Bill Donohue comments on the St. Paul Police Department:

For reasons that remain unexplained, the St. Paul Police Department has decided to reopen a case involving a priest from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who was accused in 2004 of having child porn on his computer. He was investigated for seven months, and when nothing was found, the case was dropped. Now it is being reopened.

The reopening of this case comes on the heels of a public plea by Commander Mary Nash asking anyone who was molested by a priest to come forward. She did not ask if someone had been abused by a rabbi, minister, school teacher, stepfather or police officer—only if it was a priest. Now she is back for a second time, making the same plea. This kind of religious profiling is legally suspect and morally unethical.

In a related matter, there is a curious news story in today’s Star Tribune that cites Commander Nash’s anger with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis regarding a priest, Curtis Wehmeyer, who pleaded guilty to sexual offenses. The story is curious because it is not news—it is simply a rehashing of a story dating back to June 2012. It is hard not to conclude that this “story” is a spin job on the part of the newspaper to make the police look good and the archdiocese look bad. No matter, it has nothing to do with the concerns of the Catholic League in 2013.

Police Chief Tom Smith will not answer questions regarding this issue, so I am going public. His department reportedly has no funds to continue its “cold case” unit—there are several unresolved murders in St. Paul—yet it has the time and money to reopen a non-homicide case against a priest. Something is wrong, and we intend to find out what it is.

To read my November 15 letter to Police Chief Smith, click here. It is being sent to the mayor, city council members and the media in St. Paul.

Contact St. Paul Police Chief Tom Smith: Tom.Smith@ci.stpaul.mn.us

Bill Donohue comments on the decisions reached by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) this week in Baltimore:

Those who have been pushing the bishops to abandon their opposition to the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate, abortion and gay marriage lost big time this week. Yesterday, the bishops voted unanimously to continue their fight against the HHS mandate.

The bishops invoked the name of Pope Francis, sending a message to those who are trying to hijack the pope’s words to pressure the bishops to abandon their cultural concerns. “Pope Francis has reminded us,” they said, that “there is only one thing which the Church quite clearly demands: the freedom to proclaim the Gospel in its entirety, even when it runs counter to the world, even when it goes against the tide.”

By electing Archbishop Joseph Kurtz as president, and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo as vice president, the bishops affirmed their commitment to religious liberty, the life of the unborn, and marriage equity.

Archbishop Kurtz took to the streets of Louisville last year protesting the HHS mandate; Cardinal DiNardo, as chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wrote letters to the U.S. senators expressing the bishops’ opposition to the mandate.

On abortion, Kurtz said yesterday that “the deliberate destruction of unborn children at their most vulnerable stage is a travesty.” In June, when Texas Sen. Wendy Davis filibustered a pro-life bill, DiNardo called on Gov. Rick Perry to call for a special session to revive the bill.

Archbishop Kurtz, previous chairman of the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Defense of Marriage, set the agenda for the bishops in opposing gay marriage. In June, Cardinal DiNardo called the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing gay marriage a “grave injustice.”

Kudos to the USCCB for affirming tradition and holding the line.

Bill Donohue comments on the election of the new president and vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB):

The influence of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who ably led the USCCB for the past three years, is not over: his commanding presence helped to shape the selection of Archbishop Joseph Kurtz as the new president, and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo as the new vice president. The “Dolan Effect” was palpable, and will be felt for years.

It is plain for everyone to see that the bishops will not walk away from the fight for religious liberty, a battle thrust upon them by the Obama administration. They must also deal with the effects of public policy decisions that have done more to punish the poor, and promote inequality, than any previous administration. But with the leadership of Archbishop Kurtz, and Cardinal DiNardo, the ratification of the “Dolan Effect” is assured, and so, too, is progress. This bodes well for everyone.

Bill Donohue comments on our anti-priest culture:

Two stories in the news today make it clear that no Catholic priest is safe. Anyone can accuse a priest of molestation, no matter how long ago, and get away with it.

Father John P. Paul has stepped down as pastor of Our Lady of Calvary in Philadelphia. He resigned because of the emotional stress he has been under. In all his years as a priest, he has never had an accusation made against him (he was ordained in 1972). But now, out of the blue, he is being charged with abusing two boys in 1968, when he was a seminarian. It’s funny how both of these alleged victims decided to wait 45 years to make their case—in tandem, no less.

The police were contacted but the case was dropped because the statute of limitations had expired. But Father Paul is still being investigated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Had Father Paul been Mr. Paul, a public school teacher, and he was accused of violating a minor at the end of the school year last June, the statute of limitations would have expired (accusers have 90 days to file charges against public school teachers). Moreover, no one would be investigating him. But when it comes to Father Paul, even though the alleged abuse happened in the year Rev. Martin Luther King and Sen. Bobby Kennedy were shot, it’s not too late to get him. It’s never too late to get a priest.

Last week in Chicago, a 73-year-old priest was shaken down for money by the same two con-artist brothers who had hustled him before. This time the priest said no. “We’ll say you touched us—read the paper—they’ll believe us,” they said. Sadly, it’s true. Thanks to our anti-priest culture, fueled by the likes of Bill Maher, every priest is considered suspect. None are safe.

Please keep Father Paul in your prayers.

Bill Donohue comments on a remark made by Chelsea Handler on the November 8 episode of “Chelsea Lately”:

Speaking of the inclusion of Pope Francis on the Forbes list of the most powerful people in the world, Chelsea Handler said, “So, and the new pope is on the list. That’s interesting since he’s never had penetration. How can he be that powerful?”

Any woman who goes on TV to laugh about an abortion she once had, as Handler did with Conan O’Brien, is capable of taking an obscene shot at the pope. But it doesn’t make her gratuitous quip any less offensive.

Contact the E! PR director, John Rizzotti: John.Rizzotti@nbcuni.com

Bill Donohue comments on the suspension of Father Michael Kolodziej:

Father Michael Kolodziej, a former Minister Provincial of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, has been suspended from all public ministry by the Franciscans. Furthermore, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has withdrawn his faculties so that he can no longer serve as a priest.

Sounds as if the priest must have been convicted of something serious. In fact, Father Kolodziej has not been found guilty of anything. His accuser says he was abused by the priest while they were wrestling at Baltimore’s Archbishop Curley High School in the mid-to-late 1970s. That’s it.

This is insanity. Priests evidently have no rights. To top things off, the Order has posted an 800 number asking anyone else who was abused by the priest to come forward. No other organization, religious or secular, acts this way. By the way, Father Kolodziej, who is 69, has never had an accusation made against him until now.

This is another sad chapter in the way priests are being treated. Priests involved in a contact sport in front of spectators can be accused of groping a wrestler several decades ago and be treated as if he were guilty. This isn’t Christian—it’s an abomination. It’s also the worst possible advertisement to young men contemplating the priesthood.

To read an astute article on this subject that was published November 6, see “Priests ‘Credibly’ Accused?” by Father Thomas Guarino, professor of Systematic Theology at Seton Hall University; click here.

Bill Donohue comments on amendments to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA):

The Catholic League raised serious questions about the consequences of ENDA in 2007, and while some aspects of the bill have improved, efforts to strengthen the religious liberty exemptions are badly needed. Senators Rob Portman and Kelly Ayotte have introduced an amendment that would prohibit federal, state and local governments from seeking reprisals against religious groups that are exempt from the law. Senator Pat Toomey wants to expand the number of groups that would qualify for an exemption. Both deserve to be passed.

Workplace discrimination against those who are not heterosexual has decreased markedly, calling into question which organizations the advocates for ENDA want to blanket. Sexual orientation, unlike race or gender, is inseparable from behavioral issues, thus drawing the attention of religious organizations. If the proponents of ENDA are sincere in their stated objective not to unfairly burden churches and religious groups, then locking in the exemptions already provided should not act as a deterrent to their support.

Americans have seen what happens when activist judges get their hands on religious liberty cases. This is all the more reason to support the amendments by Senators Portman, Ayotte and Toomey.

Bill Donohue comments on the November 1 edition of “Real Time with Bill Maher” on HBO:

When a young boy recently sat in Pope Francis’ chair, and the Holy Father welcomed him, the response was universally acclaimed. Well, not quite.

Bill Maher is different: he hates Catholicism with a passion, and that is why he showed a picture of the pope with his hand on the boy’s head, saying, “No, Pope Francis, I thought you were different.” Everyone in the audience knew that he was saying the pope is a child rapist, and that’s because every week Maher portrays priests as molesters.

The man needs help.

Contact HBO executive producer Nancy Geller: nancy.geller@hbo.com