Dear Ombudsman Andrew Alexander,
The Washington Post ran an editorial by Catholic League President Bill Donahue in its October 19th version of On Faith. Here is how Donahue began his column:
There are many ways cultural nihilists are busy trying to sabotage America these days: multiculturalism is used as a club to beat down Western civilization in the classroom; sexual libertines seek to upend the cultural order by attacking religion; artists use their artistic freedoms to mock Christianity; Hollywood relentlessly insults people of faith; activist left-wing legal groups try to scrub society free of the public expression of religion; elements in the Democratic party demonstrate an animus against Catholicism; and secular-minded malcontents within Catholicism and Protestantism seek to sabotage their religion from the inside.
There are probably some elements of the Democratic Party that demonstrate an animus toward Catholicism, just as there are elements of the Republican Party who belong to White Power groups that oppose “Popeism” in all its forms. And I think it is appropriate to use the On Faith feature to invite the opinions of various religious leaders, even if their opinions seem politically skewed. But, there has to be some limitations on the bullshit you are willing to print. For example, Donahue argues:
Catholics were once the mainstay of the Democratic Party; now the gay activists are in charge. Indeed, practicing Catholics are no longer welcome in leadership roles in the Party: the contempt that pro-life Catholics experience is palpable.
To demonstrate how baseless this charge is, it is necessary to look at the religious affiliation of the 111th Congress. But, first, let’s note that the vice-president of the United States (Joe Biden) and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee (Tim Kaine) are both practicing Catholics. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is a practicing Catholic. These facts alone belie any truth in Donahue’s charge that practicing Catholics are no longer welcome in leadership roles in the Democratic Party.
If we look at the Democratic Congressional leadership in the House, we’ll notice that not only Pelosi is Catholic, but Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson and Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra are, as well. In the Senate, Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Majority Whip, is Catholic. Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray (D-WA) is Catholic. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is Catholic. In both houses of Congress, at the DNC, and in the White House, the top leadership includes Catholics.
But, let’s look deeper. The following House chairpeople are Catholic:
David Obey (Appropriations)
George Miller (Education and Labor)
Bob Brady (House Administration)
Nydia Velazquez (Small Business)
James Oberstar (Transportation and Infrastructure)
Silvestre Reyes (Intelligence)
Edward Markey (Energy Independence and Global Warming)
The following Senate chairpeople are Catholic:
Chris Dodd (Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs)
John Kerry (Foreign Relations)
Tom Harkin (Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions)
Patrick Leahy (Judiciary)
Mary Landrieu (Small Business)
John Kerry, I might add, was elected as the Democrats’ nominee for president in 2004. So, I fail to see how anyone could seriously argue that practicing Catholics are not welcomed in leadership roles in the Democratic Party. It appears to me that they are very well represented at every level of power. And it’s not just positions of power.
Party Affiliations in the 111th Congress.
The differences become more pronounced at the party level. While 70% of congressional Republicans are Protestant, only half of Democrats, 43.6% belong to Protestant denominations. Catholics make up 36.6% of Democratic members and 21% GOP members.
It is one thing to print the ideas of religious leaders, but it quite another to print baseless, inflammatory lies. Donahue’s lie is so egregious that it demands an official correction.
Sincerely,
