June 21 marked the beginning of the “Fortnight for Freedom”, the campaign for religious liberty conducted by the nation’s bishops. Fair-minded persons may disagree with this effort, but there was something unseemly going on when those who work for a George Soros-funded group were quietly providing talking points to the media.
John Gehring is an official at Faith in Public Life, an organization that lives off the bounty of the left-wing atheist billionaire. On June 7, Gehring sent a memo to his buddies in the media (we received a leaked copy) instructing them on how to handle the bishops. They should begin by questioning the prelates why the Obama “accommodation” wasn’t good enough. “You have to ask why the bishops can’t take yes for an answer,” he wrote.
Teaching them how to handle the “war on the Catholic Church,” Gehring advised, “Several bishops have used inflammatory and irresponsible rhetoric that conflates a process of working through complex policy issues with a fundamental attack on the Catholic Church.” He also fretted over the politicization of the religious liberty campaign, an effort made possible, he neglected to say, because of the politicization of religion by President Obama.
Not to be outdone, Gehring pressed his lackeys to victimize the victim, beckoning them to ask the bishops—all of whom refuse to prostitute their principles—“Are you willing to sacrifice Catholic charities, colleges and hospitals if you don’t get your way on the contraceptive mandate?”
Finally, Gehring provided a list of go-to Catholic activists who can be counted on to subvert the bishops’ message. It’s what we would expect from a George Soros group.
