Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest problems facing Mario Batali:

There is no celebrity chef more adored by elites nationwide than Mario Batali. They particularly like the way he champions women’s rights and the rights of the poor. And so far, at least, they seem untroubled by revelations that he abuses both women and the poor. Maybe that’s because they still approve of the way he called out the pope five years ago.

Mario is back in the news, this time for sexual assault. On May 20, “60 Minutes” aired a piece noting that at least 11 women have accused him of sexual misconduct; a criminal investigation is underway. Last December, revelations of sexual assault hit the media, but it had no effect on his standing with elites.

One of the stories that broke five months ago involved an encounter that Mario had in 2010, the week of the Oscars. The dinner was held at one of his restaurants in Los Angeles, hosted by the publisher of Vanity Fair. Mario showed up late and was obviously smashed.

The special events director says he said to her, “I want to see you naked in my hot tub back in the hotel.” Later, he grabbed her crotch. She said he put his hand “between my legs, up and under, so his hand went on my vagina outside my clothes. And he moved his hand backward. So, you know, under my butt.”

Mario may like to abuse women but he loves to stand up for their rights. Not surprisingly, he is a big proponent of abortion rights (most abusers tend to be that way). Indeed, in 2013 he even donated $5,000 in an abortion telethon for women’s abortions.

Mario is also an advocate of two men marrying (those who are pro-abortion are almost always pro-gay marriage). That explains why he wasn’t too happy with Pope Francis, who, while visiting the U.S. in 2015, met with Kim Davis; she is the Kentucky County clerk who refused to issue a marriage license to gay couples.

While Mario was performing a cooking demonstration at one of his New York restaurants, he called out the pope for meeting with Davis. He questioned why the Holy Father would “want to meet the one woman who wouldn’t want to give out marriage certificates to gay people?” The audience cheered.

Mario also loves the poor. He loves them so much that he and his family spent a week in 2012 eating on the equivalent of a food stamp budget. Why? They were protesting cuts in the food stamp program that were pending in the Congress. So Mario and his family ate a lot of rice and beans to show their solidarity with the poor. “Rice and beans is [sic] in my lunch every day,” the obese chef said.

The welfare of the poor, however, was not on Mario’s mind when—in the same year as his high-profile food budget stunt—he and his partner agreed to pay $5.25 million to settle their cash-skimming schemes at eight high-scale restaurants. They took 4-5 percent of the tips from employees, ripping off the busboys to pay for the sommeliers’ salaries. The money that was paid out was shared by 1,100 employees; many were forced to work more than 40 hours a week without making minimum wage.

If we knew the identity of the poor whom Mario stole from, we would probably learn that a good portion of them are illegal aliens. In all likelihood we would also learn of Mario’s public exhortations on behalf of the “undocumented.”

How different is Mario from most other high-flying liberal elites? From what we’ve learned over the past year, it appears he has plenty of company. But for right now, the top prize for hypocrisy goes to Mario Batali.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on President Trump’s proposed Title X regulations:

The federal government’s Title X Family Planning program has always been prohibited from funding “programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”

Now President Trump is proposing regulations to enforce that rule, which has been ignored by recent presidents. And the reaction of the abortion industry, led by Planned Parenthood, belies their claim that they do not use taxpayer funds for abortion.

The Trump proposal would require “a bright line of physical as well as financial separation between Title X programs and any program (or facility) where abortion is performed, supported, or referred for as a method of family planning.”

This is perfectly consistent with the 1970 law establishing Title X, which made clear that abortion is not family planning. And it is also consistent with the will of the American people: polls have repeatedly shown that most are opposed to taxpayer funding for abortion.

If, as Planned Parenthood has always claimed, they do not use federal family planning funds for abortion, they should welcome this new regulation, as it would simply assure continued funding for their non-abortion services.

Instead, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Executive Vice President, Dawn Laguens, ominously warns that “Under this rule, people will not get the health care they need. They won’t get birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, or even general women’s health exams.”

This pulls the mask off. It is Planned Parenthood admitting that all of their other services are so entangled with their abortion business that they cannot separate them, and thus cannot—or will not—prevent taxpayer funds from supporting their  abortion business.

This proves our point: funding for Planned Parenthood is fungible, and taxpayer dollars are easily used to fund abortion, directly or indirectly. That violates Title X regulations, and President Trump is right to stop it.

Pro-abortion groups are claiming that the Trump proposal would also ban counseling about abortion—what they like to call a “gag rule.” The administration, however, says the new rule would not ban counseling. It would simply lift “the current, potentially illegal mandate” that requires Title X-funded projects to “counsel and refer for abortions. “

The new regulation would also require Title X recipients to “document their compliance with state reporting laws” when they encounter victims of sexual assault, incest or rape. This is critically important. Planned Parenthood has for years resisted reporting evidence of such abuses of under-aged girls by adult men, and pro-life groups have documented their failure to do so.

The Trump administration’s proposed regulations are a welcome effort to protect women and safeguard taxpayers.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the city of Philadelphia barring a Catholic agency from its foster care services:

For over 100 years, the Catholic Church in Philadelphia has been serving children in need. Now the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been forced to sue the city for the right to continue doing so. It is a suit that must be won, for the sake of the children and the defense of religious freedom.

The city of Philadelphia—even as it issued an urgent call for 300 new foster parents—has abruptly barred Catholic Social Services (CSS) from placing children in foster homes. They have done this despite the fact that CSS is one of the top-rated foster care agencies in the city, and despite the fact that Philadelphia has more than 6,000 foster children in need of the kind of loving homes that CSS provides.

The city has barred CSS because, as a Catholic agency, it adheres to Church teaching that marriage is a sacrament reserved to one man and one woman. As such, it cannot place foster children with same-sex couples.

This does not mean that same-sex couples are prevented from becoming foster parents. Philadelphia contracts with dozens of other agencies that do place children with same-sex couples. So that is not the issue.

Rather, the issue is the use of government’s coercive powers to force the Catholic Church to either compromise its moral teachings or abandon its services to people in need. Those who depend on Catholic social services—in this case, innocent children—are only so much “collateral damage” in this war on the Church.

And make no mistake, this is but one battle in a nationwide war against the Church, its teachings, and the conscience rights of people of faith. Across the country—in Boston, San Francisco, Illinois, even in our nation’s capital—Catholic agencies have had to abandon their foster care and adoption services because they cannot place children with same-sex couples.

This underscores the need for the kind of religious exemption that Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law in Oklahoma last week. Governments, whether at the local, state or national level, must not be allowed to advance their ideological agenda by trampling on conscience rights or religious freedom; and innocent children must be protected against those who would use them as pawns in this war against religion.

The Catholic League urges all Catholics to stand with Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput in this latest battle for religious liberty.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on gay rights activists who attack Christians:

Gay rights activists have been on a collision course with traditional Catholics, evangelical Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and Mormons for some time.

All of these religious groups, and others, hold to the traditional understanding of marriage: it is the union of a man and a woman. Moreover, they believe that children need a father and a mother to serve as role models. They don’t need, nor deserve, two members of the same sex as parents.

LGBT activists disagree. That is their right. But they have no right to portray these religious persons—they include tens of millions of Americans—as bigots for simply practicing their faith.

Instead, Christians are increasingly demonized for being Christian. For example, in California there is a bill that would deny a religious exemption to those who profoundly disagree with the gay agenda on “conversion therapy.” Schools that seek a religious exemption have been called by the main sponsor of the bill “the worst of the worst in terms of institutions that discriminate.”

In Michigan, a Catholic social worker who said she could no longer provide marriage counseling to a gay couple—other counselors were made available to them—was physically intimidated and severely humiliated by her boss. That was before she was fired. To top things off, she was told to be “a social worker first, and a Catholic second.”

In Oklahoma, Governor Mary Fallin signed a law that allows a religious exemption to those social service agencies that do not agree with gays adopting children. As Fallin said, “It does not ban same-sex adoption or foster care in Oklahoma.” The Oklahoma bishops issued a statement of gratitude.

This didn’t stop the ACLU from accusing those who object to gay adoption as engaging in “religious fanaticism.” The Human Rights Campaign, a gay organization, said the law was “throwing kids under the bus.” A state gay group called it “state sanctioned hate.”

The war on religious exemptions has never been more aggressive than it is today. This explains why American Atheists, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion  Foundation all opposed the Oklahoma bill.

The notion that an employee must subordinate his religious status to his professional one is invidious. To be sure, there are legitimate workplace strictures that limit religious expression, but it is not the business of superiors to dictate to their subordinates what their master status should be.

Similarly, we have descended to a new low when terms such as “religious fanaticism” and “state sanctioned hate” are bandied about by organizations that tout the virtue of tolerance and respect for diversity.

Gay rights activists need to think through why so many millions of religious men and women do not believe it is good for society to devalue marriage and the family. That is what happens when we turn these two central institutions into a sexual smorgasbord.

Individual rights cannot always be allowed to trump what is in the best interest of society. A free society needs to be undergirded by more than just democratic institutions—it requires social stability and the wellbeing of its citizens. Those attributes are best met when the only two people who can procreate, a man and a woman, are granted the exclusive right to marry, and where the intact family of father, mother, and children is awarded a privileged position.

There are many opposing groups in society, ranging from gun control to abortion, and there is plenty of passion on both sides. But when one side demonizes the other, rational discourse cannot proceed. It is time gay activists turned down the heat and learned to respect their critics.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest development in the trial of Cardinal George Pell:

The Australian judicial system, at least as applied to Cardinal George Pell, is not comprehensible to Americans. In this country, the accused knows the identity of his accuser when charges are pressed. Pell was denied this right. In this country, the accused knows exactly what the charges against him are when they are made. Pell was denied this right.

In this country, the media have wide access to court proceedings and can report what they learn. In Australia, the media have limited rights and can be banned from reporting almost anything. In this country, the prosecuting and defense attorneys can question prospective jurors, vetoing those they consider biased. They have no such rule in the Australian state of Victoria, the venue of the Pell trial, which means the jury can easily be stacked against him. Victoria is known as a very liberal, and not Catholic-friendly, part of the country.

On May 1, the most serious charges against Pell were dismissed by the court. Following this decision, Australian reporter Andrew Bolt wrote, “All I can say is that several claims against Pell that were pushed by the media never even reached this courtroom and have been debunked.”

The latest development adds to the absurdities surrounding this case.

A Victoria County Court staff member has been fired for allegedly retrieving information about the Pell case from the court’s computer system. The prosecutors wasted no time asking the court to ban “any report of the whole or any part of these proceedings and any information derived from this proceeding and any court documents associated with this proceeding.”

This is a wild swing of the pendulum. After the media savaged Pell for years, tainting prospective jurors, prosecutors are now asking for a total gag rule.

In 2016, Bolt wrote, “There is something utterly repulsive about the media’s persecution of George Pell.” In 2017, he wrote, “The media commentary suggest there is little chance Cardinal George Pell can get a fair trial.” Amanda Vanstone, a reporter not regarded as religion-friendly, went further. “What we are seeing is no better than a lynch mob from the dark ages,” she said.

The little we know of Pell’s accusers validates the position of the Catholic League: Pell is the subject of a witch hunt. Indeed, he is the whipping boy of those seeking revenge against the Catholic Church. Yes, there were some admittedly lousy decisions made by Catholic priests and bishops in the past, but that is no excuse for plundering the rights of Cardinal Pell.

Consider the charges against Pell that were tossed and those that are extant.

One of the charges against Pell that was thrown out involves an unspecified incident that allegedly occurred 40 years ago in a theater during the screening of the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” But a cinema worker said he never saw Pell at the theater. Moreover, the movie was not shown at that theater on the date of the alleged offense.

The other charge that was made occurred sometime after the movie offense allegedly happened. But in addition to saying he was abused at a chapel, the accuser changed his mind saying the offense took place in a playground. He also said it took place on a mountain. The judge dismissed the charge saying the accuser showed a “cavalier attitude” and a “poor memory.”

What’s left? Charges that Pell abused boys in the 1970s while he was throwing them in the air in a swimming pool in front of others. One of the accusers has since died of cancer. One of the others has a record of violence, alcohol and drug abuse, and burglary. We know nothing about any other accusers.

Two men made the other charge. They said Pell made them perform oral sex on him in the 1990s after Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. One of the accusers has since died of drug abuse. Oh, yes, the mother of the boy who died said her son told her on two occasions that he was never abused by Pell.

To say that this is a travesty of justice is a gross understatement. They have put Cardinal Pell through hell. None of this is by accident.

Please keep Cardinal George Pell in your prayers.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on some glaring inconsistencies governing media coverage of bigotry:

We at the Catholic League know better than anyone how incredibly hypocritical many of today’s anti-defamation pundits, activists, and entertainers are. We see it every day. Things are said about Catholicism that would never be said about a long list of protected demographic classes. The latest example is the media coverage of Pastor Robert Jeffress who gave a prayer at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

I have called Jeffress out several times for his anti-Catholic remarks. “Much of what you see in the Catholic Church today doesn’t come from God’s word,” he said in 2010. “It comes from that cult-like pagan religion. Isn’t that the genius of Satan?” This is only a slice of his bigoted commentary on Catholicism.

Jeffress has also made disparaging remarks about Judaism, Mormonism, Islam, and Hinduism. During the past week, most of the major media outlets mentioned his anti-Jewish statements, and some cited his comments on the other religions. But few had anything to say about his anti-Catholicism.

Among the guilty are the New York Times, the Associated Press, Religion News Service, PBS, Politico, and Time. Those who fairly covered Jeffress’ litany of bigoted remarks were CNN and the Washington Post.

No media outlet was more hypocritical than Irish Central, a forum of proud Irishmen and lame Catholics. “Trump Invited Vicious anti-Catholic to Bless New US Embassy in Israel,” the headline screamed. This feigned outrage had nothing to do with protesting bigotry—it was a shot against Trump.

Jeffress’ remarks smack of ignorance, but they pale in their “viciousness” to what Dan Savage has said about Catholicism. His comments are so obscene that it is almost impossible to quote him without using asterisks in place of letters to convey his hatred. Guess who loves this bigot? Irish Central.

Savage can trash the Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, popes, cardinals, and priests—in the most vile way—and Irish Central will always stand by their man. It is Trump they hate, not anti-Catholicism.

Politics should not play a role in opposing bigotry. To intentionally defame or treat any person or group of persons unfairly should not be tolerated, and it should not depend on whose ox is being gored.

That is why the Catholic League strongly objected to the anti-Catholic comments recently ascribed to Rep. Paul Ryan’s chief of staff. Ryan is a good Catholic and a strong proponent of the rights of the unborn, but we cannot allow his good deeds to impede our mission. We are not the Catholic arm of the Republicans or the Democrats. We are happily independent of both.

Contact Irish Central chief Niall O’Dowd: niall@irishcentral.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the upcoming referendum on abortion in Ireland:

In 1983, Ireland passed the Eighth Amendment outlawing abortion in most cases. Its future will be decided in a May 25 referendum. Activists from both sides have drawn support from inside and outside the country.

One of the most controversial issues to emerge in this protracted battle over the abortion law is the funding of Amnesty International by atheist billionaire George Soros.

Ireland makes it illegal to accept all but a small amount of money from a foreign donor for political causes. Yet this hasn’t stopped Soros from giving Amnesty International $160,964 to fund its “My Body My Rights” campaign; he has also greased other pro-abortion groups in Ireland. Last year, the Standards in Public Office Commission ordered Amnesty International to give back the money to Soros’ Open Society Institute. It refused and the case is now before the courts.

Ireland’s Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, is delighted that his Health Minister is encouraging voters to legalize abortion. He also endorses the government siding with Amnesty International, even though the human rights entity has received illegal foreign donations. So much for fidelity to the law.

What has not received the attention it merits is the tortured logic of Colm O’Gorman, the executive director of Amnesty International in Ireland.

On the one hand, he calls on the state to “protect foetal welfare” by ensuring proper healthcare and nutrition for pregnant woman. On the other hand, he says “there is a terribly important distinction between protecting foetal interests and conferring a right to life on the foetus.” Interestingly, he never tells us what it is.

What on earth does fetal welfare mean if it doesn’t mean the right to develop into a full-fledged human person? It most certainly will, provided its maturation is not interrupted. Similarly, if the fetus isn’t worthy of the right to life, why should we worry about its welfare?

The dilemma that O’Gorman is faced with—acknowledging the humanity of the unborn while defending abortion—is shared by virtually all of his Irish supporters. Consider the language of the Eighth Amendment: “The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due respect to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.”

Are those who disagree with this statement prepared to say that “the life of the unborn” is a fiction, and that there was scientific evidence available in 1983 to validate that claim? If so, we would like to see it.

Are they prepared to argue that there is some new biological evidence indicating that life begins at birth? If so, we would all like to see it. If not, then they would be voting to deliberately end the life of an innocent human being.

The Irish people have a grand opportunity to affirm that life begins at conception, and that they will not listen to the likes of Amnesty International, and its shady benefactor, George Soros.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on an apology he received from a New York lawmaker:

New York State Senator Brad Hoylman called me to apologize for his anti-Catholic tweet. He did not mince words: he admitted that I was right to call him out for this, and that he regrets what he said.

It’s over. Apology accepted. I found Senator Hoylman to be sincere.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a bigoted remark made by a New York lawmaker:

Brad Hoylman, a New York State Senator, has posted an anti-Catholic tweet that cannot go unchallenged. His colleagues should condemn his bigotry without delay. In addition, he should recuse himself from voting on any measure dealing with the sexual abuse of minors.

The subject of Hoylman’s tweet is a new bill that was introduced in Albany that would provide restitution to minors who were sexually abused, regardless of where the offense took place. The funds to be distributed, $300 million, would come from state assets controlled by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

Hoylman is a sponsor of the Child Victims Act, a bill that addresses the same issue, though it would not draw on public funds. He does not support the new bill, introduced by Sen. Catherine M. Young. That is his prerogative. But he has no right to make anti-Catholic remarks. Here is his tweet:

“It’s an outrage to suggest using public money to cover for
institutions that have harbored child sex predators. Like robbing
Peter to pay John Paul II.”

Hoylman is not only engaging in bigotry, he is badly educated on this subject.

Over the last ten years, the average number of credible accusations made in the previous year against over 52,000 priests and deacons is 7.1. There is no institution in society that has a better record than the Catholic Church in stemming the sexual abuse of minors.

Regarding the public schools, is Hoylman aware of the 2004 report by professor Charol Shakeshaft, published by the U.S. Department of Education? She found rampant sexual abuse by teachers in the public schools. Does he know that in only one percent of the cases did superintendents see to it that offending teachers did not continue teaching elsewhere?

Is Hoylman aware of the 2007 study by the Associated Press, or the 2016 report by USA Today? Both concluded that nothing had changed since the Shakeshaft study. To be specific, secrecy agreements to protect abusive teachers were common; state governments had done little to correct the problem; and there was no national databank to identify and track molesting teachers.

Did Hoylman miss the news story by the Daily News that read, “NYC Public Schools See Record Number of Complaints Against Staffers”? It was published on January 6, 2016.

Does Hoylman know that in 2017 the United Federation of Teachers and the New York State United Teachers spent over $1 million lobbying against the Child Victims Act? Why would they do that, Senator?

The sexual abuse of minors is a national problem. No one institution owns it, but if there is one that is in first place, it sure isn’t the Catholic Church.

Hoylman is feeding anti-Catholicism by floating this cruel stereotype. Every demographic group has its stereotypes, but few public persons promote them. Why does Hoylman act differently?

The sooner he apologizes, the quicker he can get this stain removed from his resume. He also needs to recuse himself from voting on any bill that addresses the sexual abuse of minors.

Contact: hoylman@nysenate.gov

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a controversial message adorning a building at Columbia University:

GOD
HATES
GUNS
LOVES GAY PORN

That is the inscription—in large letters—posted on a big window on the ground floor of Columbia University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts; it is located at W. 125th Street between Broadway and 12th Avenue.

The Lenfest Center for the Arts is flagged by Columbia as “a dynamic new hub for cultural and civic exchange in Upper Manhattan.” Its goal is to “strengthen local partnerships while highlighting contemporary scholarship, global perspectives, and compelling voices of our time.”

So this is the message—”God Loves Gay Porn”—that the Ivy League school says contributes to “cultural and civic exchange” and “contemporary scholarship.” The bar doesn’t get much lower than this.

Imagine paying $60,000 a year to get an education like this? There must be a lack of street artists in that neighborhood.

Contact: arts@columbia.edu