In today’s edition of the ABC-TV show, “The View,” Rosie O’Donnell said that “the person who was in charge of investigating all the allegations of pedophiles in the Catholic Church from the eighties until just recently was guess who. The current pope.” She said her source was an upcoming movie, “Deliver Us from Evil.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:

“There are several objections to today’s edition of ‘The View.’ What started as a discussion on the problems facing the disgraced former congressman Mark Foley, quickly digressed into a lengthy conversation about the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Given the fact that the exchange began and ended with brief comments about Foley, it is obvious that the real target was the Catholic Church.

“According to one article on the film, it mentions that before Cardinal Ratzinger became pope, he wrote to all the bishops saying that ‘grave’ crimes such as the sexual abuse of minors ‘would be handled by his congregation….’ This is correct. He would be in charge. And when did he take command? After the scandal erupted in 2002. In other words, it is a lie to say that the pope, when cardinal, was ‘in charge of investigating all the allegations of pedophiles in the Catholic Church from the eighties until just recently.’ Indeed, it was precisely because of Cardinal Ratzinger’s no-nonsense approach that Pope John Paul II put him in charge in 2002. It was on Good Friday, March 25, 2005, a week before Pope John Paul II died, that Cardinal Ratzinger spoke about the scandal, saying, ‘How much filth there is in the church, even among those who, in the priesthood, should belong entirely’ to God.

“O’Donnell, and the other panelists, err again by talking about the ‘pedophile’ scandal in the Church: it’s been a homosexual scandal all along, as the data make painfully clear.

“We are writing to Barbara Walters, who co-owns and co-produces the show, and co-producer Bill Geddie, requesting an on-air apology for smearing the pope.”

You can reach Bill Geddie at bill.geddie@abc.com. 

The following letter was sent to NBC chief Bob Wright on Friday:

I am writing on behalf of myself and Brent Bozell, president, Parents Television Council.

We have not heard whether NBC is planning to air the Madonna concert in full, or whether the offensive “Mock Crucifixion” segment, which insults the most sacred symbol of our Christian faith, will be cut. We assume, however, that a decision not to offend Christian sensibilities will prevail. In the event we are wrong, it is only fair to notify you of what we intend to do.

If the “Mock Crucifixion” segment is not excised, we will organize a boycott of one of the sponsors. Which one is uncertain—that will be decided via a conference call the day after the show. In addition to the two of us, we will seek the support of our allies: we have many friends across several religious communities who command large activist organizations; we feel certain they would join us in this effort. While we recognize that there is no moral difference between whatever sponsor we decide to boycott and all the others, we also recognize the inutility of trying to organize a boycott against all of them. So we will target just one.

As we indicated, we do not expect to be put in the position of making this choice.

Thank you for your consideration.