On September 23, Bill Donohue, and vice president Bernadette Brady-Egan, met with Pope Francis following a prayer service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. It was an honor they will never forget.
The invitation to meet the pope was extended by Donald Cardinal Wuerl. He also invited them to the canonization Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Timothy Cardinal Dolan invited Bill to the prayer service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, but he elected to stay in D.C. to do TV interviews.
Catholic League members know that we harbor no agenda: our only goal is to allow the Church to have a fair hearing. So it is times like these, when the pope is being exploited by those who clearly have their own agenda, that we can proudly stand on principle.
It is not just those who seek to manipulate the pope who are a problem: it is his “fast friends,” those who never go to bat for him when he is being slammed, yet always manage to be there during a papal visit.
As we go to press, the rest of the pope’s visit has yet to unfold. We will report in the next Catalyst on any controversies that may have happened, and our response to them. Regrettably, no matter what this pope does—the same was true of his predecessors—it will never be enough to stop the Catholic bashers.
There is some consolation in the attacks on our faith: they know we cannot be ignored.
