Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on attempts to smear Chicago Archbishop Francis Cardinal George and Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Cardinal Mahony:

“As reported today in the Chicago Tribune, Mary Gail Frawley-O’Dea, a psychologist who was chosen to address the bishops in 2002, sent Cardinal George a letter saying he might be considered ‘an accessory to soul murder’ because he didn’t act quickly enough to remove an accused priest, Rev. Daniel McCormack, from ministry.

“The best summary of the case of Father McCormack is a Chicago Tribune editorial of February 23.  Without giving the Chicago Archdiocese a pass, it focuses on the handling of this matter by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).  This agency investigated Father McCormack and, unlike the police and the Cook County prosecutors who found no credible allegations against the priest, DCFS did.  But it never notified the archdiocese or the school where McCormack worked that it was investigating him, and even after it concluded that he may be guilty, it still said nothing!  Is O’Dea aware of this?  Does she care?  This case, which is complicated—and for which Cardinal George has issued an apology for not acting quicker to remove the priest—is one which would never lead any fair-minded person to charge the Chicago Archbishop with being ‘an accessory to soul murder.’

“Cardinal Mahony recently made some controversial remarks about pending immigration legislation, and has been roundly criticized in some quarters for doing so.  It was this subject that led KABC talk-show host Doug McIntyre to explode yesterday, calling Cardinal Roger M. Mahony a ‘molester’: he said the ‘M stands for molester.’  Cardinal Mahony should sue McIntyre for libel.

“There is nothing bigoted about criticizing any priest, including the pope.  But what O’Dea and McIntyre have done isn’t criticism—it’s hate speech.”

On February 28, J.J. Toland, communications manager for Vermont’s Sugarbush Resort, sent an e-mail to his mailing list that offended many Catholics. Titled “March Snow is on the Way,” Toland’s letter ended with remarks about current skiing conditions, things to do, etc. But it opened with the following two paragraphs:

There are a lot of downsides to attending Catholic school. For starters, there’s a dress code. Being made to wear a tie with a shirt whose top button creates a hermetic seal around the wearer’s neck is the equivalent of water boarding to a teenager. Secondly, there is the discipline. Slights to authority, real or perceived, were not met with anything as passé as a ruler to the wrist. (The Augustinian Order prides itself on creativity.) Rather, punishments skewed to the psychological. Evildoers were often made to write out in reverse entire textbook chapters or gawk at an analog clock for hours on end. (If you think your life is moving too fast, just try staring at a sweep hand for two hours.)

But the most chafing of all torments was their masochistic use of biblically inspired maxims. Try denying a crime? You got, “A leopard cannot change its spots.” “Bomb a test?” “Don’t you know knowledge is power,” was hissed as the paper was spiked down football-like on your desk. The most excruciating platitude, however, was the one that was taunted during the clock-staring showdowns. “Good things come to those who wait, Mr. Toland. And wait you will.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed this issue as follows:

“At one level, this kind of screed may be dismissed as juvenile scribble. But what makes it offensive is a) its wholly gratuitous nature and b) the fact that a noted business establishment would post these remarks in an e-mail. In any event, we are contacting the owners of Sugarbush Resort, the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce (listed as a ‘Friend’ of the company), the six members of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Staff, the Diocese of Burlington and many media outlets in Vermont. We believe in free advertisement.”

A “Statement of Principles” has been released by 55 Catholic Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Commenting on this statement is Catholic League president William Donohue:

“The House Catholic Democrats who signed this statement—and 17 of them did not—are trying to convince the public, and especially Catholics, that one can be a good Catholic and differ with the Catholic Church on abortion.  They agree with the Church about the ‘undesirability of abortion,’ adding that ‘we do not celebrate its practice.’  What gives them pause is not explained, but one thing is certain: there is not a word in the statement that commits these Catholics to work towards a change in the Democratic Party’s Platform on abortion.  Thus, even the barbaric practice of  partial-birth abortion is not so undesirable that it must be opposed.

“The statement is driven by fear.  The fear is the Abortion Albatross that is literally strangling them from getting their message out.  Recall that in 2004, 48 Catholic members of Congress—all Democrats—signed a letter to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington warning him that if some bishops were to deny Communion to abortion-rights advocates it would ‘revive latent anti-Catholic prejudice, which so many of us have worked so hard to overcome.’  Funny we never recall one of them joining with us to denounce the incestuous relationship that existed for years between the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Catholics for a Free Choice, a notoriously anti-Catholic front group: a link with the bigoted group was posted on the DNC’s website for years.

“Perhaps the most convincing evidence that this statement is a sham is the fact that Rep. Rosa DeLauro is the point person for this effort.  There has never been an abortion she couldn’t justify, including the killing of an innocent child who is 80-percent born.  Indeed, she previously served as the executive director of EMILY’s List, the richest pro-abortion organization in the country.  So with her at the helm, the ‘Statement of Principle’ is nothing more than a ‘Statement of Politics.’  Thus, the Abortion Albatross remains securely in place.”