Catholic League’s Annual NYT Ad In Support Of Pedophile Priests

Claiming, “the issue is homosexuality, not pedophilia,” the Catholic League — which is essentially a one-man shop named Bill Donohue — today published its annual New York Times ad supporting pedophile priests. The ad, mockingly titled, “Straight Talk About The Catholic Church,” never states that sexual abuse of children by members of the Catholic Church is abhorrent, and actually asks, “Why are priests being singled out when the sexual abuse of minors among other segments of the population is ongoing today?,” without ever understanding the actual answer.

In the huge, 2358 word advertorial, 63-year old Catholic League president Donohue asks, “How often has the Church been ripped for following the advice of psychiatrists who thought they could ‘fix’ molesters?,” and says that because “the New York Times found that the practice of moving abusers around who work in New York’s state-run homes is commonplace,” that it should be OK for the Catholic Church to do the same.

One year ago, the Catholic League also published an advertiorial, titled, “Going for the Vatican Jugular,”  in support of the Vatican and the Pope over their ongoing pedophile priests scandal. The ad blasted, among others, the New York Times, stating, as Donohue often does, “The Times continues to editorialize about the ‘pedophilia crisis,’ when all along it’s been a homosexual crisis.”

 

Donohue mistakenly compares apples with oranges, and gets lemonade. In an illogical and offensive attempt to shield Catholic Church hierarchy, he writes, “Planned Parenthood counselors routinely learn about cases of statutory rape; mandatory reporting would obviously work against their clients’ interests.” But priests are not clients of their supervisors. They are employees, and subject to the law just as everyone else is. Supervisors of priests are not counsellors, they are not mental health professionals, who, rightly, are required to report any abuse if it could be ongoing.

Read: “Gay Marriage, Abortion Aren’t Problems. Child Homelessness, Poverty Are.“

“There is a huge difference between an accusation, a credible accusation, a substantiated accusation and a finding of guilt. But not when it applies to priests,” Donohue writes, adding, “Quite frankly, it is more acceptable in our society today to defend the rights of Gitmo detainees than Catholic priests.” Donohue, misunderstanding fact, and misunderstanding that Gitmo detainees are being detained, (and, if reports are/were true, tortured,) forgets to mention that priests, regardless of guilt or innocence, are allowed to walk the streets and continue with their lives as they please.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey from April, 2010 found just 35% of Americans have a favorable view of the pope, and only 59% of American Catholics did.

Read: “‘Vilified’ Vatican Tells U.N. Anti-Gay Critics Under Increased Attack“

Donohue boldly and baldly accuses gay men — not pedophile priests — of the abhorrent sexual and emotional abuse, molestation, and rape of young boys and girls. Yes, girls are molested and raped by priests too, a fact Donohue conveniently leaves out.

As Wayne Besen, founder of Truth Wins Out writes today, “Interestingly, Donohue never tried to explain why there isn’t an avalanche of multi-million dollar sexual abuse lawsuits in LGBT neighborhoods, churches, and community centers – as there are in Catholic dioceses.”

“Bill Donohue’s blame game is a disgraceful attempt to deflect criticism from the Catholic Church’s poor handling of many sexual abuse cases against minors,” Besen says, adding, “He ought to be ashamed of himself for serving as an apologist for gross misdeeds in the Catholic Church. Instead of showing humility, Donohue is trying to humiliate and bully abuse victims and look for scapegoats.”

The issue is not homosexuality, it is pedophilia. And it is disgusting, offensive, and abhorrent that Donohue claims to speak for America’s Catholics, who themselves appear to be disgusted by the Vatican’s stance and lack of action.

TPM notes “According to The New York Times, the standard lowest rate available for groups and non-profits for a one-page ad is $52,030.”