Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on what happened last week in Providence, Rhode Island:

On January 25, Thomas Tobin, the Bishop of Providence, decided to reach out to “Occupy Providence” by allowing the homeless to seek shelter in Catholic churches; the city had turned down a request by the group to set up daytime shelters. The next day, “Occupy Providence” activists showed their gratitude by crashing a pro-life rally, shouting down a speaker, stopping a priest from offering a closing prayer, and throwing condoms at Catholic schoolgirls. In short, these left-wing activists have turned into urban bullies who need to be stopped.

To say that Catholic bashing is in vogue is an understatement. From President Obama who is seeking to intimidate Catholic institutions by forcing them to prostitute their moral convictions, to “Occupy” maniacs who respond to goodwill by engaging in thuggery, it is open season on Catholics. We will do what we can to constructively channel the anger, which is palpable.

Contact “Occupy Providence” official Susan Beaty: beaty.susan@gmail.com

 Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the death of Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua and news reports on his passing:

I had many opportunities to be in the company of Cardinal Bevilacqua, and each time I found him to be a bright, amiable and committed son of the Catholic Church. His sense of humor was infectious.

Much of today’s commentaries about Cardinal Bevilacqua are unfair. Let’s begin with the Catholic News Service. Never once in the article, “Cardinal Bevilacqua, Retired Philadelphia Archbishop, Dies at Age 88,” does it mention that he was never indicted for any alleged infraction. Oh, they tried.

In 2005, the local District Attorney, Lynne Abraham, smeared Bevilacqua in public with a grand jury report, but came up empty: she knew from the get-go that nothing could be done because of this “civil liberties technicality” called the statute of limitations. Moreover, in the grand jury report of 2001, it said that the grand jury was charged with investigating “the sexual abuse of minors by individuals associated with religious organizations and denominations.” But Abraham ignored this charge and focused exclusively on the Catholic Church. I wrote to her on March 31, 2011 asking her to explain which “religious organizations and denominations” she investigated besides the Roman Catholic Church. She refused to respond.

In 2011, another grand jury decided not to press charges against Cardinal Bevilacqua because they didn’t have the evidence needed to convict.

Anyone who would like to read an accurate account of what happened should read the piece by Peter Loftus in the online edition of today’s Wall Street Journal [click here to read it].

The presiding judge in the trial of two Catholic priests from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia expressed dissatisfaction yesterday with the following question for prospective jurors: “Do you believe child sex abuse is a widespread problem in the Catholic Church?” Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said, “Anybody that doesn’t think there is widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is living on another planet.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responds as follows:

Judge Sarmina should step down immediately. Her remark, whether based on ignorance or bias, demonstrates her inability to preside over any trial concerning allegations of priestly sexual abuse.

Judge Sarmina’s use of the present tense shows she is unfit to rule. Between 2005 and 2010, the average number of new credible allegations made against over 40,000 priests in the United States was 8.3. How does this compare to other religions? Well, in one borough of New York City, Brooklyn, there have been 85 arrests of Orthodox Jews in the last two years (most of whom are rabbis) for sexually molesting minors. So who has the problem today, Judge Sarmina? Perhaps she should acquaint herself with what is going on in the public schools: as the AP reported in a major investigation in 2007, sexual abuse is rampant.

Almost all the problem with priestly sexual abuse occurred between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s. In other words, the scandal ended a quarter century ago! Are there news stories of a more recent vintage? Yes, but they are not recent cases. The John Jay College of Criminal Justice report last year said, “The most common time period for allegations reported in 2010 was 1970-1974.” Moreover, as Penn State professor Philip Jenkins said in 2010, “Out of 100,000 priests active in the U.S. in this half-century, a cadre of just 149 individuals—one priest out of every 750—accounted for over a quarter of all the allegations of clergy abuse.” In short, there is no widespread problem today.

My findings are published in the quarterly academic journal, Culture & Civilization, Vol. 4, 2012.