The April edition of Rush Limbaugh’s The Limbaugh Letter features the radio talk-show host’s interview with Bill Donohue. To read it click here.

Bill Donohue comments on the data published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that were collected by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA):

The annual report by CARA on sexual abuse allegations confirms what we have known for a long time: the Church is largely free of this problem.

A total of ten credible accusations were made against priests or deacons involving minors in 2013. As usual, 8 in 10 involved male-on-male sex. As usual, the most common time period for allegations reported in 2013—including all years, past or present—was the first half of the 1970s.

Homosexuality was implicated once again, though political correctness inhibits an honest discussion. To be explicit, most of the male-on-male sex involved postpubescent boys. Regarding the timeline, it is hardly surprising that the 1970s proved (once again) to be the most common period when the alleged abuse occurred. Though the ideological roots of the sexual revolution are traceable to the 1960s, its rotten fruit was not reaped until the 1970s.

It was not the Catholic Church’s teachings on sexuality, which stresses the virtue of restraint, that brought about the sexual revolution; rather, it was the frontal assault on that virtue that gave birth to this mess. Yet those responsible, many of whom are intellectuals, continue to dodge responsibility for their destructive contribution to American culture.

In the past five years, there has been an average of 7.6 credible accusations made annually against roughly 40,000 priests. There is no institution in the nation that can even come close to that proportion. But don’t look for the media to report on this; it gets in the way of its contrived narrative. And don’t look for Bill Maher to start going after other segments of the population where this problem is exploding. No, his pathological hatred of all things Catholic will not allow it.                   

Bill Donohue issued the following statement today:

Former President Jimmy Carter made the rounds on CNN over the weekend, championing women’s rights and criticizing the Catholic Church. Perhaps some gutsy reporter will ask him about his own record (click here for the sources we used).

Carter has been a volunteer and supporter for Habitat for Humanity since 1984. Habitat was founded by Millard Fuller in 1976. In April 1991, Fuller was forced to resign as president. Why? He was accused of sexually harassing five female employees. He was accused of hugging, kissing them on the mouth, touching their buttocks, and making inappropriate comments. He ultimately apologized to them.

When Carter learned of the accusations in 1990, he wrote a letter to the Habitat board arguing that a “national scandal” would ensue if Fuller was fired. “Without minimizing in any way the significance of what has happened at Habitat, let me say quite frankly that I have had some similar kinds of relationships with some of my own female employees and associates. If one ever complained officially, there could be an avalanche of similar charges.”

After Fuller was forced out, Carter issued a statement expressing his “disappointment” with his resignation; he wasn’t happy with the board’s decision. Indeed, he branded the ruling “disturbing.” Carter admitted that Fuller had “made some mistakes,” but he encouraged the board to find a role for him. In June 1991, only two months after the board canned Fuller, it voted to reinstate him as president.

In January 2005, Fuller was fired by the board for touching a female employee while in a car, and for making suggestive comments to her. Carter twice tried to broker an agreement that would keep the accusation quiet and allow Fuller to retire honorably.

In short, Carter has his own baggage when it comes to women’s rights. He is therefore not in a position to lecture the Catholic Church about its Scripture-based teaching on ordination. If he needs to mend his reputation as a failed president, he ought to choose another subject, and another target, for discussion.