What's Good For The Goose...

This item was in the paper this morning:

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Rudolph Giuliani said yesterday that his differences with the Catholic Church over his support for abortion rights are between him, God and his spiritual adviser, not Pope Benedict XVI - seeking to avoid a head-on confrontation with the pontiff over the issue that has bedeviled Giuliani's campaign.

The pope took a hard line against Catholic politicians who vote in favor of abortion rights, saying Mexican lawmakers who did so lost the right to Communion and may have even excommunicated themselves.

Curious. In 2004, you might have made note of this?

Los Angeles, Oct. 18, 2004 (CWNews.com) - A consultant to the Vatican has said Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has incurred the penalty of excommunication from the Catholic Church.

The consultant made his statement in a highly unusual letter to Marc Balestrieri, a Los Angeles canon lawyer who formally sued John Kerry in ecclesiastical court for heresy.

Balestrieri, who launched his case earlier this year by filing a heresy complaint in Kerry's home archdiocese of Boston, told EWTN's "World Over" program on Friday that he had received an unusual, indirect communication from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding the pro-abortion stance.

That communication provides a basis, he said, to declare that any Catholic politician who says he is "personally opposed to abortion, but supports a woman's right to choose," incurs automatic excommunication. It also provided a basis for Balestrieri to broaden his canonical actions and file additional complaints against four more pro-abortion Catholic politicians: Democrat Senators Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Tom Harkin of Iowa; Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine; and former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, a Democrat.

Now, in fairness to the Vatican, it denies that it ever responded to Balestrieri (and you never heard the follow up, because Karl Rove got what he wanted: "Kerry" and "excommunication" in the same story).

The fact that the Vatican assigned a priest to explain church doctrine at all frightens me, since it means (as is demonstrated by the Mexican case cited) that the Pope feels it is appropriate to engage himself in world politics.

Popes, of course, have done this throughout history. Popes, in point of fact, have often been at the very heart of secular politics throughout history, attempting to fashion monarchies and empires to their tastes.

That was a long time ago, however, and in a day and age when democracy and democratic ideals trump centralized rule, you'd think a Pope would keep his mouth shut and focus on healing souls.

Apparently not.

And is there a double standard being applied to Rudy Giuliani? Despite not being excommunicated, Kerry was refused communion by several Catholic archdioceses and priests, but found some who would commune with him, thus sidestepping an uncomfortable photo op of kneeling in a church and being passed over.

Yet, Rudy has been at least as outspoken, if not more so, than Kerry about his support for choice. Why no outcry from William Donohue of the Catholic League? Or Cardinal Egan of NYC? Why have no priests stepped forward to enforce Vatican doctrine?

No, I'M Spartacus!

Sadly, Melissa McEwan, who has always been a friend to Simply Left Behind, has fallen on her sword as well. Go over to Shakespeare's Sister and give her some love.

A few things YOU can do to help get back at William Donohue, the Catholic League, and FReeperville in general:

1) File a complaint with the IRS. Remember that whole "separation of church and state" thing? Well, turns out that Donohue may have breached that wall by interfering in a political campaign:

Here’s what you do:

Download Form 3949-A from www.IRS.gov. Fill out with the pertinent info on Donahue’s org under #2 (the “business name” side). (Put “N/A” in the individual-name fields under #1.) Here’s the info:

2. Business Name: Catholic League
2a-b. Address: 450 Seventh Avenue, 34th Floor, New York, NY 10123

2c. Emp. ID Num: 23-7279981

2d. Principal Bus. Act.: Non-Profit Political Advocacy

Skip to 4. Check off “Other”.

5a.(Describe violation)

“In his role as President of the Catholic League, a 501(c)(3) organization, William Donohue made national television appearances calling for the firing by the John Edwards for President campaign of two campaign employees. The Catholic League has issued press releases on Feb. 6,Feb. 9 and Feb. 13 of 2007 specifically pressuring the Edwards campaign to fire these two employees, thus violating FS-2006-17, which instructs 501(c)(3) groups not to intervene in political campaigns. Donohue’s group has also done similar interventions against John Kerry’s political campaign in 2004; On Feb. 7, 2007, Donohue boasted to Tucker Carlson of MSNBC that he caused two Kerry campaign employees to be fired. Again, this violates FS-2006-17.”

5e — Provide cites.

Then finish w/your name/address/etc. at the bottom.

2) File a similar complaint with the New York State Attorney General's office, which is headed by another staunch Catholic, Andrew Cuomo. Who's father, Mario, had muy run-ins with Donohue and Andy is probably itching for some payback.

3) Finally, fire off a complaint to Donohue himself. Be polite, be specific, and be forthright that he ought to resign from the League and stop harassing politicians.

After all, I AM Spartacus!

I Chime In

I wanted to copy Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon on this after reading some of the "Christian" comments at her (now DoSsed) blog, but I can't find her email. If someone who has it would be so kind as to email me with it, or bring this to her attention...you may recall she was one of the bloggers that John Edwards hired for his campaign and then cowardly fired in response to William Donohue's original complaints and then confusedly rehired, only to see Amanda resign a few days later.

I wrote to Bill Donohue (know your enemy, folks!)of the Catholic League earlier today regarding his kick in Amanda's teeth.

For the record, Amanda questions a critical piece of Christian dogma, the Virgin Birth.

Mr Donohue,

As a liberal, Protestant and ordained minister, I have to take deep offense at your laying claim to Our Blessed Mother.

Amanda Marcotte's most recent comments, while perhaps hyperbolic and overstated, fall squarely in the purview of not only her First Amendment rights as an American, but also within the rights of any Christian to question the dogma of ANY church, Catholic or Protestant.

You need to back off and stop speaking for "all Christians," sir. You do NOT speak for me. I, too, question Jesus' parthenogenesis. If I don't, how can I answer my flock's questions?

You should too, sir, but instead, you would beat this woman about the head with a stick.

I may be wrong, but I believe Jesus might not like that very much.

There's a grander irony in that Donohue isn't paying attention to the right wing dogma. Evangelicals, of which I count myself as this is the church I was raised in, have this....thing....about Catholics.

See, we're taught, in hushed whispers and lowered tones, that...the Anti-Christ...now listen closely children, the Anti-Christ is the...Pope!

This was the defining moment for me, that my church would make such a ludicrous claim, but they managed to make a case for it, twisting some evidence, contorting others. It was at this point that I decided organized religion, of the sort that Donohue and other low-normals preach, was not for me.

Donohue has a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnng history, particularly in New York City, of hate, but god forbid you should look even the slightest bit askance at a church that has blatantly allowed pedophiles to run rampant through its ministries and to put mannon before God's work.

The Catholic League's Board of Directors should tell you all you need to know about this unGodly man:

Members of the Catholic League's board of advisers include conservative author and media analyst L. Brent Bozell III; conservative radio host and syndicated columnist Linda Chavez; right-wing pundit and author Dinesh D'Souza; former Republican presidential and senatorial candidate Alan Keyes; and National Review Washington editor Kate O'Beirne.

ALAN KEYES?!?!?!?!?!?!

UPDATE: Apparently, the IRS is reading Blogtopia (©Skippy)