You have my vote, Patrick, if it were to come to that.

Actually, the criticisms of Donahue run deeper than his bombast.  He has allegedly vilified “Hollywood Jews”, allegedly dismissed the abuse of children in Irish religious institutions, allegedly inspired death-threats, and allegedly smeared all who disagree with him.

Excellent commentary and analysis, as usual, Mr. Archbold…I concur wholeheartedly with your assessment of the ever rambunctious Donohue!

carlosechevarria.blogspot.com

“Actually, the criticisms of Donahue run deeper than his bombast.”

Actually, you used the word “allegedly” four times. You need more than that to make a case. And on that, I rest mine.

I always wondered who would fill Bill’s shoes.  It’s nice to know there is another soul willing and able to take on the task. Bill’s job will get harder befor it gets easier, that’s for sure.
AMDG, Eric.

I honestly don’t have the time or energy to multiple specific examples at the moment.  Moreover, Even if I did, I can’t seem to post multiple addresses appropriately separated within a comment. I invite you to run some searches on such queries as “Bill Donohue + jews” or “Bill donohue + death threats” or even “Bill Donohue + gook”  Frankly, I’ve seen enough criticisms to start to believe that they make valid points.  I can offer this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptVOpbEpn0k

No, Brian. You’re a busy man. You only have time to drop the bomb, then leave it to everybody else to come up with your proof for you. Maybe I don’t have time for that either.

So, I guess we’re stuck with the merits. I hate Mondays ...

Shouldn’t you be asking for a double portion of Bill’s spirit?

Bill is young and has the zeal and the spirit of defending Christ…you don’t.

JR
Why would you say such a thing?

I have a feeling it is a pretty thankless job, Patrick, but then you don’t strike me as a glory seeker. Have at it, but I bet Mr. Donahue’s shoes are pretty big to fill.

I’m sorry Pat, that didn’t sound right…I think that you defend Christ…I just think that Bill Donahue takes it to another height that is very tough to reach…he is not wishy washy at all and I really admire and appreciate that…when the ‘world’ hates him, he not only can handle it but does a superb job of explaining and standing tall in the wake of confusion and annimosity and evil….his spirit is very guided and he puts up with no nonsense…like the once Cardinal - now Pope once was described as ‘putting the smackdown on heresy!’....that is a no nonsense statement…  the lives of the saints are like this….

I am a millitary Mom.  My son is in the Army.

I have a very profound sense of gratitute for anyone that defends me, or my faith.

I am grateful to you, Pat, and to Bill Donohue.  Keep it up!

Pat - It is comforting to know that someone as articulate as you is willing to take the baton from Bill Donahue.  Yes, BD has been guilty of going over the top more than once - but if he didn’t hit those heights once in a while, he would be ignored.  Besides, the extreme absurdity of so much of the anti-Catholicism today, simply draws one to extreme reactions.  How else can a person react to such idiocy?

Three cheers for Bill Donohue!

And that you want his job is the ultimate flattery!

Yes, Bill has made some errors, but to my knowledge, he is repentant when it is a true sin.

May God bless you both.

Three cheers for Bill Donohue!

That you want his job is the ultimate flattery for him!

Yes, Bill has erred in the past, but so have we all. He’s just more public than we. I’m sure he does repent of his sins.

God bless you both!

the squeaky wheel get the grease….thanks Bill Donohue
catholic bashing is a sport in this country and I cant imagine how much worse it wold be or how little we would know if it wasn’t for Bill

Go for it Pat!!!  We’re all behind you.  Good luck!

Having read the NCR publisher’s complaint about Bill Donohue I can only surmise that Joe Feuerherd is suffering from an extreme case of envy. The Catholic League has been doing NCR’s job ever since it was started by the late Father Marx.

Wow, followed the link to NC Reporter. 

I had heard that they were a dissident group, but I was still SHOCKED!

Such deception…and calling Mother Theresa, Mother Angelica, and Raymond Arroyo bad names to boot!

SHOCKING!!!

Marty, what’s really shocking is that there are so many posts here supporting a accomplished anti-semetic, bigot, loudmouthed bully and liar. One who, by the way, is self-appointed to head his nonprofit and pays himself over $362,000 a year. And wishes he made even more. Wonder how many poor folks he could be helping out by taking a salary that is more in line with what Jesus would have taken, and then donating the rest to charity.

As for Mr. Archbold, based on the fact that you think it is somehow funny and amusing to observe Mr. Donohue attack abuse survivors, homosexuals who didn’t choose their orientation, and even abuse victim’s parents for God’s sake, I suspect you are indeed fit for the job. The very idea that you see this as fun, as does Donohue apparently, is despicable. I’m sure Jesus would approve of all this vile hatred.

Donohue is not anti-Semitic. If he were, his great Jewish friends in New York City and elsewhere would not cooperate with him in his boycotts and supporting the Catholic Church.

He should be paid more, and I think the diatribe that you and your friends at the mock Catholic paper harbor will bring him much more. I’m thinking about sending another donation.

The nun he mentioned should be paid much less.

Are you envious TOO?  sheesh!

The fact that Donohue uses facts, logic, and humor to get his points across do not count always for “attacks.”

What would Jesus say about your vile hatred, so apparent by your words, of Donohue?

Michael5000 has snark envy.

Patrick, if you get the job, can I take over your spot at CMR?

@Michael5000

Calling him anti-semitic does not make him so.  Show me some proof!  (Not the smoke and mirrors routine either.)

Got any more jabs you’d like to take at Mother Theresa?  Mother Angelica?

I tried my best to add to the discussion.  I’ll bow out of this thread.

All of these remarks remind me of what I absolutely love about conservative Catholics, especially readers of the NC Register, who never fail to show more hate and intolerance, anger and ignorance than any other group of catholics.

So, Liseux. You call me vile and hateful in response to my calling Mr. Donohue vile and hateful. Good one, equivalent of a third grader’s intellect.

Regarding Donohue’s salary, I’m glad you think he should be paid more and the nun less. Personally, I don’t care what he or she is paid. But I would point out the the nun, of course, doesn’t keep her salary- it goes to the work of her order. So you wanting her to be paid less means you would like to see her order do less work for the needy, while at the same time hoping Donohue puts more money into his personal bank account. That’s very charitable of you. I’m just wondering how Donohue’s salary meshes with Jesus’ words to sell all of your belongings, give the money to the poor, and follow him. Explain that to me.

Donohue: “Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular.” Then, when asked about his bigoted remarks about Jews hating Catholicism, he refused to answer and deflected the question. See http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200702100005 . That’s pretty much the mark of a bigot- make a random, derogatory statement about some group that has no basis in reality, then defend it. In this case it’s anti semitic, therefore he’s an anti semite. He never apologizes for it.

Finally, Jesus is not my man, so I really shouldn’t care about what he thinks of me. But, I would hazard a guess that he would probably like my words. He too was very critical of the posturing and arrogance of the conservative religious figures of his day (e.g. Pharisees et al.)- in fact he got really upset at the most flamboyant and loudmouthed of them, those who were telling everyone else what to do when they themselves were sinning. Sounds like Donohue to me.

Oh, and by the way. Anybody care to defend Donohue attacking abuse victims and their parents?

Michael-5000,

First, one is either a faithful Catholic or not a faithful Catholic. Liberal, conservative… these terms belong to politics, not the Catholic faith.

Please take a course in logic, Mike.  You accuse some of intolerance and showing hate, and then….. you turn around and do the same….!

Even I, whom you designated as having only a 3rd grade intellect, can spot that.

As far as your comments on Donohue’s supposed anti-Semitism, that’s a crock, and his working with his Jewish compadres demonstrates that. Plus, his own comments in his response to the Reporter refute the silly charges.

As for Donohue attacking abuse victims- hogwash. 

The man deals in facts and logic…. something that his attacker are quite short on.

As for the call to sell all and follow Jesus, we’re not all called to that. King David was a “man after God’s own heart” but he was renowned for his riches, which also blessed the Jewish people. Since Jesus “isn’t your man” I don’t expect you to know that.

But, if you’re going to attack Catholics and Catholicism, at least know the teachings so you can attack in an informed way.

Have a good evening.

Also, if “Jesus isn’t your man” then please stop using his name to ask what He would think of others in order to bash these people. That again, is against logic and sound reason.

If he isn’t your man, then don’t use his standards to try to judge others.

See, this is exactly why I promised myself not engage in reasonable debate with zealots. No amount of logic or truth will suffice. For example, Jesus says to do something, but you decide that he didn’t mean it for all of us. Then you pull in the Old Testament character to refute something Jesus said in the New Testament, the very “new covenant” he brought to bear to replace the old covenant.

My name is Michael. It’s disrespectul to change my name to ‘Mike’, and I didn’t give you permission to.

What does it matter if Jesus is my man or not? You are the one who proclaims to follow him, not me. I can read just as well as you can, you know. I think it’s perfectly legal to look at what he said, then compare that to how catholics, especially conservative act. Why am I not allowed to make these observations just because Jesus isn’t my man? I’m just pointing out that you folks say you follow him and his church, but then don’t do as he would do or say. I’d love to know how asking you to explain the discrepancy is illogical.

You make up your own interpretations of what he said to serve your own purposes. I could quote Jesus a hundred times and you would find a way to refute what he said every time. Let’s try….how about Jesus saying that “Moreover, do not call anyone YOUR father on earth, for one is YOUR Father, the heavenly One” So tell me how he didn’t mean that for priests. Or how about this “Do unto others as you would them do unto you.”- are you saying that calling me names and attacking me is what Jesus called for a christian to do? Or “It’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”- tell me how that doesn’t apply to Bill D. or others of his ilk.

And of course, the old catholic bashing argument comes out to seal the whole deal in you eyes. Any questioning of your behavior, Bill’s behavior, must be catholic bashing. I know you pride yourself on your logic, but I’m not even going to bother answering this one. It’s been debunked by dozens of priests, bishops, and even the Pope, in writing. I’ll let you figure that out on your own.

A suggestion:  A simple course in literature would teach one to understand that what is written must be interpreted by context, the writer, the times in which the piece was penned, etc., etc…...

If one was to take everything literally, Christians would be plucking eyes out, cutting hands off, etc. for our sins. 

What of the saying, “I LOVE ice cream.”?  Does one really “love” ice cream?  Yet, so many people say it.

Bill Donohue did not “invent” the Catholic League, nor did Father Marx.  It was founded by Jesuit Father Virgil Blum in 1973.  I worked for the organization from 1980 to 1985.  In those days, neither Father Blum nor I made a six-figure salary.  In fact, I think mine was $1000 a month!  Of course, that was before our national economic downturn!

Michael, you are not engaging in reasonable debate. You’re engaging in insults and jousting with strawmen.  So far, I am the zealot with the third grade intellect.  Also, you are attempting to smear Catholics but know little about Catholicism or Christianity.  That’s not an insult, it’s just stating the truth.

When you can truly have a reasonable discussion and skip the superfluous name calling, I’d be happy to dialogue with you about the facts and also our opinions on Billy the Bully ( my hero ).

Billy the Bully is a nattering nabob of negativism. He is well-paid to create the controversy he creates. It is embarrassng to see him prattling the old tires saws. He is a perfect example of why the Church is dying. Time for change.

Timothy,

You do realize that the only rapidly growing parts of the Church are the “conservative” more accurately **ORTHODOX*** parts of the Church, right?

I mean, the simple fact that we at least listen to Jesus in one thing (having children) makes us more numerous. We’re not dying. I mean, my goodness, we’re flawed, but faithful Catholics certainly aren’t dying…

Tim, finish your sentence.  Change to what?  Simply saying, “time to change” means nothing without stating what you want it to change to; because the word change is a verb and you’ve used it without an object.  This makes that statement silly and meaningless.  But it sure fooled a whole lot of people last election didn’t it!?!

The Donahue problem is that his loud style can lead to TV appearances which pay good money to him through FOX and others.  That same loud style can however cause sins that would not exist with prudent silence.
The Pope does not declare loudly about known desecration of the Eucharist that he knows of worldwide and the Pope is silent because he knows that is the best treatment for attention seekers…but Donahue makes money by loudness not by prudent silence when it is called for.
See second story down at this site: http://www.tldm.org/News12/ProlifePharmacistAttackedByProfessorWhoDesecratedEucharist.htm

  Archbishop Dolan of NY and Donahue were recently both loud with the NY Times and that arguably caused even more articles on Benedict and the Vatican and sex abuse.

  Loudness makes money for Donahue but can also incite the other side to be louder than they need be…and in the case of the Eucharist desecrations, his Bishop should have stepped in and warned Donahue that desecration is best left ignored in most cases or you will actually cause more and more of them.

bill bannon,

The Church is being attacked on all sides.  I really don’t think the “other side” needs to be “incited to be louder than need be.”  They are doing just fine on their own.

Someone needs to be a beacon on light in the darkness.  Someone needs to speak the truth, and dispell the lies and address the smear campaigns.  There are MANY good people doing this.  God gave us all different personalities.  God gave Bill Donahue a unique personality that allows him to defend our faith in way that is effective with most people.  If you don’t personally like his style, that’s OK.  But you should be grateful that he is defending the Church even when it is unpopular to do so.

As a former staff member of the Catholic League (1980-1985), I both disagree and agree with Mr. Bannon.

1.  I disagree that silence in the face of attacks is the preferred posture—for a number of reasons.  First, “instructing the ignorant” is a spiritual work of mercy.  Allowing unfair caricatures or falsehoods to stand unchallenged creates a climate wherein the Church cannot function properly, compromising her voice to preach the Gospel in the public forum.  Second, many Jews in the pre-Hitler era thought silence was the best “response” to hateful propaganda, only to discover that their silence and the atmosphere fostered made possible “the final solution.”  Third, Catholics have an obligation, flowing from their commitments at Baptism and Confirmation, to be strong public witnesses to Christ and His Church.  Failure to be such is both a moral failing and a failure in civic duty, which is thus deprived of Gospel truth.  In a pluralistic sociey, all voices have a right to be raised and to be heard with respect; otherwise, only certain points of view will have a hearing.

2.  I agree that not every situation demands a response.  Prudence (which is NOT not doing anything but doing the RIGHT thing under given circumstances) is required, carefully weighing the pros and cons of a potential response.

3.  I agree that loud-mouthed, street-fighting tactics are inappropriate and, indeed, counter-productive.  During my CL tenure, no staff member could issue any statement (written or oral) without having it pass through a review committee, to ensure its accuracy and proper tone.  With that approach, we became recognized as the organization of record, so much so that our testimony was requested and accepted in the Senate hearings to re-establish diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the United States.  Nor did we ever get involved in internal Church affairs and never engaged in any shooting from the hip.

I submit that this style is still what is needed to help guarantee the Church in this country a place at the table of civic and civil discourse.

Kathy
  You are giving him carte blanche to fraternally correct all issues the same way at all times…loudly.  God does not give anyone the right to ignore His rules on fraternal correction which you can find at new advent.  Briefly, if a style makes this context and these characters worse…then you have a moral obligation to without what you would do in another context.  Hence Christ told all of us “do not cast your pearls before swine nor give what is holy to the dogs or they will trample it under their feet and turn and tear you”....which is exactly what happened in the Eucharist desecration case that Donahue got involved in.
It grew and it would have shrunk if ignored because it was way outside the norm of society even secular society.

That should be “withhold what you do in another context.”

Again, bill bannon, I have to respectfully dissagree.

Fraternal correction (according to New Advent) is when “an individual corrects another individual in an attempt to protect them from the effects of their own sin.”

This is not what we are talking about here.

Fraternal correction is clearly distinguishable from an official disciplining, whose motive is not so directly the individual advantage of the offender as the furtherance of the common good.

When the Church is attacked, and Catholics stand silent, it breeds doubt, and weakens faith.  When there is an answer in the face of the attacks, it is furthering the common good.

Your Matt 7:6 reference…I’m not following your point.  All reference I’ve read on this scripture passage explain that it has to do with giving the new Christians too much, too soon.  Those who wish to follow Christ must be taught, and brought along slowley.

This “Professor” publicly stating that he would desecrate the Eucharist to “proof Jesus didn’t exist” is NOT trying to learn how to be a good Christian.  The two have nothing to do with each other.  (Please explain if I have missunderstood you.)

Do you honestly think that standing SILENT in the face of such an abomination is the best thing to do???

The sentance explaining the difference btw Fraternal Correction VS Official Disciplining is a quote from New Advent.  I mean to put it in quotations.

“Fraternal correction is clearly distinguishable from an official disciplining, whose motive is not so directly the individual advantage of the offender as the furtherance of the common good.”

I’m a Golden Retriever kind of guy.  I like a happy dog that wags it’s tail and wants to lick your face.

However, in the dead of night, when someone is trying to break into my house, I’m glad that there is a Rottweiler under my roof to protect what I hold dear (and that includes the Golden Retriever.)

We need people like Bill Donohue to stand up to the Anti Catholic Church bullies.  Too often the bullies just walk all over the nice guys.

Marty, that was well put for simple people like me.  thanks.

All the comments of slander and defamation about Donahue with no documented proof.  I think some of you need to go to confession.

The “National Catholic REPORTER” is nothing but a tool for left wing Catholic heretics - like Polosi, Biden, Kerry, etc.

They never print anything from nor acknowledge the existance of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition” first printed in US in March 2000.
If they did, it would show that most of their writers are heretics.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/ccc_toc.htm
Vatican web site, search Catechism