the reason why a bill of this nature has been stymied by Planned Parenthood and its allies.

“When a comprehensive bill on this issue was put forth last June, it was put on hold because of opposition from Family Planning Advocates, the lobbying arm of Planned Parenthood, and the New York Civil Liberties Union.  They objected to having abortion providers report instances of statutory rape to the authorities.  And with good reason: a recent study showed that 91 percent of Planned Parenthood staff members currently do not report such cases to the authorities.

“People like Jeanine Pirro are more than dishonest when they suggest that it is the bishops who are holding things up—they are literally giving cover to those who work in the abortion industry.

“It is time for everyone to put his cards on the table.  If the real issue is protecting minors, then everyone should be blanketed by the same law.  But if the real issue is to ‘get the priests,’ then the exemption for the abortion industry will shamefully continue.  It is time to pull the mask off the Pirros of this world and force them to come clean.”

On yesterday’s CNN show, “Inside Politics,” Nancy Pelosi said, “Yes, I’m a liberal Democrat, but I’m a conservative Catholic.”  Her comment was also cited in today’s edition of USA Today. 

Catholic League president William Donohue found this amusing:

“Nancy Pelosi, the new Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, has voted against school vouchers and the Faith-Based Initiative.  When it comes to abortion, no one in the U.S. Congress has a more extreme record than she does.  Whether the issue is parental consent or partial-birth abortion, she can always be counted on to deliver a proabortion vote.  Yet she calls herself a ‘conservative Catholic.’  It would be instructive to know what she considers a liberal Catholic to be.

“It’s actually worse than this.  The October 12 edition of the PBS program, ‘To the Contrary,’ showed Pelosi playing host to anti-Catholics.  Frances Kissling and other staff members of the notoriously anti-Catholic organization Catholics for a Free Choice, were featured walking out of Pelosi’s office after a lobbying session.

“Pelosi’s contacts with these anti-Catholics is nothing new: in 1995 she was critical of the U.S. bishops for blasting Kissling’s outfit as anti-Catholic.  At that time, the bishops objected to the inclusion of Kissling’s group at the U.N. Conference on Women that was to be held in Beijing.  In reference to Kissling, William Cardinal Keeler, then head of the bishops’ conference, said ‘To use the name Catholic to promote the taking of innocent life is offensive.’  Pelosi defended Kissling saying ‘Many women are concerned about freedom of speech and association at the conference.  Accreditation should not be a politicized process.’  It is not surprising, then, that Pelosi refuses to condemn the DNC for its support for Kissling’s group today.

“In short, Pelosi’s spin game is insulting.  No conservative Catholic we know okays the killing of kids 80 percent born.”

Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon has come under fire for recommending a bill that would mandate all professionals to report cases of sexual abuse.  Last April Nassau lawmakers passed a law requiring the clergy to report such cases but did not extend it to cover teachers, abortion providers, school coaches et al.

Judy Jacobs, Presiding Officer of the Nassau legislature, recently said Dillon’s interest in mandating that abortion providers be required to report cases of sexual abuse “crossed the line between his personal beliefs and upholding the law.”  In response, Catholic League president William Donohue wrote to Nassau lawmakers saying that Jacobs’ remark “comes dangerously close to suggesting that Dillon’s Catholicism is getting in the way of his professional duties.”  Yesterday, Jacobs criticized Dillon again, saying his antiabortion position accounts for his interest in this bill.  She then said, “If he hasn’t crossed the line, he’s come dangerously close.”

Last night News 12 covered this story noting Dillon’s interest in expanding the bill to cover abortion providers.  It was even more blunt than Jacobs: a reporter found it necessary to inject that Dillon is “a staunch supporter of the Catholic Church.”

Catholic League president William Donohue addressed  this issue today:

“News 12 ought to stop with the Catholic baiting immediately.  Judy Jacobs is getting a little too cute for us as well: she ought to stick to the issue at hand without making oblique references to Dillon’s religion.

“It is unfathomable that any media outlet on Long Island, or any public office holder, would ever play this game with a Jewish D.A.  News 12 and Jacobs cannot reasonably argue that what they are doing is providing a descriptive: what they are doing is using Dillon’s Catholicism as a red flag implying he is violating the principle of separation of church and state.  This is Catholic baiting, pure and simple.”

Catholic League president William Donohue commented on the sexual abuse policy passed today by the U.S. bishops:

“Virtually every Catholic in the nation has been greatly upset this year by all the scandalous news about the Catholic Church.  In some parts of the country, emotions turned to anger as outrageous stories about molesting priests and enabling bishops were being reported daily.

“What the bishops did today, however, will go a long way towards restoring the trust of the rank and file.  The final document that was approved is a principled statement that is a model of fairness to all parties.  We commend the bishops, especially those who worked on the revisions, for producing a document that is canonically sound and organizationally effective.  Their goal has been justice for all and that is what they delivered today.

“The central message of the new policy is this: There will be no more tolerance for intolerable behavior.  The kids come first.  At the same time, however, the bishops made it clear that this will not be done at the expense of tossing overboard the rights of the accused.  This is just the kind of symmetry fair-minded Catholics have wanted and now they have it.

“Not everyone, however, is fair-minded.  Those who have agendas—for example, those who reject the Church’s teachings on sexuality—are already complaining.  That’s because all they want is power.  The media give them a stage but most Catholics are repelled by them.

“As a lay Catholic organization, the Catholic League treasures the role of the laity in the Catholic Church.  But unlike those with agendas, we do not seek to govern the Church.  Indeed, such hubris is the mark of a small band of half-educated but fully politicized whiners.  Nothing will ever satisfy them—nothing save turning the Catholic Church inside out.”

An AP story that was just released reports that a group led by Paul Baier, Survivors First, has listed the names of 573 U.S. priests who have faced public accusations of child sex abuse since 1996.  The group claims to possess the names of 2,100 clerics in its database and boasts that it also lists the names of priests who have been falsely accused.

Here’s what league president William Donohue said about this today:

“Last Friday, Paul Baier said he was going to release the names of 800 priests who have either been convicted or have had allegations made against them for sexual abuse.  This morning Baier said the figure had been scaled back to over 600 and now he’s adjusted the figure to 573.

“This area is fraught with difficulties.  To begin with, there is a profound difference between the guilty and the accused, though Baier is apparently unimpressed.  Included in his database are seminarians as well: he lumps them in with priests, thus giving a false impression.  Regarding falsely accused priests, Survivors First lists a grand total of three!

“The website of Survivors First has a link to Linkup, another victim-advocacy group.  Using the most absurd arithmetical model imaginable, Linkup contends that ‘as many as 10,076,800 people have been victimized by priests.’  It is not clear how the handful of priests found guilty (99.3 percent of priests currently have no charges against them) ever had time to eat, never mind attending to the sacraments.  It needs to be emphasized that a Washington Post survey (released in June) found that over the past four decades, less than 1.5 percent of the estimated 60,000 priests have been accused of child sexual abuse.

“What’s behind the disparity in the figures?  Politics.  Baier is currently seeking to employ a lawyer for the purpose of finding ‘a loophole in any Vatican treaties’ and supports the idea of having members of Voice of the Faithful (of which he is a founding member) withhold donations to their parish every first Sunday.  In short, this guy’s got an agenda.”

When the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) meets in Washington, November 11-14, they will be pressured by agenda-ridden Catholics to institute various reforms.  Addressing this issue today is Catholic League president William Donohue:

“Yesterday, I issued a news release that was highly supportive of the new norms regarding priestly sexual abuse that were written by the mixed U.S.-Vatican commission.  Today, I am making a statement that is highly critical of those who are condemning the work of the commission.

“Rogue Catholics should be ignored.  Who are they?  A good place to begin is by identifying the 22 reform groups who comprise Catholic Organizations for Renewal (COR).  This is a  motley crew of anti-Catholics (Catholics for a Free Choice) and those who are at war with the Church’s teachings on sexuality (all the rest).  They feign interest in reforming the Church when their real goal is to topple it.

“Many Catholics these days are calling for a greater role for the laity.  The Catholic League stands with the bishops in insisting that this role should be advisory only.  Yet COR and others insist ‘The Vatican and U.S. bishops [every last one of them!] have simply lost their credibility as agents of due process’ and should therefore institute ‘impartial and independent lay review boards with deliberative power and the imperative to report directly to civil authority itself.’  This, of course, is just for starters.  As anyone who has tracked these disaffected Catholics knows, their goal is to reconstruct the Church from top to bottom.

“The National Review Board headed by Frank Keating and the Office for Child and Youth Protection headed by Kathleen McChesney will do what lay Catholics should do: act as monitors and facilitators.  Their role is not to govern the Church.  More important, the very last persons that any sensible Catholic would ever want governing the Church are the likes of rogue Catholics that comprise COR.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will meet in Washington, November 11-14, to vote on the revised sex abuse norms as written by the mixed U.S.-Vatican commission.  Commenting on the changes is league president William Donohue:

“Francis Cardinal George, who was one of four panel members from the U.S. who drafted the revisions, has said that the new norms are ‘fairer overall.’  Having read both the Dallas norms and the new ones, I can honestly say that no reasonable person would disagree with that assessment.  Cardinal George, Archbishop William Levada, Bishop Thomas Doran and Bishop William Lori, along with the Vatican contingent, did a magnificent job.  Bishop Wilton Gregory, who heads the USCCB, also deserves great praise.

“In many respects, the new norms are stronger than the Dallas ones.  First of all, they apply to all priests: the Dallas charter applied only to diocesan priests, leaving religious order priests—fully a third of the clergy—exempt from coverage.  Second, the new norms explicitly say that when ‘even a single act of sexual abuse’ is either admitted or established, the ‘priest or deacon will be removed permanently from ecclesiastical ministry, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state, if the case warrants.’  This is a no-nonsense approach.  So is the new emphasis on putting an end to the practice of transferring a guilty priest to another parish for ministerial assignment: it is specifically prohibited.

“Some are carping that the statute of limitations in the new norms are unfair.  But the standard—10 years past the age of 18—exceeds the time-line as conventionally understood by civil law.  Others are complaining that there will be a preliminary investigation before steps are taken to relieve an accused priest of his ministry.  That’s right—even priests have due process rights—so get used to it.  As for the role of the laity, their role is advisory—not in Church governance.

“The Catholic League looks forward to defending the new norms and debating the issue with its critics.”