On March 4, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel; after failing to be approved for the post last year, she was renominated by the president in January. Her nomination now sits before the entire U.S. Senate.

In the minds of many, on both sides of the aisle, she is considered controversial. Our only interest is her anti-Catholic bigotry.

In 1988, Johnsen worked on a brief, United States Catholic Conference v. Abortion Rights Mobilization, that sought to strip the Catholic Church of its tax-exempt status.

Although there are legitimate reasons to oppose Johnsen, Bill Donohue wrote a letter to every member of the Senate voicing our concern. The letter contained just one question: “Are you aware that Dawn Johnsen, who will soon be voted upon by the full Senate, sought to strip the Roman Catholic Church of its tax-exempt status in 1988?”

As we went to press this issue was not yet resolved.

A bill in the Kansas House of Representatives that was initially introduced to repeal the sales tax exemption of all non-profit organizations was recently amended to target only religious non-profits. The bill, which was debated in March, sought to penalize the Catholic Church and organizations like Catholic Charities, as well as other religions and charitable groups. As we went to press, this legislation was yet to be debated.

This is the type of stunt that would be expected in states like New York, Illinois or California, not Kansas. Surely the sponsors know that in the unlikely event they succeed, the courts will strike the legislation. Not only do houses of worship and their charitable ancillary groups fulfill the express purpose of granting a tax-exempt status in the first place—servicing the common good—they cannot be singled out among non-profits in such a discriminatory manner. If it were libraries, hospitals, foundations or colleges and universities that were subject to having their tax-exempt status pulled, it would be met with great resistance. One could bet that Catholics, as well as Protestants, Jews and others, would register their outrage.

We know that due to incompetence and cowardice, Republicans and Democrats at all levels of government have created a fiscal nightmare for the American people. To think they can resolve this issue by punishing the faithful is as irresponsible as it is delusional.

We asked our members to contact Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal—who is opposed to the bill—to let him know that this legislation must be stopped.

Recently the Catholic League issued a news release regarding an incident at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) that was troubling. At issue was a remark by USAFA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michael Gould: he was upset with a wooden cross placed at the site of a pagan worship area.

We objected to Gould’s characterization that the placement of the cross was “destructive” and “different than someone writing graffiti on the Cadet Chapel.” We followed up by asking for a Congressional probe given past problems with the USAFA and the rights of Catholics on campus.

Following our news release, Bill Donohue spoke to Father Robert Bruno, the Catholic Chaplain at the Air Force Academy. He convinced Donohue that positive steps had been taken to ensure the religious liberty rights of all cadets, and that Lt. Gen. Michael Gould has played a central role in that effort. Accordingly, we called off our request for a probe and contacted Sen. James Webb, Rep. Susan Davis and other members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee asking them to discontinue their investigation.

We noted, however, that there are outside influences that are inimical to religious liberty near campus namely Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and graduate of the Academy. Weinstein called the cross at the pagan site tantamount to having a swastika in the Jewish center. With people like this closely tied with the Academy, we are making sure we continue to monitor the situation.

On the front page of the “Week in Review” section of the March 14 New York Times, there was a piece on health care titled, “Is Failure Forgivable?” Accompanying the article was a photo of President Barack Obama in rolled-up shirt sleeves with his finger pointed upwards. Superimposed in the background was an illustration that showed an illuminated cross; a halo over Obama’s head was also depicted. A small picture of the White House was shown at the bottom of the cross.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented as follows:

“Sean Hannity refers to President Obama as ‘the anointed one.’ The only difference between Hannity and the New York Times is that his characterization is meant as sarcasm. The Times actually believes it.”

This is the same newspaper that refused to run the Danish cartoon imagery of Muhammad. Nice to know that it obviously has no problem misappropriating Christian imagery to make a political point, even during Lent. What a class bunch.

On a recent edition of CNNH’s “Joy Behar Show,” homosexual activist Michelangelo Signorile said the following: “You have this pope saying that homosexuality is the end of civilization. That we have to protect the culture from homosexuality the way we have to protect the rainforest from degradation. You know, we’ve got a bishop in Guam who just said that gays are worse than the Islamic fundamentalists.” To which Behar said, “Oh, my God.”

None of what Signorile said is true. Not only has the pope never said that homosexuality is the “end of civilization,” a Lexis-Nexis search shows that he has never even used that term.

Regarding the comment on homosexuality and the rainforest, here is exactly what the pope said in December 2008: “That which has come to be expressed and understood with the term ‘gender’ effectively results in man’s self-emancipation from Creation (nature) and from the Creator. Man wants to do everything by himself and to decide always and exclusively about anything that concerns him personally. But this is to live against truth, to live against the Spirit Creator. The tropical rainforests deserve our protection, yes, but man does not deserve it less as a Creature of the Spirit himself, in whom is inscribed a message that does not mean a contradiction of human freedom but its condition.”

Nowhere is homosexuality mentioned, never mind the spin Signorile put on it.

Last October, Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron said that “Islamic fundamentalists clearly understand the damage that homosexual behavior inflicts on a culture. That is why they repress such behavior by death.” But he did not sanction such measures. Indeed, he unequivocally condemned them. “Terrorism as a way to oppose the degeneration of the culture is to be rejected completely since such violence is itself another form of degeneracy.” So Signorile again twisted what was actually said.

Common decency suggests that a retraction be made. But Signorile never offered one.

On Ash Wednesday, Fox News analyst Bob Beckel criticized Vice President Joe Biden, a Catholic, for wearing ashes on TV.

In the middle of a discussion on President Obama’s stimulus plan, Beckel gratuitously said, “Sorry about laughing, but I looked at Joe Biden’s forehead, and I know it is Ash Wednesday, but I’m not sure I would wear that ash on the air. Anyway….”

Bob Beckel’s admonishing remark made us wonder whether it is the public display of ashes he finds risible, or the religion that sports them.

In any event, we could find no instance of Beckel ever lecturing a Jew about wearing a yarmulke on TV or a Muslim wearing a turban. Must be something about Catholicism that bothers him. We’d love to know what it is. At the very least, a clarification about what he meant was in order.