Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued the following remarks on a column by pro-life activist Randall Terry that appeared in yesterday’s Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:
“Three weeks ago, Archbishop Raymond Burke, the former St. Louis archbishop who is now working in the Vatican, publicly chastised Randall Terry for misrepresenting a meeting they had in Rome. Now Terry has stepped in it again, this time having the gall to lecture Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop John D’Arcy for not contacting him before he called on Catholics not to demonstrate at this year’s Commencement at Notre Dame; President Barack Obama will be given an honorary degree, something which D’Arcy strongly opposes. For some bizarre reason, Terry thinks Bishop D’Arcy should have checked in with him before he made his prudent decision.
“Terry doesn’t know when to quit. This quote is a gem: ‘D’Arcy has stepped far beyond his canonical authority by urging the faithful to abandon the babies—and thereby abandon Christ—and to honor Obama and Jenkins [the Notre Dame president] with our silent cooperation.’ This is arrogance on stilts: Terry just became a Catholic in 2005 and now he is an authority on canon law. Worse, he accuses Bishop D’Arcy, who is strongly pro-life, of abandoning babies and Christ.
“The problem with pro-life zealots is that they expect everyone to line up single file and do exactly what they want. Thus do they play to the worst stereotype floated by the pro-abortion camp. Terry needs to take a deep breath and get off his high horse.”
