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Right, Jim. As Fournier points out in the article, he works with many evangelical protestants and this particular denomination has some strange beliefs. As you say, there are legitimate disputes among Christians concerning the papacy and its authority, and people can disagree on such matters. But when it degenerates into calumny, then it is a problem. She is going to have to explain this. If she can’t do so, she can’t be considered a viable candidate.

Ignoring something like this won’t make it go away.

She doesn't have make anything go away. Bachmann actively works on pro-life causes with Catholics like Father Frank Pavone:

http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/07/michele-bachmanns-pro-life-heart-and-credentials/

Bachmann recounted an inside story of the day Obamacare passed. “It was a Sunday, imagine that. Pelosi forced a vote to usher in taxpayer funded abortion on a Sunday.”

Bachmann recounted that her side decided if they were forced to stay for this vote, they could hold a church service.

They asked Father Frank Pavone to give the homily.

You're pretty selective in the Catholics you choose to quote here about Bachmman, aren't you?

Catholic Matt Abbott on Bachmann:

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/110604

Interestingly, Bachmann gave a talk last year at a conference organized by the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation. I didn't attend the conference, but I think it's safe to say that had she said anything even remotely anti-Catholic, the CMF wouldn't have made the audio CD of her talk available for purchase.

I asked William A. Borst, Ph.D., Catholic author and feature editor to the CMF, to comment on the Salon article. Dr. Borst replied in an email (slightly edited):

'Nowhere in the article did I find any substantive quote from Rep. Bachmann. I think it is shoddy journalism to try to create a paper trail of quotes from second-, third- and fourth-hand sources and attribute belief to their target by mere association. What may appear as exhaustive research on the surface often is nothing more than a writer desperately grasping for straws.

'To compare her [associations] to Barack Obama's relationship with the Rev. Wright is specious reasoning at best. Bachmann seems like a 'seeker' who is still searching for the religious truth. Obama spent 20 years listening to Wright's racialist rants and even had his kids baptized by this poor excuse of a minister. There is no comparison, unless apples can be confused with asparagus. So we really know even less about her views than we did before reading the article. If they give Pulitzers for misdirection, obfuscation and innuendo, Alex Pareene would be a strong contender.'