Donohue: Obama’s policies spur Church activism
Tags
Related Posts
About the author
President Barack Obama is engaged in the “prostitution” of the term “catholic” – and that’s why the Catholic Church has become more active this election year, Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told Newsmax.TV.
“We’ve never had a president in the history of the United States who ever threatened to have the state encroach on religion,” Donohue told Newsmax in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. “President Obama has redefined the Catholic religion and that entity which hires and serves people mostly of their own faith.
“That, of course, is a prostitution of the term ‘catholic.’ The word ‘catholic’ means universal,” he said. “We don’t put signs in our hospitals saying, ‘No Jews apply.’ We don’t put signs in our schools saying, ‘No Protestants need apply.’”
“We are proud to serve people who are not of our faith,” Donahue said. “We are proud to hire people who are not of our faith in the schools and social services and the like.
“So, here we have an unprecedented assault, trying to ask us to pay as nonprofits for abortion-inducing drugs in our insurance plans. We’ve never seen anything like it.”
Donohue, publisher of Catalyst, the journal of the Catholic League, has authored “Why Catholicism Matters: How Catholic Virtues Can Reshape Society in the 21st Century.” He said he wrote the book to attract those who might have left the church because of negative publicity surrounding the priest sex-abuse scandals and other issues.
“The scandal is long behind us. I want to make that very clear,” Donohue said. “That occurred between 1965 and 1985. I know about the recent cases in Philadelphia. They’re about old cases that took place.
“We don’t have that problem in the Catholic Church today, thank God. We’ve made the necessary reforms.
Donohue turned to the media’s attacks on the church: “We’ve had a lot of negative news about the Catholic Church over the last decade, some of it admittedly self-generated. A lot of it, however, was media-generated.
“We have a whole generation of young people growing up who are basically ignorant of the great strengths and contributions of the Catholic Church. We also have a number of Catholics who have left the faith, or maybe who have one foot out the door. This is a way of trying to bring them back in.
Donohue discussed the need for lay-Catholics to stand firm: “I never want to forget the base, that is to say, practicing Catholics, who need to be involved in and have the intellectual ammunition to answer our adversaries. So what this book tries to do is talk about the strengths and contributions of the Catholic Church from time immemorial, basically.”
But luring back those Catholics does not involve compromise, Donohue said. “I don’t believe in compromise. I make that very, very clear. You don’t compromise on the Trinity. You don’t compromise on Jesus’ divinity – and you don’t compromise on certain things that the Pope, John Paul II, said are off-limits for discussion, which is women’s ordination.
“Now, people don’t like that,” he said. “We live in a free society. Practice diversity. You can join the mainline Protestants. They’d love to have you since their numbers are going south. There are people saying the Catholic Church should accept two men getting married. You can leave. You can join the United Church of Christ. They believe in that.
“There’s all kind of places for people who think that abortion is a human right as opposed to the violation of a human right. You can join, again, the mainline Protestants. They have no problem with these things.
“But to stay in the Catholic Church and say that we’re wrong, and you, the voice of dissidence, is right, no. I think that’s asking for too much. There are certain fundamentals which we cannot compromise on, and if that means a smaller church, I say go for it.”
“I’m not talking about people who moderately disagree,” Donohue added. “I’m talking about the extremists. There’s no place for these people in the Catholic Church.”
But the church is experiencing more converts in recent years, Donohue said. [More]
SOURCE
Leave a Comment
Photo Archive
-
May 17, 2013 5:43
Archbishop clarifies remarks about Cuomo
-
May 17, 2013 5:40
Fr. Gary Meier goes public with clergy experience
-
May 17, 2013 5:37
Predator priests paid to pray for unsuspecting families
-
May 16, 2013 1:56
Cleanup of Bridgeport, Conn., diocese begins in earnest
-
May 16, 2013 1:38
Archbishop Presses Cuomo Over Abortion
-
May 16, 2013 1:26
Deal reached in Catholic lawsuit
-
May 16, 2013 1:13
N.Y. matriarch moves closer to sainthood
-
May 16, 2013 1:07
Alvare talk on women, religious freedom, draws hundreds to seminary
-
May 15, 2013 2:31
US bishops announce 2nd Fortnight for Freedom
-
May 15, 2013 2:15
Black clergy call for abortion investigations, chastise NAACP, CBC for ignoring life issue
17 Comments
Well, I guess if Donahue contributed $350,000.00 to the Obama Campaign, in the eyes of Tony and Florian, he’d be a great Catholic. Let’s look at what the liberal Democrates make and how much they give to the poor. Oh, I forgot, the limosine liberals can’t be touched. My apologies.
Michael — you and I both know how the liberal Democrats give to the poor — they point the gun of the IRS at us, and rob us to give our money to people they have determined are deserving of our money. That, of course, is after they pay themselves their government salary. Liberal Democrats do not give their own money, of course — because they have already given ours.
Get serious about the Catholic League, Donahue is the Catholic League, he and his beer drinking bullies are the worst example of what it is to be a Catholic.
Unless of course, you are into rough tough my way or the highway type of Chruch.
What an arrogant person he is. And, he is really ineffetual, witness what he accomplished with his john stuart campaign, and his Mother Therese thing.
Well, Tony, I have good news for you — if he really is ineffectual as you say he is, no one in their right mind will continue to pay an ineffectual man $350K / yr — so, if your assertion is accurate, Donahue will soon be gone.
From what I read Donahue is in control of the Cathoc League, He has built a little empire for himself and isn’t likely to give that up.
What are the recent fruits of his labor?
Tony — we finally have someone who has the fxrtxtude to stand up and be counted. I would love to join Donahue in doing what he is doing. It is true that St. Francis said, “Preach the gospel; if necessary, use words;” but, notice, it does say we SHOULD use words when necessary. Too many Catholics are too timid, and as a result too many people do not hear the truth.
What a sad statement re the U.S. president and the catholic church!
Sad comments too…..without a trace of the love of Jesus Christ!
Should the Roman Catholic Church (Bishops and the Vatican in Rome) have a right to intrude into American politics or legal and moral values that are for all citizens? No sir. There are limits to a church`s authority and “liberty” in a pluralist and secular society.
Noel — we are guaranteed the right to the free practice of religion by the First Amendment. Have you, in your jurisprudence, decided this case, which likely is headed for the Supreme Court?
No one is asking you to conform to the teachings of the Catholic Church — how you have twisted the issue. The issue is that the government is ordering the Church to violate its own teachings and faith. Wise up.
Birth control? What ever happened to telling the truth?
Now that the pigs are clean, maybe there may be a place for reasonable reply.
Which pope said that “The [Roman Catholic] church is the home of all”?
Yes, Florian, it is the home of all — but those like youself who reject the Church exclude yourself. No one is kicking you out — you have kicked yourself out. The Church doesn’t bend to suit you, Florian — such an expectation on your part suggests a great deal of egocentricity.
Donohue is one of the most biggoted guys around. I looked up his salary in a non profit information website, and it was in excess of $350,00.
He is a bafoon who really can’t accomplish much, in the manner of Al Sharpton. He once demanded that the Empire State Building shine it’s lights blue for Mother Theresa and was ineffective, He has demanded an apology from John Stuart, and never got one.
He will criticise the more progressive Catholics and present a tunnel vision of the church as the only vision.
He and his league does not represent this Catholic.
Double hogwash.
What I meant is that Tony’s comment is double hogwash.
Hogwash!