Catholic League president William Donohue commented today on what is ailing some critics of the Catholic Church:
“It is nothing short of remarkable that some of the nation’s leading critics of the Catholic Church can hold diametrically opposing positions on the same subject without ever seeming to notice. In this regard, demands that the Church needs to involve itself more in the public affairs of society manage to coexist with equally fervent calls for it to recede from public life. What matters is the issue, not principle. Consider today’s column in theLos Angeles Times by Robert Scheer.
“Scheer takes President Bush to task for not taking his cues on the Iraqi War from Pope John Paul II. He asks why ‘journalists and politicians ignore[d] the pontiff’s opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq?’ He also says of the pope, ‘It hardly honors the man to ignore his impassioned statements on what he considered to be a great moral crisis.’ Now had the subject been abortion or gay marriage, is there anyone who doubts that Scheer would never have written this sentence? What makes this really schizophrenic, however, is the fact that Scheer began his journalism career in the 1960s blasting Cardinal Francis Spellman, Archbishop of New York, for his so-called meddling in the Vietnam war.
“Scheer is not alone. During the presidential election campaign last year, the pundits hammered the Catholic Church to death because some bishops publicly addressed abortion, euthanasia, marriage and the family. They were repeatedly warned, by the champions of free speech, not to exercise their First Amendment right to freedom of speech when such subjects were on the table. But if a bishop were to speak against capital punishment, or in favor of an increase in the minimum wage, these same persons wanted the bishops to grab a bullhorn and lecture the faithful.
“As the conclave draws near, watch for more of this incredible public display of cognitive dissonance. It is one of the hallmarks of the Left.”
