COMEDIANS BARE THE TRUTH ON SEXUAL ABUSE

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

For years, the Catholic League has maintained that priests accused of sexual abuse are treated differently than any other segment of the population. This is especially true when the abuser is a celebrity. Last night, a comedian on “Chelsea Lately,” Joe Matarese, made exactly this point, however unwittingly.

Matarese mentioned Michael Jackson and his Neverland Ranch, saying, “I’m like, didn’t he maybe molest a couple of kids?” He then berated the audience for forgetting about what Jackson did, offering as a parting thought, “you know, maybe if a Catholic priest could moonwalk better….” He’s right: if abusing priests were entertainers, they would be treated as heroes.

Even comedians who viciously attack the Catholic Church on this matter know what the truth is. Jay Leno, for instance, has relentlessly attacked all priests as pedophiles, yet even he knows that pedophilia is not the problem. Homosexuality is. Here’s an example, taken from his monologue of February 4, 2011: “A Palm Beach priest has admitted to a violation of chastity with an adult woman. When the Vatican heard about this, they said, ‘A woman? Thank God.'” The implication, of course, is that most priestly predators have been homosexuals. Which, of course, is true.

This is noteworthy because comedians often succeed because they go against the grain, and in this case, they are going against the grain of political correctness. Every honest person knows that it is the teachings of the Catholic Church on sexuality that is the subtext for the attacks on priestly sexual abuse, and that the real damage has come at the hands of homosexuals. It’s time the pundits owned up, as well.

MACY’S OFFENDS CATHOLICS

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on how Macy’s department store is offending Catholics:

Why Macy’s would want to pick a fight with Catholics during the Lenten season is not known, but that it has is certain. Here’s the background.

This weekend, Showtime will begin airing a series, “The Borgias,” a corrupt Spanish family, one of whose members became pope. Everyone, including devout Catholics, agrees this is a sordid story in Catholic history. That Macy’s has chosen to celebrate this ugly chapter is another matter altogether.
On the 7th Avenue side of the Macy’s Herald Square store (between 34th and 35th Street), there is a large window display of manikins dressed as the pope, bishops, et al. In plain letters it says, “The Borgias: The Original Crime Family”; it advertises the season premiere, with the Showtime logo off to the side. To see a picture of it, click here.

On Tuesday, Catholic League vice president Bernadette Brady called one of Macy’s media managers, Alyssa Bendetson, registering our concerns, as well as those of our members who contacted us; she was also sent a copy of our release from March 18 on the series. She pledged to get back to us with a response. It is now obvious that Macy’s is taking this matter lightly.

The series was written by an atheist who hates the Catholic Church, Neil Jordan. Macy’s knows this. We are approaching the heart of the Easter season, yet Macy’s has decided that offending Catholics is worth the risk. We’ll see.

Contact Bendetson’s boss, VP Elina Kazan: elina.kazan@macys.com

RELIGIOUS REALITY CHECK

Catholic League president Bill Donohue offers a religious reality check based on some news items from today:

Bart Ehrman doesn’t believe in God, which is why he is just the right guy to teach religion at the University of North Carolina. It’s not as though he is uninterested in religion—he likes to study the Bible, it’s just that he doesn’t believe it to be the inspired word of God. Above all, he wants us to view the Bible with great skepticism. But not his writings—we should all swallow his dogmatic convictions. His latest book contends that large parts of the Bible are a forgery, though he does not say who the cheaters are. Unfortunately for Bart, it was just reported that Biblical scholars believe they have uncovered a collection of ancient texts in a Jordanian cave that may constitute the earliest Christian writings.

Patrick S. Cheng is a seminary professor who also needs a reality check. His brilliance shines in the Huffington Post: he argues that “Christianity is queer because radical love lies at the heart of both Christianity and the queer experience.” Perhaps he should read Leviticus.

Fr. Roy Bourgeois has had three years to recant his opposition to the Catholic Church’s teachings on criteria for the priesthood. If he doesn’t do so in 15 days, the Maryknolls will be forced to kick him out. This will no doubt please him, which is why there will be no reality check.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act supposedly protects more than just Indians, but not according to a 10th Circuit Court ruling. They say unless a believer belongs to a government-designated tribe, he can be prosecuted for possessing eagle feathers. Looks like this court could use a reality check. And how do they prove who is an Indian?

If a Christian or Jewish teacher needs a day or two off for religious observance, the request is granted under the legal banner of religious accommodation. If one of these teachers were so bold as to ask for three weeks off—right before final exams—it would be denied. But a Muslim woman made exactly this request. She was denied, sued, and now has the backing of the Obama administration. They all need a reality check.

NEWS FLASH: PRIESTS HAVE RIGHTS

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on recent attacks on the rights of priests:

In an editorial that is pure boilerplate, the Seattle Times said yesterday that 37 priests in the Philadelphia archdiocese have been allowed to continue in ministry despite a finding of sexual misconduct by a grand jury. But the grand jury did not find anyone guilty—that’s not what they are empowered to do! Moreover, all of the accused were initially investigated and 24 have been suspended on a second look; most of the others have been found innocent or have left ministry. Most important, if mere accusations—not substantiated ones—are the new bar for contacting the authorities, then this should apply to all institutions.

Archbishop Dolan, who leads the bishops’ conference, reaffirmed last week the “resolve to deal firmly” with offending clerics. For this he was condemned by a wildly unreliable blog, the National Survivor Advocates Coalition, for engaging in a “shellgame.” Another website, BishopAccountability.org, took aim at the Bridgeport archdiocese for not listing the names of “accused priests”—not “credibly accused priests”—as if that were somehow unusual. SNAP, the professional victims’ group, expressed anger at the Philly archdiocese for doing what it is entitled to do—pay the fees of an accused cleric.

It is not just the secular media who are doing this. A Catholic dissident newspaper, the National Catholic Reporter, ripped into Archbishop Dolan for his remarks on “60 Minutes.” Dolan correctly said that the scandal is “over with”—most of the abuse took place between the mid-60s and the mid-80s (recent stories are about decades-old cases)—and for this he was treated with scorn by Jamie L. Manson. Unhappy with the Church’s teachings on sexual ethics, she spoke derisively and disrespectfully of the archbishop. Here’s the real problem: this newspaper wins annual awards from the Catholic Press Association, and the author was showered with an award from the same group last year.

*We regret that we confused the Catholic News Service with the Catholic Press Association in an earlier statement.

BOYS LIKE “BOOK OF MORMON”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the way critics are receiving the new Broadway musical, “The Book of Mormon”:

When Trey Parker and Matt Stone die, the obit page should label them as talented yet cowardly artists. After all, as Terry Teachout in the Wall Street Journal says, it takes no guts to bash Mormons on Broadway. Real men would rip Muslims. But the creators of “South Park” have already proven they aren’t men. They’re boys. And that is who this scatological exercise appeals to.

The critics, of course, adore the musical. The New York Daily News and the New York Post are supposed to be competitors, but their play critics have the same sense of humor: they both like the part where “a giant middle finger to God” appears. The Los Angeles Times chuckles over a scene featuring genital mutilation of African women. AP loves the “running joke” about a man who has “maggots in his scrotum.” And Andrew Sullivan gets a big kick out of the part where they twist a Mormon teaching to read, “F**k You God in The C**t.”

Real men would admit they love bashing Mormons. But the critics are also mere boys. Sullivan praises the musical for its “humaneness.” The Los Angeles Times boasts of its “good intentions.” AP calls it a “pro-religion musical.” Newsday writes that it “seems smitten” to “do good.”

The reaction of homosexual reviewers is always fun to read. Sullivan justifies the Mormon bashing by saying we should judge “Mormonism by Mormons.” Ben Brantley of the New York Times is hot over the scene where there are a “few choice words for the God who let them [AIDS victims] wind up this way.” But if we were to judge homosexuals by what they do, we would know who caused them to wind up with AIDS. That would take real guts.

As Teachout observes, this production is made for “12-year-old boys who have yet to graduate from fart jokes to ‘Glee.'” It should do well.

SOUTH DAKOTA: MODEL FOR REDUCING ABORTIONS

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

For the past few years, the pro-abortion community has inexplicably said they support “abortion reduction” efforts (it is not clear why they would want to reduce the rates of a procedure they say is non-lethal). In any event, they should now be supporting what is going on in South Dakota (somehow, we believe they will side with Planned Parenthood, which is filing suit against the state).

Yesterday, the governor signed a law in South Dakota to require women who want an abortion to first learn what assistance is available to them in the event they decide to keep their babies; a waiting period of three days after the initial visit with an abortionist was also approved. In a New York Times article today, it notes that this is happening in a state “despite an abortion rate that is among the lowest in the nation.” Which made me wonder: Which states have the highest, and the lowest, rates of abortion? Also, what accounts for the disparity? That is why I repaired to the data on these subjects collected by the Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood.

The states with the five highest rates of abortion (1-5) are: New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and Connecticut. Those with the five lowest rates (46-50) are: North Dakota, Nebraska, Kentucky, Utah and South Dakota. None of the five with the highest rates has a waiting period, and none offer written material on the procedure, including fetal development throughout pregnancy. All of those with the five lowest rates require a 24-hour waiting period (now 72 in South Dakota), and all offer written material, including information on fetal development through term. Moreover, Utah and South Dakota also offer information on the ability of the baby to experience pain when he or she is being killed.

If the high abortion states are to mimic success, they will have to abandon their policy of keeping women ignorant. If these liberal states are to be truly pro-choice, they will have to start allowing women to make real choices. Their resistance to informed consent must end.

CATHOLIC VIEWS ON GAY MARRIAGE

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a new survey of Catholics by the Public Religion Research Institute:

Do Catholics support homosexual marriage? It depends on how Catholic they are. Those who attend a few times a year think it’s fine (59 percent); those who attend once or twice a month are mostly opposed (only 43 percent support it); and those who attend weekly or more are not big fans of two guys getting married (26 percent). In other words, there is a positive correlation between Mass attendance and adherence to the Church’s teachings.

This makes perfect sense: Catholics who are Catholic in name only can be expected to entertain a secular vision of morality, i.e., one that prizes radical autonomy. Those who are serious about their religion look to more authoritative sources for guidance.

It was also disclosed in the survey that when Catholics are compared to other church-goers, they are “significantly less likely to hear about the issue of homosexuality from their clergy.” Indeed, as a practicing Catholic, I never once heard a homily on homosexuality; even passing references have been few.

A recent ABC News and Washington Post poll disclosed that, for the first time, the majority of Americans favor homosexual marriage (53 percent). It should be kept in mind, however, that public opinion polls are not an accurate barometer of serious public sentiment: there have been more than 30 state initiatives on this subject, and never once have voters elected to support same-sex marriage.

PRIESTS AND NUNS MOCKED ON “LOPEZ TONIGHT”

On last night’s episode of “Lopez Tonight” a skit was performed featuring a priest who ran a religious-themed strip club, “Bad Habits.” Among the dancers were two nuns in full habit and an altar boy.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed this show today:

This isn’t the first time George Lopez has gone after the Catholic clergy—last September he maligned gay priests on two occasions for the sexual abuse of minors. However, this time was different: he decided to throw nuns and altar boys into the mix.

The nuns (dressed in full habit, of course) were paraded out prancing around on stage and dancing suggestively; one of them even gave an audience member a lap dance. While watching the nuns dance, the priest announced to the audience that one of the nuns was making him reconsider his vow of celibacy. Is this juvenile display considered humor nowadays?

Of course Lopez couldn’t just mock nuns; he had to throw in an altar boy. The altar boy entered the stage and removed his garments to reveal his scantily-clad body. This is the type of thing you could expect to hear in an 8th grade class room.

That a rabbi was featured as one of the dancers matters not. He was sandwiched between two stripping nuns and an altar boy at a club run by a priest. I think it’s pretty clear who Lopez was gunning for.

Lopez’s humor is more than inane—it is one more example of a comedian who wants to push the envelope at the expense of Catholics.

Contact Diane Herzog, the PR person for the show: diane.herzog@turner.com

VATICAN AND U.S. DIFFER ON GAY RIGHTS

In Geneva, representatives from the Holy See and the United States differed today on the need for a declaration protecting homosexual rights. The Obama administration introduced a declaration that pledged to end discrimination against homosexuals around the world. But a Vatican spokesman at the U.N. Human Rights Council noted that the language of the statement is problematic.

Commenting is Catholic League president Bill Donohue:

In December 2008, the outgoing Bush administration opposed a French resolution at the U.N. General Assembly on the issue of homosexual rights because it feared that the loosely worded document might make it difficult for American states to reject gay marriage. The Holy See concurred saying that terms like “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” were contentious because they “find no recognition or clear and agreed definition in international law.” Thus, they would ineluctably create “uncertainty in the law.” Now the Obama administration has chosen to adopt the identical terms in its declaration.

The Holy See said in 2008 that it welcomed attempts “to condemn all forms of violence against homosexual persons as well as urge States to take necessary measures to put an end to all criminal penalties against them.” And just today, a Vatican official said that “A state should never punish a person or deprive a person of the enjoyment of any human right based on the person’s feelings.” But he hastened to add that behavior is different, meaning that “certain kinds of sexual behaviors must be forbidden by law.” He offered by way of example pedophilia and incest.

The ultimate difference between the Obama administration and the Vatican lay in their respective approaches to homosexual marriage: the American government has repeatedly shown no interest supporting efforts to maintain the traditional understanding of marriage. At stake is the right of nations which reject homosexual marriage to maintain their standards without undue pressure from those which embrace it. And that is exactly what will happen if overly broad language is adopted.

PELOSI LIES ABOUT CATHOLIC SUPPORT

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on remarks made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today:

Last year, when Nancy Pelosi went to see the pope, she was denied the opportunity to exploit him: photographers were not invited into the room for the typical photo session. Instead, Pope Benedict XVI reminded her of the duties expected of public Catholics. But her determination to play the Catholic card—oh, so selectively—rebounded again when she informed the media that today is the feast of St. Joseph, a special day of prayer for workers, and especially Italians. She apparently stopped short of blessing herself, though she didn’t stop short of invoking St. Joseph’s name in support of the health care bill. Separation of church and state fanatics who suffered apoplexy whenever George W. Bush dropped the Lord’s name are not expected to take to the streets.

Then Pelosi lied. She said she is grateful for the support of 60 orders of nuns, not mentioning that the letter she received had a whopping total of 55 signatories. Worse, she had the gall to say that this represents “every order you can think of.” Wrong. In fact, there are 793 religious communities, which means she heard from seven-and-a-half percent of them. Moreover, since there are approximately 65,000 nuns in the U.S., that means she was contacted by .0008 percent of them.

In other words, not only are the bishops formally opposed to the bill she champions, it’s a lie to maintain that the nuns are on her side. Shameless is too kind a word to use to describe what Pelosi did today.