In the August 29 edition of the Washington Post, reporter Dana Milbank wrote a piece about what two noted political scientists had to say on Monday about their criticisms of the Israeli lobby. John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard University spoke at the National Press Club in Washington at the invitation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. They are widely known for their controversial article, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.”

At the event, the two scholars accepted a button proclaiming “Fight the Israel Lobby,” much to the applause of the Muslim audience. Walt then criticized Paul Wolfowitz and Doug Feith, two prominent Jews who have helped to shape Bush administration policy in the Middle East, for having “attachments that shape how they think about the Middle East.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented as follows:

“After reporting what Stephen Walt said on Monday, Dana Milbank raised an interesting point. He picked up on the word ‘attachments,’ saying it sounds preferable to saying ‘dual loyalties.’ Milbank is correct. That is exactly what Walt was implying: he, and Mearsheimer, are promoting the invidious notion that Jewish neoconservatives are not to be trusted as their real loyalties lie elsewhere.

“As American Catholics, we are all too familiar with the old canard about ‘dual loyalties.’ Indeed, this smear tactic has been hurled at us for over 200 years. Just as we deeply resent accusations that American Catholics cannot think and act independent of the Vatican, we find it abhorrent when it is said or implied that American Jews cannot think and act independent of Israel.

“Bigotry dressed in scholarly veneer is still bigotry. Walt and Mearsheimer have an agenda to sell and what they are hawking is sick stuff.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued the following remarks today on Senator John McCain’s recent comment that he might consider accepting a speaking invitation at Bob Jones University:

“In 2000, the Catholic League criticized presidential contender Gov. George W. Bush for speaking at Bob Jones University. The university at that time had policies that were both racist and anti-Catholic. After Bush apologized, I went on the ‘Today’ show saying the matter was over. Now Senator McCain is mulling whether it would be appropriate for him to speak at Bob Jones. ‘I understand they have made considerable progress,’ he said.

“It looks to us that Bob Jones has made considerable progress, too, but it would behoove Senator McCain to be cautious. After receiving a lot of bad PR in early 2000, the president (now chancellor) Bob Jones III announced on March 3, 2000 that the university’s ban on interracial dating had been dropped. Encouraged by this development, Catholics awaited him to say that references to Catholicism as a ‘satanic cult,’ ‘Mother of Harlots,’ ‘ecclesiastic tyranny,’ etc., would be dropped from the university’s website. On March 14, 2000, the school nixed any reference to Catholicism as a cult, notwithstanding the fact that other disparaging remarks remained. That lasted one day. On March 15, the offensive fare was back. Worse, here is what Bob Jones III told the media: ‘In order to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind of the university’s integrity and absolute commitment to its biblical principles, the article in question has been reposted.’

“A thorough check of the Bob Jones University website shows that all of the objectionable postings have been deleted, including any reference to the particularly odious magazine, Faith for the Family.

“Is this a cosmetic change or a real one? That’s for McCain to determine. In any event, we would implore all presidential hopefuls in both parties to refuse any invitations at the University of Oregon. That’s today’s hotbed of anti-Catholicism, as we pointed out this spring.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on some of the remarks being made about Father Gabriele Amorth’s recent interview on Vatican Radio:

“Various forums on the Internet are alive with chatter over Father Amorth’s August 27 interview. Father Amorth is a Pauline priest who works as an exorcist in the Diocese of Rome. In the interview, he said, ‘I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed by the devil.’ Furthermore, he asserted that the ‘horrors’ committed by Stalin and Hitler also demonstrate that ‘they were possessed by the devil.’ Unfortunately, some are now reading these remarks as Father Amorth’s way of saying Stalin and Hitler were nuts who cannot be held responsible for their actions.

“Catholic teaching on exorcism does not equate demonic possession with mental illness. On the contrary, the Catholic Catechism says, ‘Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science.’ And in no way does exorcism imply that those possessed by the devil are not responsible for their actions. Satan, the Church teaches, ‘was at first a good angel, made by God.’ Indeed, at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, the Church made plain that ‘The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing.’ So much for giving totalitarians a pass: over 20 million lost their lives to the Nazis and over 150 million were killed by communists in the 20^th century.

“Father Amorth is alleged to have said something about how Harry Potter hides the work of the devil. We’re not sure. What we do know is that in 2003, Father Don Peter Fleetwood, who helped write a Vatican document on New Age phenomenon, told a Vatican press conference that ‘I don’t see any, any problems in the Harry Potter series.’ Indeed, he praised the good intentions of the British writer, J.K. Rowling, who authored the series.”

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, offered the following comments today on the popularity of Catholic-bashing plays:

“The Helen Hayes Theatre in New York must be experiencing hard times these days, otherwise it wouldn’t be home to ‘Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway.’  According to Variety, the play claims that the Catholic Church is run by the Nazis and that ‘the devil really does wear Prada’; the devil is the pope.  To show how timely they are, the play’s producers manage to squeeze in a smack at Mel Gibson, dropping the line ‘now he wants the Jews to treat him like they’re Christians.’  According to the Associated Press, ‘Catholics routinely come in for a thrashing, as do Republicans and anti-gay advocates.’  Guess that covers the bases.  But this isn’t enough to satisfy the depraved appetites of the audience, which is why there is a discussion about a pet cow—actually a stuffed animal—who ‘ate the afterbirth of Jesus in Bethlehem and later became a show pony for the pope.’  Now would anyone want to have dinner with someone who thought this was funny?

“Another stellar play, ‘Mitzi’s Abortion,’ completes its run on August 20 at Seattle’s ACT Theatre.  Mitzi is unsure whether she wants to abort her baby and seeks advice from none other than St. Thomas Aquinas.  Guess what he has to say?  According to a Seattle newspaper, the Stranger, Aquinas says, ‘This inane position that the Church has taken lately which gives an embryo moral standing as a human person from the moment of conception!  It’s ludicrous.  But these puppies are eating it up like kibble!’  No one, of course, eats this stuff up more than those who consider this to be entertainment.

“Bigots in Chicago are running to the Oracle to see—one more time—‘Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You.’  This perennial features a vicious nun who rails against her dysfunctional students, derides the teachings of the Catholic Church, attacks Jesus and disparages the Virgin Mary.  It has an almost cult following among the morally destitute.

“My guess is that those who spend money to see this fare are mostly angry old ex-Catholics stuck in a time warp.  They’ll never move on.”a

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented on last night’s episode of the HBO program, “Lucky Louie”:

“Blasphemy often tracks obscenity, and ‘Lucky Louie’ has been obscene from the first episode. So we were due.

“Here’s a sample of the nine previous episodes:

• Louie, the main character, is found masturbating in a broom closet
• Louie does not want to get his wife pregnant until they figure out a way for her to have consistent orgasms
• Louie passes out at the kitchen table and awakes with the name ‘fag’ painted on his back
• Louie’s friend wants to know why he spent $300 on a Frankenstein doll that he cannot have sex with
• Louie’s wife, Kim, barges in on him while he is in the bathroom so she can get a stool sample
• Louie uses an obscene term referring to the female genitalia and calls his wife by that name
• Lucy, the daughter, tells her mother that the cake she made tastes like ‘poop’ and the mother curses at her
• A 16-year-old girl offers to perform oral sex on Louie
• Louie gets drunk, almost gets into a car accident, and when he tries to trade places with his male friend, the two get stuck on top of each other

“In last night’s episode, Louie gets ‘absolution’ from a priest in the confessional even though the priest knows he is not Catholic. Worse, when Louie is criticized for eating in church he says, ‘They are all up there eating Jesus, why can’t I have this?

“The sacred and the profane are elements found in every society. In our society, the sexual and the scatological often constitute the profane, as in this show. Ironically, the sacred, which is Roman Catholicism, cannot be ignored, even by the depraved. But that is no excuse for this barbaric presentation.”

op-singer Madonna will take her “Confessions” concert to Rome on Sunday.  During her song, “Live To Tell,” she wears a crown of thorns while suspended from a mirrored cross.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue had this to say about the event:

“No wonder Jewish and Muslim leaders are joining Catholic leaders in denouncing Madonna’s latest stunt—it’s an in-your-face gesture that if tolerated will only beckon more attacks on religion.  We agree with Bishop Velasio De Paolis, a Vatican official, who compared her act to ‘Satanists [who] use religious objects for Black Masses.’

“Liz Rosenberg, Madonna’s spokeswoman, says ‘the Pope would enjoy the show’ and that ‘Madonna does not think Jesus would be mad at her, as his teaching of loving thy neighbor and tolerance is Madonna’s message as well.’  Looks like this witch needs to be exorcised as well.

“Last week it was reported that Madonna demands to have a new toilet seat at every concert.  Which only goes to show that Rosenberg is wrong: Madonna’s toilet fetish proves that her real message is scatological, and that’s why she needs to clean up more than her act.”

The Comedy Central show, “South Park,” reran an episode last night that the station’s officials previously said would not air again.  Titled “Bloody Mary,” the episode depicts a statute of the Virgin Mary spraying blood from her vagina into the cartoon-face of Pope Benedict XVI.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue offered these remarks today:

“On December 29, 2005, we received a phone call from Tony Fox, the executive vice president for corporate communications at Comedy Central, informing us that there were no plans to rerun ‘Bloody Mary.’ Fox’s call followed a sustained protest by the Catholic League that resulted in getting Joe Califano, a member of Viacom’s board of directors (Viacom owns MTV and Comedy Central is a subsidiary of MTV), to intervene in this matter;  unfortunately, Califano is no longer on Viacom’s board.  But now Comedy Central has reneged on its promise.

“Those who work at Comedy Central are cowards: to this day, they refuse to air a mere picture of the prophet Muhammad.  That’s because they know that if they do, some Muslims may kill them.  Nice lesson they’re sending the rest of us.

“The ‘Bloody Mary’ episode was written, produced and distributed by men and women who were sober and have a long track record of attacking Christians.  But it failed to hit Hollywood’s hot button.  How revealing.”

Here’s how to register a protest: tony.fox@comedycentral.com

Mel Gibson released a statement today saying, “There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark.  I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I have said….”

He continued, “The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise charity and tolerance as a way of life.  Every human being is God’s child, and if I wish to honor my God I have to honor his children.  But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite.  I am not a bigot.  Hatred of any kind goes against my faith.”  Gibson said he now wants to meet one-on-one with leaders in the Jewish community “to discern the appropriate path for healing.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:

“Mel Gibson’s apology is a model of contrition, and it reflects the genuineness of his faith.  Indeed, it stands in stark contrast to the ‘If you were offended’ type of apology that we are so accustomed to at the Catholic League.  We trust that most Jewish leaders will now do the honorable thing and work with Mel so that all wounds can heal.

“There will always be those who refuse to forgive.  They are a tragic lot.  Worse, they are the only losers.”

Some of those who have been highly critical of Mel Gibson are not without baggage themselves:

Christopher Hitchens, 7-31-06: “I was just in the middle of writing a long and tedious essay, about how to tell a real anti-Semite from a person who too loudly rejects the charge of anti-Semitism, when a near-perfect real-life example came to hand.”

·     Here is what Hitchens said on March 23, 2000, when he debated Catholic League president Bill Donohue: “I might have to admit for debate purposes that when religion is attacked in this country that the Catholic Church comes in for little more than its fair share.  I may say that I probably contributed somewhat to that and I am not ashamed of my part in it.”

Barbara Walters and Joy Behar on “The View,” 7-31-06: Walters said, “I don’t want to see any more Mel Gibson movies”; Behar added, “The world is so dangerous between what’s going on in the Middle East right now, and for this idiot to come out and say things….”

·     September 28, 2005, Donohue wrote an open letter to Walters regarding the September 22 episode wherein he accused Behar et al. for “speaking in the most disparaging way about the Catholic Church’s teachings on women, celibacy and homosexuality.”  Walters, the executive producer, looked on approvingly.

Arianna Huffington, 7-31-06: “For starters, the town’s players need to step up and publicly condemn Gibson’s vile comments.”

·     On April 14, 2005, two weeks after the death of Pope John Paul II, Huffington blasted the pope for his teachings on sexuality, saying that “in his perversion pecking order, you had to be dead-set against ‘self-love’ but when it came to buggering little kids, there was some wiggle room.”

Donohue concluded: “While Mel is deeply apologetic for his offensive remarks, these people brazenly wear their anti-Catholic bigotry on their sleeves.”