Obama Must Distance Himself From Anti-Catholic and Anti-Religious Bigots
Given that Obama’s so-called Catholic Advisory Council is made up exclusively of people who dissent from Church teaching on abortion, embryonic stem cell research and school vouchers, it is important that Obama ensure that no overtly anti-Catholic or anti-religious people are on his team. Given Obama’s problems with Wright’s racist anti-Americanism, it is also important that he make it clear that genuine people of faith have a place at the table - unfortunately, Obama’s team makes room for the bigots on matters of religion - from the Catholic League:
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on the religious divide which is splitting Sen. Obama’s supporters:
“The secularization of the Democratic party, which first became evident in the 1972 presidential race, was openly challenged by Barack Obama when he spoke at the 2004 Democratic presidential convention. To his credit, he has since galvanized people of faith to rally to his side, but ever since his problems with Rev. Wright he has come under fire by radical secularists. In short, there is a tug of war going on among Democratic activists pitting the secularists against the faithful.
“In today’s Chicago Tribune, Katha Pollitt not only criticizes Rev. Wright, she takes the opportunity to smear almost the entire nation. She says that ‘thanks to Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., the Democrats have got religion and everything that goes with it—weirdness, wrath, insult, blowhardiness, vanity, paranoia, divisiveness and trouble.’ Her hatred of religion wouldn’t matter so much if she were simply a writer for the Nation. However, she is also a prominent supporter of Sen. Obama: She joined hands with Frances Kissling, a notorious anti-Catholic, to endorse him in a publicly signed statement.
“We know where Pollitt is coming from. After all, any person who likes Catholic bashing is well known to the Catholic League. For example, when the Brooklyn Museum of Art displayed a portrait of Our Blessed Mother adorned with elephant dung and pictures of vaginas and anuses, she opined that ‘The Holy Virgin Mary is a funny, jazzy, rather sweet painting.’
“Obama is not responsible for Pollitt’s bigotry and he does not need to renounce her. But what he must do is start the purge—he must rid his ranks of those who want to silence religion. First out of the box to aid him must be Catholics. They can cite what Pope Benedict XVI recently said in Washington: ‘Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted.’ Purging the Pollitts from his base would reassure the faithful that they have a place in his campaign.”
Regardless of what else happens, we must ensure in America that the rights of the overwhelming majority - Christians - are protected against discrimination and are assured that at the highest levels of American government there are only people with a deep and abiding respect for the religious beliefs of the American people. We daren’t let happen here what happened in Europe - where religion was forced out of the public square until apathy overtook the people, and now Europe is in demographic crisis for lack of faith.
Among the many problems with the Democratic party is the unfortunate way they make a home for some of the worst sorts of anti-religious bigots - people who drip with contempt and hatred for the divine and for those who believe in God. It is all well and good for a President to say he’s with us, but we must rest assured that the people he appoints to bureaucratic and judicial office will not in any way, shape or form countenance anti-religious bigotry - and we can only be sure if we know in advance that such people are unwelcome prior to a person taking office.
40 comments May 14th, 2008
