Bill Donohue comments on how a gay group has intruded on the internal affairs of a Catholic church in Rhode Island:
A man accepts a job in the private sector, knowing what the house rules of the organization are, and then intentionally violates them. Subsequently, he is fired. There is no defensible moral or legal argument that can be made on his behalf. Yet that is exactly what the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a radical homosexual organization, is doing in a case that involves the Catholic Church.
Michael Templeton was fired from his post as music director at the Church of St. Mary in Providence. He was fired for violating employment strictures, rules he voluntarily assented to upon taking the job. To be specific, he was terminated after he violated Catholic teachings on marriage: he married his boyfriend. HRC has now stepped in, saying he is a victim.
HRC has no more business sticking its nose into the internal affairs of the Catholic Church than it has in trespassing on the autonomy of Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, or Protestant houses of worship. Interestingly, HRC is able to dodge the latter criticism: it has no record of attacking non-Catholics—just Catholics.
On its website, HRC lists “Religion & Faith” as an area of interest to the organization. Under that heading it has two generic subtopics, “Coming Home Series” and “Brave Spaces”; it also has one specific subtopic, “Catholic Initiatives.” It does not say why Catholics are singled out, but a look at its activities makes it obvious: HRC is expressly anti-Catholic.
Co-founded by an accused child rapist, Terrence Patrick Bean (the other founder died of AIDS), HRC strongly defended gay leader Howard Gutman as U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, even though he was accused of soliciting sex from children. In short, its moral credentials are shot, which is why George Soros likes to fund it.
Contact Chad Griffin, president, HRC: chad.griffin@hrc.org
