Harry Knox, an Obama appointee to the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, gave instructions today to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s number-two man.
“As pastor,” Knox said of the Vatican secretary of state, “he should be spending night and day seeking to heal the wounds inflicted by the Church on the victims of pedophile priests.” Knox, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, also accused Cardinal Bertone of “diverting attention away from decades of Vatican cover-ups of pedophile behavior.”
Replying is Catholic League president Bill Donohue:
Harry Knox has a long and ugly history of bashing the pope, disparaging the Knights of Columbus, lecturing priests, etc. Now he is back telling Cardinal Bertone what to say and how to do his job. All this from a man who is not only not Catholic, but was rejected for ordination by the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ because of his homosexual lifestyle.
The fact is that there is an undeniable link between the growth of homosexuals in the priesthood and the incidence of sex abuse (see our home page for more information). It is high time we had an honest discussion about this issue.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration must decide whether it can continue to defend Harry Knox. We previously called on Knox to be ousted. We do so again today.
