Excerpts of a letter written today to Nassau County legislators by Catholic League president William Donohue appear below:

I understand the Nassau County legislature is considering legislation that would require clergy to report cases of sexual abuse involving minors. Such legislation makes sense but it is incomplete: it needs to be broadened so that non-clergy adults are included as well.

For example, last spring it was revealed that Planned Parenthood employees agreed to keep secret 91 percent of the reported cases of statutory rape that came to their attention.

Moreover, when Albany considered a mandated sexual abuse bill last June, it was opposed not by the New York State Catholic Conference but by the New York Civil Liberties Union and Family Planning Advocates. They thought it appropriate that the clergy be forced to report such cases but asked for an exemption for those engaged in medical and counseling services. Thus did they reveal their real agenda: get the clergy but give abortion counselors a pass.

Just as disturbing is the story in the October 31 edition of Newsday that mentions the irresponsible comments of presiding officer Judith Jacobs. She lambastes Denis Dillon for suggesting that the sexual abuse bill being considered be extended to abortion providers as well. She charged that Dillon “crossed the line between his personal beliefs and upholding the law.” This comes dangerously close to suggesting that Dillon’s Catholicism is getting in the way of his professional duties.

If the bill being considered is not made inclusive to cover counselors, social workers, abortion providers et al., then it will be seen for what it is: political gamesmanship aimed at getting the clergy. It will also demonstrate the selective interest that lawmakers have in protecting minors from adult predators.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate the Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe for violating IRS rules governing electioneering by churches.

Americans United charges that Archbishop Michael Sheehan violated the tax-exempt status of the Church when he directed Catholic parishes to send a flier detailing how candidates in the New Mexico gubernatorial race voted on abortion.  The flier, prepared by the Right to Life Committee of New Mexico, listed Republican candidate John Sanchez as pro-life and Democratic challenger Bill Richardson as pro-abortion.

In one of the parishes, Holy Child in Tijeras, a secretary typed in an additional few sentences saying that Richardson’s voting record “shows a lack of respect for human life,” thus indicating that “he would not serve the people of New Mexico on the life issues any better than he did as a congressman.”  Americans United is pressing the case as being analogous to the Pierce Creek case in 1995 which resulted in a forfeiture of the church’s tax exempt status.

Catholic League president William Donohue doesn’t see it this way:

“The reason why the Church of Pierce Creek in upstate New York lost in 1995 is because a) it was the voice of the institution and b) it flagrantly violated the law by running newspaper ads against presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992.  In the Santa Fe case, Rev. Bennett J. Voorhies, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, issued a flier on September 27 providing voting information on the candidates.  Not only was it totally legal, he specifically warned pastors against endorsing any candidate for public office.  The fact that a secretary in one of the 92 parishes added two unauthorized lines hardly makes this case analogous to Pierce Creek.

“We find it interesting that candidate Bill Richardson, who is claiming victim status, literally campaigned in Mesa Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque on October 3.  Not surprisingly, Americans United has had absolutely nothing to say about this blatant abuse of the tax laws.”

Yesterday, the Catholic League issued a news release on the existence of a hard-core teen porn site listed on the links section of the Democratic National Committee (DNC); the entry that connected the porn site was the Willie Velasquez Institute.  The DNC now says that it was unaware of the fact that this site began moving traffic to an unrelated site and has since corrected its website.

Catholic League president William Donohue commented on this today:

“Thanks to the Catholic League, the DNC has now adjusted its website to rid itself of pornography.  What it hasn’t rid itself of is bigotry.

“It may be that the porn website was inadvertently linked to the DNC.  But there is nothing resembling human error regarding the conscious decision of the DNC to provide a link with an anti-Catholic organization, Catholics for a Free Choice.  The DNC is guilty of playing games with Catholics: first it padded the ‘Catholic’ section with legitimate Catholic links, then it deleted both the section and Catholics for a Free Choice from its website altogether, then it added the bigoted organization to other sections—including one called ‘Religious Affiliated.’

“Scores of Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and non-sectarian organizations are being mailed a letter today asking them to join with us in denouncing the DNC for its continued alliance with a Catholic-bashing organization.

“We are working to subvert Frances Kissling’s efforts on many fronts.  I have already written to every member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child exposing the real agenda of Catholics for a Free Choice, thus disabling its efforts to undermine the Vatican.  We take particular joy in noting that Kissling’s scheduled talk at Holy Cross College has been cancelled.  No respectable organization—Catholic or not—would ever have anything to do with her.  Get the point, DNC?”

The October 26 edition of the CBS show, “The District,” was an hour-long drama based on the current scandal in the Catholic Church.  Viewers were introduced to molesting priests, diocesan cover-ups and the like.  It comes on the heels of another CBS show that dealt with the same subject, the October 21 edition of “CSI: Miami.”

Catholic League president William Donohue explains why “The District” crossed the line and offers some remarks on CBS:

“It is one thing to use current issues as the basis of a TV script, quite another to have actors turn directly into the camera to deliver a caustic statement on a world religion.  That is exactly what happened last Saturday night on ‘The District.’  When detective Temple looked right into the camera and pronounced on the virtue of putting faith in the Lord—but not in an institution—he was offering propaganda designed to denigrate the Catholic Church.

“Similarly, there is a scene where detective Debrino is pictured alone, peering into the camera, commenting on celibacy.  He opines that the discipline of celibacy is not God-given, but is rather a rule from the Middle Ages mandated by the Vatican to protect its economic assets.  He says it is ‘man who banned sex, not God.’

“There is a lot of dirt in the news these days about many racial, religious and ethnic groups.  But we will not see these current events made the object of a CBS script.  Catholic priests are another story.  It needs to be said that two-thirds of one percent of Catholic priests have stepped aside this year pending accusations against them.  No one knows how many perverts work at CBS, but even if it were determined that the figure exceeded one percent, it is a sure bet it would never morph into a script.

“In short, it is a lie to say that what CBS is doing is allowing art to imitate life.  As a matter of fact, the makers of ‘CSI: Miami’ said last week that they will postpone an episode on a sniper after what happened in the Beltway area.  This proves how duplicitous these guys really are.”

The Catholic League has recently been monitoring the website of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  At issue is the DNC’s determination to provide a link with an anti-Catholic organization on its website, Catholics for a Free Choice.  In the course of doing so, we have uncovered startling news: the DNC is openly sponsoring hard-core teen pornography.

In the “links” section, there is a category titled “Hispanic.”  The second to the last entry in this category is Willie Velasquez Institute.  Clicking on this entry leads to a hard-core teen porn site, www.wcvi.org.  On the home page are the pictures of four young women depicted in full frontal nudity with the inscription, “FREE, Live Amateur, Teen, Anal, Hardcore Picture SEX site.”

Catholic League president William Donohue addressed this issue today:

“The DNC is spinning out of control.  Its support for anti-Catholic bigotry is now matched by its support for hard-core teen pornography.  Whoever is operating its website should be fired immediately.

“Hispanic Catholics have now been hit in the face twice: the DNC has made its bed with anti-Catholicism and now it’s made its bed with pornography, using an Hispanic organization as a front for its debased appetites.  None of this is by accident: our monitoring of the DNC’s website shows that someone has been tinkering with it on a regular basis.  This suggests a degree of deliberateness that is malicious.  It is also self-destructive.

“The DNC may have violated federal law by sponsoring a website with arguably under-age girls.  In any event, we will blanket the Catholic and Hispanic communities with pictures of the DNC’s idea of good humor.  If there is anyone with an ounce of responsibility left at the DNC, he or she should quickly dump both Catholics for a Free Choice and the Willie Velasquez Institute.”

After deleting Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) from the “links” section of its website, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has reestablished its relationship by adding CFFC to its “Religious Affiliated” section.  Catholic League president William Donohue addressed this latest move by the DNC today:

“Someone at the DNC isn’t too bright.  Now they’ve really created a hornet’s nest for themselves.  First they delete Frances Kissling’s Catholics for a Free Choice from their website and now they put her back up.  There’s obviously a fight going on at the DNC over this and for now the Kissling forces have won.  But they won’t win in the long run.

“The Catholic League will now enlist the support of scores of allied organizations.  We will contact our friends in many circles and will not limit our coalition to Catholic institutions.  There are millions of Catholic Democrats who abhor the anti-Catholicism that Kissling represents and there are millions of other Democrats who detest all expressions of bigotry.  They will not be too pleased to learn that the DNC is insulting Roman Catholics by toying with them.

“Had the DNC simply left CFFC on its website, it would have been preferable to its latest gambit.  Had there been no change, we certainly would have continued our campaign against the DNC, but now we are more emboldened than ever before.  Now we’ll drop the hammer on them.  The clock is still running and this is one game the Catholic League is determined to win in overtime.”

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) no longer lists Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) on its website.  The “links” section of the DNC website was rearranged over the weekend.  There is no more “Catholic” entry, but there is a new category, “Religious Affiliated”; it lists some legitimate Catholic and Jewish organizations and publications, and CFFC is not among them.  CFFC has also been deleted from the “Pro Choice” entry on the DNC’s “links” page.

Catholic League president William Donohue commented on this development today:

“For the past three months, the Catholic League has led a protest against the DNC for its association with Frances Kissling’s anti-Catholic organization, Catholics for a Free Choice.  We spent thousands of dollars on ads in Catholic newspapers and secular magazines pressuring the DNC to dump CFFC; we enlisted the support of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; we wrote to every member of the House and Senate detailing the Catholic-bashing activities of Kissling; we mobilized our members via our monthly journal, Catalyst; we posted information on our website about the DNC; and we issued 15 news releases on the subject.  Finally, we have won.

“We’re not finished with Kissling.  I will now personally write to all of her major donors letting them know they are wasting their money on her.  If the DNC wants nothing to do with her, what sense does it make to fund her?  Our goal is to disable Kissling’s anti-Catholic work and nothing will stop us from doing so.  Not until she’s toast will we back off.  Indeed, not even her filthy-rich friends in elite foundations can save her.

“We will not congratulate the DNC for doing the right thing.  They backed down because their alliance with Kissling wasn’t worth all the heat they were getting.  But for Catholics, this victory is oh, so sweet.”

Sheryl McCarthy, columnist for the Long Island daily, Newsday, has an article in today’s newspaper that provides a classic example of anti-Catholic bigotry.  Catholic League president William Donohue offered the following remarks today:

“The Catholic League is mailing a copy of Sheryl McCarthy’s article in today’s Newsday to every bishop in the nation and to all 235 Catholic colleges and universities in the United States.  With regard to the latter group, we are asking the English department chairs to distribute copies of McCarthy’s column to professors of journalism.  Catholic students need to know how anti-Catholic bigotry has been mainstreamed and no one offers a better example than Sheryl McCarthy’s piece of October 24.

“McCarthy has some cute ideas about Halloween costumes this year.  Her list of characters include Martha Stewart, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Kenneth Lay, Lizzie Grubman, Michael Bloomberg and Johnnie Cochran.  There is one entry that is not a character: it is a group.

“‘A Catholic priest’s costume would also be a crowd pleaser this year,’ McCarthy says, ‘replete with clerical collar and a lascivious grin.’  Notice she wants a bin Laden and a Hussein costume but not a Muslim one.  That’s because McCarthy has learned that it is wrong to generalize from the individual to the collective.  Except for priests.  They deserve it—all 46,000 of them.  Never mind that a whopping two-thirds of one percent of priests have had to step aside awaiting an investigation of charges against them, McCarthy says it’s time to stick it to them all.

“But she is sensitive to others: ‘Some characters would be in bad taste for Halloween costumes. There should be no suicide bombers with dynamite strapped to their waists, and no Beltway snipers carrying rifles and cell phones.’  What is not in bad taste, however, is to mock priests as perverts, even though 99 and a third percent of them are not even being questioned about sexual misconduct.  What McCarthy has done is classic bigotry, plain and simple.  She owes priests an apology.”

The episode of the CBS show “CSI: Miami” that aired last night revolved around a priest who learns that a boy has been abused by his father (at first the priest was suspected as the abuser).  The priest tries to convince the boy to go to the police, but the boy refuses.  The boy’s mother subsequently kills the priest, blaming him for not protecting her son.

On today’s CBS.com website, there is a survey question on the home page of “CSI: Miami.”  It asks, “Do you think Catholic priests should be obligated to inform the authorities when one of their parishioners confesses to a crime?”

Commenting on this is Catholic League president William Donohue:

“Last night’s episode of ‘CSI: Miami’ shows that Hollywood still loves to give sermons on Catholicism.  ‘Who would want to kill a priest?’ was perhaps the most revealing question of the evening.  Asked by a detective, it was answered by one of his colleagues, ‘Nowadays, anyone.’  Worse than the show, however, is the invidious way in which CBS.com has sought to manipulate public opinion against Catholicism.

“The survey question is deceitful.  Though last night’s episode did not show the boy confessing to the priest in the confessional, the use of the word ‘confesses’ in the poll is designed to conjure up images of the confessional.  This is Catholic baiting.  There are practices in virtually every world religion that non-adherents might find unintelligible—or even unwise—but no one at CBS is going to invite them to register their sentiments in an online survey.  The purpose of the survey question is clear: to rally public opinion against the First Amendment shield that guarantees confidentiality between priest and penitent.

“Why not a survey question on the merits of protecting the confidential relationship between a journalist and his source?  That, of course, would be hitting too close to home for the home-grown psephologists at CBS.  Better to hit on Catholics.  Remember, ‘nowadays anyone’ might want to kill a priest.  Or at least impugn his religion.”

The Vatican has decided to appoint a joint commission of bishops, four from the U.S. and four from the Holy See, to revise certain provisions of the policy on sexual abuse passed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Dallas.  The revisions will then be submitted to the U.S. bishops when they meet in Washington, D.C., November 11-14.

Catholic League president William Donohue commented as follows:

“Fair-minded observers of the Catholic Church were hardly astonished to learn that the Vatican would encourage the process begun in Dallas to continue.  Unfortunately, some in the media, as well as some activists on the left and the right, have mischaracterized the Vatican’s decision as a flat-out rejection of the work of the U.S. bishops.  One would have to be awfully naïve to think that this isn’t done willfully: for some people, bad news about the Church is greeted as good news and nothing the Church does will ever be enough to satisfy them.

“What the Vatican is insisting upon, quite rightfully so, is the need to clarify that which is currently ambiguous.  For example, the definition of sexual abuse in the Dallas charter is incredibly elastic and subjective.  Similarly, respect for the due process rights of priests must be further refined; this would include respect for a statute of limitations.  And so on.

“There is nothing exceptional about any of this.  To draw an analogy, in higher education, when a doctoral student submits his dissertation, one of two things happens: a) he is dismissed from the program because his work has been rejected or b) he is permitted to continue in the program but must make satisfactory revisions before his work is accepted.  There is no third way—never are dissertations accepted without fine-tuning.  Roughly the same process governs submissions by the bishops to Rome and that is why what happened today more resembles a thumbs up than a thumbs down.”