Free Republic

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on new survey data profiling Catholicism:All we ever hear from the wild-eyed critics of the Catholic Church, including the dissidents within, is that the Church had better "get with it" and change its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and women's ordination. Yet it is precisely those religious institutions that are the most liberal on these issues—the mainline Protestant denominations—that are collapsing. Not so the Catholic Church. Indeed, its numbers are going north while the mainline denominations are going south.The latest findings by the "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership" project, a collaborative effort with Georgetown University's...

Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue indicated on Wednesday that the business group was looking past Congress and focusing more on federal regulators now that the election’s over. Donohue, during an address to members this morning, cited the threat of a “regulatory tsunami” as “the biggest single threat to job creation.” He claimed that the EPA is advancing 29 proposed major rules and the Labor Department was pushing “at least 100 regulations and policy changes.” The new financial regulatory overhaul has 320 required rule makings, and ObamaCare creates 183 “agencies, commissions and panels.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments today on the front-page article in today's New York Times about priestly sexual abuse: Media requests to deal with this subject make it difficult to provide an adequate response to today's article by Laurie Goodstein. But the time has come to ask some serious questions about why the Times is working overtime with wholly discredited lawyers to uncover dirt in the Catholic Church that occurred a half-century ago. Those questions will be raised in an ad I am writing that will be published in next Tuesday's New York Times; a rejoinder to the article...

A photo of a Nativity Scene the Catholic League erected in New York’s Central Park in December 2009. (Photo courtesy of Catholic League) (CNSNews.com) – The New York City-based Catholic League has erected a life-size Nativity scene at the heart of New York’s Central Park, hoping the display will remind Christians in other cities that such displays are legal.   Placed at the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, the Nativity stands prominently in front of the world’s largest menorah – the eight-armed candelabra used to mark the eight days of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.   First...

Joanna Krupa, the Polish model on the cover of this month's Playboy magazine has released a statement countering critics of her recent advertisement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in which she professes herself to be a practicing Catholic who is “working to stop senseless suffering of animals, the most defenseless of God's creation.” Krupa's comments came in response to statements made by Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, in reaction to Krupa's most recent ad campaign with PETA: “Be an angel for animals. Always Adopt. Never Buy.” One of the ads features Krupa wearing angel...

Statistics released Nov. 24 by the FBI show hate crimes against religious groups increased by 9% from 2007 to 2008.USA Today reported that in 2008, there 1,519 incidents against people based on their religion, the statistics show.The figures reveal that while anti-Jewish attacks made up the highest percentage of the attacks (17%), there was an increase in hate crimes against Catholics — 75, up from 61 in 2007.Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said the increase may be due to the Church becoming more vocal on life issues such as abortion and homosexual unions.As...

GAY ACTIVISTS BULLY D.C. PRIESTS November 20, 2009Catholic League president Bill Donohue addresses a serious issue involving gay activists in the District of Columbia:A new homosexual website, ChurchOuting.org, is intent on publicly disclosing who the gay priests are in the Archdiocese of Washington. The goal of this outing is to intimidate gay priests, as well as heterosexual priests who may be “romantically involved,” into voicing objections to the Catholic Church’s opposition to gay marriage. This initiative is the work of Phil Attey, self-described as “Liberal-Gay-Ardent Obama Supporter”; he was active in the Obama Pride Metro-DC campaign. According to one...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows: Getting Nancy Pelosi to accept a health care bill that bans federal funds for abortion was the greatest victory scored by U.S. bishops in a generation. It also unleashed an unprecedented attempt to censor them. Their latest enemy is Geoffrey Stone writing in the Huffington Post. Stone finds it troubling that the bishops are so vocal. He yearns for a time when JFK was president, a time when separation of church and state met his approval. Perhaps the Chicago law professor forgot about Rev. Martin Luther King, the minister who took to...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:Last Friday on the Washington Post blog, “On Faith,” English atheist Richard Dawkins said the Catholic Church was “surely up there among the leaders” as “the greatest force for evil in the world.” He labeled the Eucharist a “cannibal feast,” adding that “possession of testicles is an essential qualification to perform the rite.” He also blamed the Church for sending missionaries “out to tell deliberate lies to AIDS-weakened Africans” regarding condoms. The Church’s outreach to Anglicans, he said, makes it “a common pimp,” noting that those who convert “will be joining an institution...

"And not just atheists," said Bill Donohue during an August 31st Fox News interview. "I’m talking about people who are disaffected Catholics and Protestants who are mutineers within their own religion, trying to change things." It wasn't just "militant, dogmatic" atheists and "disaffected" Christians that the Catholic League president complained about either. Donohue also had a few choice words for magicians Penn & Teller whose Showtime series, Penn & Teller: Bullsh*t!, just ran an episode on the history of the Catholic Church. "This was the most Nazi-like assault,” Donohue said. “The most unrelenting half an hour of bashing I’ve ever...

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 14, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Details are scarce on the abortion position of Dr. Regina Benjamin, whom President Obama yesterday named to take over as Surgeon General in his administration. While Catholic League president Bill Donohue has praised Obama's choice of the Catholic Benjamin, he also noted that Benjamin, as Surgeon General, will have the final say on whether Obama's healthcare reform package will mandate abortion coverage. Benjamin, who won fame for her perseverance in rebuilding the small health clinic she established for Alabama's rural poor, serves or formerly served on the boards of multiple medical associations, including...

William A. Donohue, the perennially indignant president of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, had no sooner finished a conference call with reporters Wednesday, in which he demanded the firing of a White House aide, when CNN called. “CNN wants you to do Rick Sanchez at 3:30 on the Notre Dame thing, and also Bill Cunningham wants you to come on about ‘Angels and Demons,’ ” said his assistant, Susan Fani, in the wood-paneled 34th-floor Midtown Manhattan office from which Mr. Donohue surveys the world — and more often than not finds the world rife with anti-Catholic bias....

Maybe we should mass email this video to all of our representatives in Washington (as well as in our states), because it seems nobody is standing up for the free market system that made this country great! In less than 2 1/2 minutes, Milton Friedman makes the case perfectly. Absolutely brilliant!

A first-of-its-kind Web site, created by a father who chose to find hope amid tragedy, seeks to convince families affected by shaken baby syndrome to post the complete medical records of their injured children online. If the database started by Patrick Donohue, whose infant daughter Sarah Jane was shaken by her baby sitter, grows large enough, it will be an invaluable resource for medical researchers who are just beginning to understand how the brain works — and how it may be healed. “Most of the breakthroughs that are occurring in a lot of sciences today are in open-source, sort of...

New York, Oct 20, 2008 / 10:19 pm (CNA).- The Catholic League’s president Bill Donohue has come out swinging at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United for having ties to the left-wing financier George Soros. Donohue charges that Soros’ liberal credentials couldn’t be more clear, citing a 2005 campaign by Soros-financed Moveon.org to convince Americans that they should back Democrats efforts to filibuster President George W. Bush’s judicial nominees to the Supreme Court. At the time of Moveon.org's effort Donohue described it in a statement as: “a picture of a smiling Pope Benedict XVI holding a gavel...

On September 25, there will be a press conference and a rally outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City at 5:30 p.m. to protest the five Christian organizations that are welcoming Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Those organizations are the World Council of Churches, Religions for Peace, the Americans Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee and the Quaker United Nations Office; they are hosting a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner (Iftar). Over 50 organizations have now joined the protest, which is being sponsored by Women International; see www.925rally.org for more information. Catholic League president Bill Donohue explains why his organization is...

Taking the Time to Act Like Christians by Deal W. Hudson 9/11/08 A few days ago I was asked to speak to a men's group in Atlanta about Catholics in politics. As part of my presentation, I talked about the possibility of greater Catholic and Evangelical cooperation. To illustrate my point, I told the story about the reconciliation earlier this year between Pastor John Hagee and Catholic League President Bill Donohue. I had never spoken in depth about the April meeting at Donohue's office and was surprised to find myself deeply moved in the telling of it. Perhaps it was...

Bill Donohue may not be tired of the culture wars–or internecine Catholic wars. The head of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is often over the top in denunciations of anti-Catholicism, real or perceived, and of other Catholics who Donohue sees as not toeing the proper Catholic line. But even Donohue may have outdone himself, and done in his own organization, if his latest press release prompts an IRS investigation. The May 2 release is “Catholic Dissidents Advise Obama,” and it draws down on Obama’s Catholic National Advisory Committee, which includes several Commonwealers, such as Cathleen Kaveny and...

Maher to Apologize for Calling Pope a 'Nazi' By Melanie Hunter-Omar CNSNews.com Senior Editor April 17, 2008 (CNSNews.com) - Liberal talk show host Bill Maher, whose controversial comments about the pope drew fire from the Catholic community, is planning to apologize Friday night for falsely accusing Pope Benedict XVI of being a Nazi, the Catholic League announced Thursday. Catholic League President Bill Donohue received a phone call Thursday from an HBO executive regarding comments Maher made last Friday on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher." As Cybercast News Service previously reported, Donohue said Maher "lied when he said the Pope...

In the past five weeks, the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” has ridiculed priests six times and the pope once; all of the priest jokes were sexual in nature and painted priests as molesters. ·   June 18: Robin Williams gets into an extended diatribe about priests as pedophiles·   June 20: Leno cracks a joke about priests as pedophiles·   June 21: Leno makes a joke about a drunken pedophile priest·   July 12: Leno ridicules the pope for restating Catholic doctrine on salvation·   July 18: Leno portrays all priests as pedophiles·   July 23: Leno jokes about priests using the Harry Potter books as “bait” to lure kids·   July 23: Leno...

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Catholic League) - Yesterday, Senator John McCain said he was “very honored by Pastor John Hagee’s endorsement.” The Republican presidential hopeful also called Hagee “the staunchest leader of our Christian evangelical movement,” citing the minister’s pro-Israel stance. Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed this today: “There are plenty of staunch evangelical leaders who are pro-Israel, but are not anti-Catholic. John Hagee is not one of them. Indeed, for the past few decades, he has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church. For example, he likes calling it ‘The Great Whore,’ an ‘apostate church,’ the ‘anti-Christ,’ and...

On September 30, San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair will be held. The ad for this year’s gay/leather event depicts half-naked homosexuals at a table mimicking the Last Supper. The sadomasochistic theme features sex toys displayed on the table. Catholic League president Bill Donohue explains his response today: “Kudos to Concerned Women for America for bringing this obscenity to the attention of the public. Their strategy is to get California politicians to denounce this event. Our strategy is to get Miller Brewing Company to withdraw its sponsorship. Here’s why. “There are several sponsors to this street fair, but most are local...

Don’t tick off Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League. While some critics thought this brew-ha-ha with the League and Miller Brewing might have gone flat by now, Donohue has accelerated his cause by sending overnight packages to “all eleven members of the company’s Executive Committee a sample of the kinds of sick behaviors (click here) S&M Miller is sponsoring.” The information inside the packets reads:

Send in the straightjackets - Newsweek has cracked up. Of all the stories in the entire world to cover, Newsweek's website is flagging as its "Top Story" an insane piece about a woman (complete with photo) who thinks she is an ordained Catholic priest. They found her in Missouri, though had Newsweek reporter Karen Springen walked into the nearest asylum, she would have found some who think they're the pope. Springen's discovery is Jessica Rowley. Jessica thinks she's a Catholic priest because some crackpot group said they ordained her. Springen, whose contempt for the Catholic Church is rivaled only by...

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday he was personally offended by the provocative messages two of his campaign bloggers wrote criticizing the Catholic church, but he's not firing them. Edwards issued a written statement about the fate of Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwen, two days after the head of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights demanded they be fired for messages they wrote before working on the campaign. The campaign distributed written apologies from the two women, who stressed they were writing on personal blogs and not on behalf of the campaign. Edwards said he believes...

“Several news stories today are reporting on the decision by Comedy Central to pull a scheduled rerun of the ‘Bloody Mary’ episode that was  shown on ‘South Park’ on December 7-10.  The decision reflects what I asked for in our news release of December 8.  Therefore, I commend Comedy Central for finally making the right decision.  That it aired in the first place, however, does not speak well for the bigots responsible for creating it.   “In our December 8 news release, I also said, ‘Remember, they chose to insult Our Blessed Mother on the eve of the Immaculate Conception, and...

Donohue on Hannity and Colmes

On July 23, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Terry McAuliffe announced the appointment of Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson as the Senior Advisor for Religious Outreach; she is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Commenting on her selection is Catholic League president William Donohue: “Terry McAuliffe says that the appointment of Rev. Peterson as the new Senior Advisor for Religious Outreach ‘reflects the DNC’s commitment to reaching all people of faith’; he also notes that she ‘will act as liaison to religious organizations.’ Upon learning of this appointment, we decided to find out who this woman is....

MSNBC TV talker Phil Donahue bristled Tuesday at charges that he went soft on a 1999 rape allegation against Bill Clinton, explaining that an interview with the ex-president seven years earlier had left him so rattled he worried about his family. "You know, you're talking to a guy who's got the finger from Bill Clinton for raising Gennifer Flowers on my television show. I did not give Clinton a pass," Donahue told nationally syndicated radio host Sean Hannity, who pressed him on Sexgate allegations by Kathleen Willey and Juanita Broaddrick. "And I was booed by my own audience," Donahue...