Catholic League president William Donohue objected today to the use of taxpayer money to fund porn sites that are linked to the website of New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson:

“On the homepage of New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson’s website, there is a link to the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender Directory of Services and Resources.  Most of the listings on the 120-page document are unobjectionable, but there are some sites that are morally repulsive, as well as anti-Catholic.

“Listed in the directory is The Closet Case Show on the Web.  Accessed at rickx.com, the site is replete with hard-core gay pornography.  By clicking on gaywired.com, another listing, users are treated to ‘The Incredible Hung Hulk,’ a 12-inch replica doll; it is not available at Wal-Mart.  On Our Backs Magazine is a lesbian publication that teaches the uninitiated the art of rimming, also known as oral-anal sex (a picture is also provided).  Swell.

“Thompson is aware of this because a recent news article mentioned the first listing.  Also published were the objections of Republican party district leader Evan E. Edwards.  Yet nothing has been done about it.  Interestingly, Thompson’s website also provides a link to an urban terrorist organization, ACTUP.  This was the group that broke into St. Patrick’s Cathedral during Sunday Mass in 1989 and, acting like Nazis, spit the Eucharist on the floor.

“In his introductory remarks to the Directory, Thompson says ‘You’ll find a wide range of community organizations, health care facilities, counseling and support groups, recreational and cultural opportunities, houses of worship….’  Sounds like a Welcome Wagon of old ladies extending their best wishes.

“Thompson is obliged to swiftly remove such objectionable listings from his Directory.  We hope responsible gays agree.”

The New York Times announced today that Bill Keller has been named executive editor. Catholic League president Bill Donohue immediately took note:

“In a wide-ranging piece Bill Keller wrote for the New York Times on May 4, 2002, he said, ‘I am what a friend calls a ‘collapsed Catholic’—well beyond lapsed….’ He did not say who his friend was but let me guess. Anna Quindlen? Maureen Dowd? In any event, in this same column Keller offered the following insights:

· “Karol Wojtyla [Pope John Paul II] has shaped a hierarchy that is intolerant of dissent, unaccountable to its members, secretive in the extreme and willfully clueless about how people live.” Sounds like the newsroom commenting on Keller’s predecessor, Howell Raines.
· “Like the Communist Party circa Leonid Brezhnev, the Vatican exists first and foremost to preserve its power.” Now consider how Susan E. Tifft, co-author of a book on the Times, commented on the way the Sulzberger family (who own the paper) reacted to the Jayson Blair mess: “Even when it’s difficult, the family will do whatever they have to protect this jewel, their newspaper.”
· “He [the pope] has trained bishops that the path of advancement is obsequious obedience to himself.” Which is perhaps preferable to obsequious obedience to affirmative action.
· “This is, after all, the church that gave us the Crusades and the Inquisition.” This is, after all, the same newspaper that lied about the Communist slaughter of the Ukrainians in the 1930s, ran a grand total of 9 editorials criticizing the Nazis in 1941, 1942 and 1943, and labeled Fidel Castro “an agrarian reformer.”

“Thus are Catholics acquainted with Bill Keller. It is worth remembering that during the Jayson Blair scandal, publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said it was wrong to ‘demonize’ the top brass at the Times. We look to Keller to do likewise to the Catholic Church, ‘collapsed Catholic’ or no.”

Catholic League president William Donohue spoke today to media reports that misrepresent the sentiments of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on the subject of the Mel Gibson movie, “The Passion”:

“Several media reports, as well as comments made last night on CNN by Rabbi Marvin Hier, claim that the USCCB has branded the Mel Gibson film ‘The Passion’ as anti-Semitic.  ‘What I am saying is that four Catholic scholars representing the Catholic bishops,’ offered Rabbi Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, ‘joined five Jewish scholars, unanimously felt there was a great deal of anti-Semitism in the script.’  This account is factually wrong.

“Four Catholic scholars did review the script.  But they did so without authorization from the Catholic bishops.  That is why the bishops issued an apology to Gibson.  Speaking for the bishops, USCCB General Counsel Mark Chopko said, ‘We regret the situation has occurred and offer our apologies.’  Indeed, the bishops have admitted that it would be unfair to judge the movie without seeing it.  Moreover, the script was stolen (by whom it is still unclear); it has since been returned to Gibson.

“To continue to attack Mel Gibson for a movie his critics have not seen is bad enough, but to misrepresent the position of the Catholic bishops is worse.  Gibson’s foes, including most prominently the ADL and Rabbi Marvin Hier, are patently unfair in their assessments of ‘The Passion.’  Their greatest fear is that because Gibson is a traditional Catholic, he will foment anti-Semitism.  Such a perspective completely misunderstands what it is to be a traditional Catholic.  It is a prejudice that some Jews need to overcome.”

Catholic League president William Donohue commented today on the appointment of Bishop Sean Patrick O’Malley to lead the Boston Archdiocese:

“To all those who have been screaming that the Vatican doesn’t get it, let them explain the decision to name Bishop Sean O’Malley the new Archbishop of Boston.  This appointment proves how utterly serious the Vatican takes the situation in Boston.  The pope has chosen the right man for the right job.

“Bishop O’Malley likes batting fourth in the lineup—he is the ultimate cleanup hitter.  Having tackled major problems in Fall River and Palm Beach, he is well-suited to the task of restoring the confidence of the priests and the laity in Boston.  This is an historic moment in the Catholic Church in the U.S.

“Unfortunately, Catholic dissidents are already taking shots at Bishop O’Malley for being too faithful to the Holy Father.  Rev. Richard McBrien of Notre Dame faults Bishop O’Malley for being ‘uncritically loyal to the Holy See and would not veer one millimeter from its policies and teachings on anything.’  To be sure, such a charge would never be made against McBrien.

“The Catholic League takes great interest in monitoring the way various Catholic groups, victims’ organizations and the media will respond to Bishop O’Malley.  No doubt they will embrace him initially, but the real test will come when they don’t get what they want.  Unlike Father McBrien and his ilk, we at the Catholic League think fidelity is a virtue.  And that is why we are delighted with the news that Bishop O’Malley is going to Boston.”