Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a response by the Associated Press (AP) to an earlier news release today:
A few hours ago, we said that we learned from PJ Media that AP posted a false statement about a Catholic priest on the website of an ABC affiliate in Nebraska, KLKN-TV. The ad was about a drag queen entertainer, “Father” Anthony Capretta, who, we were able to verify, is not a priest.
Lauren Easton of AP, the person whom we listed as the contact person at AP, called to say that it had nothing to do with the posting. We have no reason to believe that she is not telling the truth.
So who is responsible? The TV station told PJ Media that it has no control over what AP posts on its website, and disavows culpability. This, in itself, is remarkable. AP, according to PJ Media, did not respond when asked for a comment. Now AP says no one contacted them. Attempts to contact PJ Media were unsuccessful.
The offensive ad—libeling priests—did not get posted by magic. So while we are not happy with the refusal of the guilty party to own up, fairness dictates that we not malign the innocent. That is why we have deleted the earlier news release on this subject.
