The president of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, recently made an anti-Catholic remark in his response to a letter sent to him by Catholic League president William Donohue.
Last month, Donohue wrote to Muhlenberg president Arthur Taylor registering his concerns over a statement that accompanied the display of an icon of Mary in the school’s chapel. The statement, “Captive Daughter of Zion,” chastises Christians for failing to come to terms with Mary’s Jewishness. It also blames Pope Pius XII for being “silent” during the Holocaust. Donohue disputed both points and questioned the appropriateness of using a chapel for this purpose; he suggested that a library or art gallery would have been a better choice.
Taylor’s letter to Donohue is the reason why the Catholic League is bringing this matter to the attention of the public. Taylor accused the league of trying to “force your point of view on us,” stating that this “violates our freedoms and brings the Catholic Church to a position which it held centuries ago.” (Our emphasis.)
Donohue issued the following comment on this matter today:
“Having spent most of my professional career in the academy, I am absolutely astounded that any college president would actually make such a bigoted remark. Had this happened on a radio or TV show, it would have been equally inexcusable, but at least it might have been understandable as a slip of the lip. But to commit oneself in writing to such an anti-Catholic comment is mind-boggling.
“It is hard to imagine anything like this being said about virtually any other segment of the population. What Taylor has done is to demonstrate, however unwittingly, the reason why the Catholic League exists. If I were on the board of trustees of Muhlenberg, I would take some fast action.”
