Another day, another opportunity for Bill Donohue to blame some unsuspecting soul for all of the ills affecting the Catholic Church.
This week's pinata is Madonna, the nemesis of all that is wholesome, proper and sacred since 1984 (to hear Bill and his Catholic League of one tell it).
Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday and doubtless also in time to ride her resurgent ubiquity all the way toward cultural relevance, Donohue has warned the Material Girl that she better 'behave' during her widely anticipated half time set today or she'll risk the wrath of himself and his minion.
Really, how dare the Material Girl even think of desecrating the sanctity of an American football match.
In one sense of course Donohue performs a rather useful task for the Catholic Church; he can always be relied upon to say something so provocative he momentarily distracts the public's attention away from the international abuse scandals that are consuming it.
Turning the public's focus away from literally thousands of abusive priests and nuns around the globe to one unmarried but otherwise rather successful mother is a neat trick, isn't it?
But Donohue has a hair-trigger sense of moral outrage that is only ever set off by attacks from without, he gives a major pass to those attacking the church from within.
In fact, in the Irish context, and after the publication of the harrowing state commissioned Ryan report into abuse there, Donohue claimed the Irish were really just in the grip of mass 'hysteria.' But listening to him speak, after a minute you begin to wonder if he's not in the grip of hysteria himself.
'I got slapped by nuns all the time when I was growing up on Long Island,' Donohue revealed, citing the age old And-It-Never-Did-Me-Any-Harm defense. 'I don't regard myself as emotionally abused,' he continued.
Everyone was doing it. I'm grand. What's the problem here folks?
'I think a lot of these people are gold diggers looking to get money from the Catholic Church,' he concluded.
When debates are this heated, and when the harm they occasion is so deep and so enduring, perhaps we can understand why Donohue really wants to blame Madonna for all the ills overrunning the organization he has volunteered to defend.
But we shouldn't let him make an example of her if it means we are being hoodwinked.
Making a holy show of the most famous woman in the world only adds to her celebrity, but it does nothing to address or reconcile the misguided actions of the institution he defends.
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Bill Donohue shifts goalposts on Church scandals
Bill Donohue: Catholic Church the real victim
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.seanomelb | Feb 09, 2012, 03:16 PM EST
Donohoe is a modern day inquisitor a harbinger of hate and religious bigotry.
eiriamach | Feb 08, 2012, 08:12 AM EST
What's Bill Donohue on about now? Yesterday, he took on the Obama administration's requirement that Catholic hospitals, colleges, and social service agencies provide equal health insurance benefits for women employees. He said, "Never before, unprecedented in American history, for the federal government to line up against the Roman Catholic Church.... This is going to be fought out with lawsuits, with court decisions, and, dare I say it, maybe even in the streets.” He's promising an all-out bully battle to defend RCC's obstruction of equal rights under the law for women. It's enough of an assault to deprive me of my right to equal insurance benefits; it's nearly beyond belief that anyone would call that assault a "free exercise of religion"! Practicing discrimination under the pretext of "religious liberty" is an attempt to claim a divine mandate for discriminating against women. He is hopelessly confused if he thinks that Catholics can have their "religious liberty" only by depriving me and other women of our equality. I'm howling with laughter over their confusion (and I believe God is too)!
snakehips | Feb 07, 2012, 12:59 PM EST
I think maybe the nuns slapped him too hard on the head.
kilgara | Feb 07, 2012, 12:26 AM EST
It's too bad The Catholic League has a spokesman who appears to be over the top mad at the world. Get somebody else to voice the truth in a more palatable manner.
McNamara31 | Feb 06, 2012, 05:36 PM EST
PiperMac52 Do a search on just how much Bill Donohue's Organization is worth and how much he is paid then think of how much good could be done with those millions to help people in true need instead of bashing SNAP, Voice of the Faithfull and other victims groups.
KerryLKing | Feb 06, 2012, 12:37 PM EST
To Cahir O'Doherty: If it's just somebody on here making "a comment" it's excusable.....but if you're going to be "a journalist" then please get your spelling correct. Case in point: in the first sentence of the 2nd paragraph....it's pinata....NOT pinyata!! I'm not Spanish & even I know that....
Murph46 | Feb 06, 2012, 12:12 PM EST
Shill for pedophile priests?
rainbowbrew | Feb 06, 2012, 11:43 AM EST
Funny here in the states we have seen lower unemployment numbers and some encouraging news about the economy. Like the catholics trying to rationailize their cognitive dissonce with the RCC and making excuses the republican party is all of a sudden the cause for the low unemployment numbers. Yes both organizations lie and this guy donohue is the biggest liar. He is merely a cheerleader and provacateer. He is one reason I left the RCC, I do not want to be represented (actual or implied) by a blow hard like him. of copurse there are other reasons like the abuse scandal. he also gloirfies getting hit on the knuckles fy a nun. Further proof that the catholics do not mind violence. Too Bad, I think peace is a better option and dealing with boys and girls in a classroom does not have to be violent.
joeustace | Feb 06, 2012, 10:53 AM EST
I am diappointed to see Mr. Donohue featured so prominently on EWTN, the self-described Catholic television network, especially on it's "news" show. Has he ever made a positive suggestion to redress the injuries or to prevent the problem from recurring? Perhaps tht should be the subject of his next interview with Mr. Arroyo.
CitizenWhy | Feb 06, 2012, 09:33 AM EST
Donohue is a self-promoting crank who does not represent the Catholic church or most American Catholics.
eiriamach | Feb 06, 2012, 07:29 AM EST
PiperMac52, there is nothing "low-keyed" about the sexual abuse of children anywhere. The global problem of sexual abuse by Catholic priests will not escape notice simply because sexual abuse exists elsewhere. You write, "There are those secular relativists/atheists who see the church as the one obstacle to their dream culture of total moral relativism." This knee-jerk, ludicrous labeling of anyone who disagrees with you as relativist/ atheist needs reply, so I copy here what I wrote on another IC page: there are still Catholics screaming about the "relativism" of people like me, who oppose the Vatican's political power grabs and advocate separation of church and state. And here, Irishpjk writes, "sure there were some bad priests, bishops and nuns, but they are a reflection of the society that they grew up in." This statement is pure moral relativism as a jesuitical art form, used to deny moral responsibility for sexual abuse of children in the RCC, to blame it on "the society" or some other amorphous outside force, rather than on the priests, the real human beings, who raped children! So to those self-blinded Catholics who assume that everyone who objects to the rape of children by priests is a "godless," "secularist" "moral relativist," I say try to clean up your shoddy, sloppy, illogical thinking and take a good hard look at who the moral relativists really are--you'll need a mirror for that! When you deny an obvious truth, you do damage to your ability to discern the truth.
PiperMac52 | Feb 06, 2012, 01:23 AM EST
Nice hit piece! As a subscriber to the "Catalyst" of which Donahue is publisher I can tell you that no one has been more outspoken against the misdeeds of those abusive priests and prelates regarding the sex scandal. Donahue is absolutely on target when he says that there are money grubbing lawyers and absurd belated allegations of "repressed memories" jumping on the money train and a hatred motivated wish to destroy the Catholic church. Let's be honest here, every organization including public schools here in the states have higher incident rates of sex abuse than the Catholic church, yet it is usually low keyed and does not evoke the public outcry. There are those secular relativists/atheists who see the church as the one obstacle to their dream culture of total moral relativism. The overwhelming good that the church has done in it's history(and continues to do around the globe)is of no significance in their plight. I am a product of Catholic schools and don't know anyone among my circle of friends that was abused. I guess I am a rare bird indeed. At least that is what one would believe in following the media. You would also believe that Islam is a religion of peace...go figure!
stephen1553 | Feb 06, 2012, 12:15 AM EST
tks Badalong re the blame the victim BS. the biz about "the victim asked for it, eg re the short skirt, well thats exactly how saudi arabia works. Why are there almost no rapes in Saudi-land? Because the judges decide what God wants. And in another patriarchial institution, it always that the woman in some way was guilty................The usual punishment is whipping for the woman, while the rapist gets a slap on the hand for wasting the courts time.........................Until I read what you said, I actually hadn't comprehended the similarities to some cradle catholics and Sharia.
stephen1553 | Feb 06, 2012, 12:08 AM EST
Some say that there is abuse of children elsewhere. that is quite true...................... But where else has there been an organized conspiracy to hide the molestation? The catholic church............. All you have to do is google "pope hides child abuse" and you will see what happened. The pope knows that faith is just that - a belief (in the supernatural)..............Let one crack appear in the wall the church built shielding its horrors from the people and the walls will come tumbling down...... As they already have = Ireland was the most catholic country in Europe, source of the priests that evangelized Catholicism in the past centuries. The 90% of people who went to mass on a regular basis is now about 25%. The church can try, but there is no fooling the Irish people...............May God have Mercy on the church and its hierarchy.
badolan | Feb 05, 2012, 09:06 PM EST
There is always some ass willing to blame the victim of a crime. Such as, "she was asking to be raped because she had on a short skirt," etc. A twisted mind can rationalize just about anything.
stephen1553 | Feb 05, 2012, 09:00 PM EST
Donahue reminds me of a pix from history long ago - when the first record players went on the market, RCA had a famous adv with a dog next to a wind up record player. the title was "his masters voice", referring to the dog listening curiously to the player Donahue is simply a barker for the Pope. and some of his horrid pronouncements. EG He said "gay marriage will mean the end of humanity" The pope had to know that many people would see that as "gays will mean the end of the human race" Let the murders and bashing continue and grow. Remember Matthew Shepard's vicious murder by McKinney and Henderson in 1998 in Wyoming And during the trial the church tried to smear the prosecuter and tamper with the Jury. How do I know - I've met his parents several times. After the trial/conviction, the rumors surfaced that the killing was a drug deal gone bad. And then tried to avoid blame for its murderers by lies . Which I thought was a sin How do I know - I've also talked to the prosecutor and DA. Mean while we all know what was going on in the church all over the world - the hidden soul murder of our little boys and girls.
Heather911 | Feb 05, 2012, 08:42 PM EST
Oh come on! Sure the Bible says, Spare the Rod and spoil the child, but it doesn't mean beat the hell out of them. I am non -denominational, but if I was raised catholic and had some nun slap me, I'd give her a good slapping back and turn away from God. Sad that the majority of christians are slowly tarnishing the teachings of Christ. Madonna had nothing to do with this either. She didn't twist your arms and make you do a single thing. That is your own deal.
ciaradexy | Feb 05, 2012, 06:16 PM EST
Dannyboy, the irish arent in denial, we are dealing with these issues here. Seems the Americans are in denial though.
pilib04 | Feb 05, 2012, 04:21 PM EST
Why doesn't Bill Donahue go after the child rapists in the Catholic priesthood and hierarchy. Now that is "Catholic Action' that I could get behind!
seanomelb | Feb 05, 2012, 04:16 PM EST
Bitter and twisted like the rest of the evangelical moronic right.
Tilliewillow | Feb 05, 2012, 04:13 PM EST
Why pay attention to this obviously emotionally immature person?
ProudCanadian | Feb 05, 2012, 03:20 PM EST
Are you sure that this isn't Mitt Romney or Newt Gingridge or others of the good old boy Republican morons, sure sounds like them. This guy is right off the wall and needs to talk to someone and in a hurry.
DannyBoyG | Feb 05, 2012, 01:35 PM EST
No jjkleprechaun the "Irish" way is denial, denial and more denial. And Bill Donohue has perfected that!
Nicomax | Feb 05, 2012, 01:22 PM EST
Who pays for this guy's room and board?
lokionline | Feb 05, 2012, 12:57 PM EST
Bill Donohue... Rush Limbaugh...
Is there really much difference? And who listens to them but the most radical?
Bill Donohue is a caricature, a target for satire and ridicule...
an amusing side show in the theater of life.
jamthecat | Feb 05, 2012, 11:38 AM EST
jjkleprechaun, do any of those groups have an attack dog making up lies and minimizing evidence like Donohue? There's no question coaches in little league and Boy and Girl scout leaders have also abused children (not just sexually but physically and emotionally). And in high school and in college and in just about every organization there is, there's some jackal out to force his or her control over another human being, using forcible, verbal, or emotional methods. But it's Donohue's disgusting, deliberately provocative comments and vile nonstop denials of the church's culpability in how the abuse happened that Cahir's responding to. Pay attention to the article, and maybe accept the probability that Bill Donohue is nothing more than spawn of the devil.
ripley838 | Feb 05, 2012, 11:34 AM EST
Bill is the owner, manager, proprietor and sole member of the Catholic League, so I'll give his fulminations their full value: none.
PhlutiePhan | Feb 05, 2012, 11:29 AM EST
She used a cross with a corpus as a phallic symbol in one of her performance tours and I mean used it. So, who is the one who is misguided?
jjkleprechaun | Feb 05, 2012, 10:05 AM EST
Come on, Cahir, why don't you publish the real truth? 1) you hate the Roman Catholic Church; 2) you write as though no one else on earth has sexually, physically, mentally abused children but Priests and Nuns. As a RC, I admit the horrible truth that some of the sexual abuse is real...I too think that some of it is an attempt to collect money. However, there are many Protestant as well as Jewish clergy that are a matter of public record as having sexually abused minors. The papers have been filled with Philadelphia's sexual scandal. We have 2 current cases going to trial re public school teachers sexually abusing the young children in their classrooms! Such abuse has hit the Naval Academy along with the APG right in Maryland. For the love of truth, try reporting fairly. It's the Irish way...try it!
eiriamach | Feb 05, 2012, 09:43 AM EST
Who is the interviewer (Colm ___?) in the video? He tries to keep Donohue focused on the objective, documented facts of the Ryan Report, but Donohue repeatedly denies the "findings of fact in law ... and accepted by the Catholic Church in Ireland." Listening to his denials, the interviewer is offended as someone who "has had those experiences." Donohue, however, has blunted his conscience to an extent that leaves the interviewer-- and me-- "flabbergasted." He cannot fathom the depth of the evil, the breadth and magnitude of the abuse, so he callously denies that it happened! At what point do we call that behavior not just mass hysteria, but mass psychosis? Donohue should be watching the Super Bowl from a padded cell in a plush, upstate mental rehab retreat.