Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on recent remarks made by Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United:
In the Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog site, Chris Korzen of Catholics United lectures the bishops for being misinformed about the health care bill that they opposed. He says “the USCCB’s [United States Conference of Catholic Bishops] opinion was based on a misunderstanding of the bill’s abortion funding provisions.”
In other words, all the bishops, lawyers and pro-life experts who worked on the bill were duped. That would mean that the “pro-life politicians” who refused to support amendments banning the funding of abortion were also duped: if funding wasn’t in the bill, what difference would it have made? Moreover, how does one explain the award that Planned Parenthood just gave to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi?
Daniel Cardinal DiNardo supports legislation that would essentially ratify the Hyde Amendment that bars federal funds for abortion. So does the Catholic League. Does Catholics United? We already know the answer: Korzen said last year that “I wouldn’t call us pro-abortion rights or anti-abortion rights.” That’s funny—I have no problem saying the Catholic League is a pro-life, anti-abortion organization.
Whatever the source of Korzen’s reluctance to identify with the teachings of the Catholic Church, he should at least stop with the false advertising: if Catholics aren’t united against abortion, then they cannot in any way be taken seriously. One more thing: it’s time for Korzen to drop the patronizing posture he has adopted towards the bishops.
