Bill Donohue comments on the latest attack on a bishop:
Last week, I defended St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt when he was being attacked by left-wing Catholics, and ex-Catholics, from the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform; the group, which rejects the Church’s teachings on sexuality, called for the Vatican to remove Nienstedt from office.
Yesterday, another open letter was sent to the Vatican seeking the ouster of a bishop; Pope Francis is being asked to remove Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert Finn from office. The request is coming from another person who is not in communion with the Church—he never was—Presbyterian journalist Bill Tammeus. His letter is being featured by the National Catholic Reporter, a left-wing dissident weekly.
Tammeus claims that Bishop Finn was not duly protective of children in his diocese. Not only is he wrong about this, he has no moral standing to be pointing fingers at anyone. For years, Tammeus wrote for the Kansas City Star, yet in all of his columns on sexual abuse, he never took on the teachers’ unions for their obstructionist policies that contribute to child rape in the public schools.
Kansas is one of only two states where there are no laws requiring criminal history checks for public school teachers. In 2011, when an attempt was made to strengthen current regulations by mandating fingerprinting of prospective public school employees, the Kansas teachers’ unions fought it. Tammeus said nothing.
The irony is complete: Tammeus, a non-Catholic, is writing to the pope to get a bishop removed; this same man has no record of seeking to keep children safe from molesters in a state known for its enfeebled response; and he writes for a newspaper that championed Anthony Kosnik’s book, Human Sexuality, a work that gave cover to child molesters.
Contact Tammeus: wtammeus@gmail.com
