Sometimes I think God made a mistake and put Bill Donohue's ass where his mouth should be ...
The first bark goes to Andy Towle on Towelroad: Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, an organization Kathy Griffin once described as one man in a room with a computer, has taken out a quarter-page ad in the New York Times defending Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church from allegations of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy. In recent weeks the paper has published well-researched articles documenting the abuse, including, 200 deaf boys at a school in Wisconsin, hundreds of cases in the German church (so many that the Vatican can't handle the workload), the abuse of altar boys on video by Brazilian priests. And just today, some new allegations out of Miami regarding a Cuban priest. The Vatican tried to cover up this case as well. Donohue attempts to deflect blame on the church by, among other things, once again bringing up the disproven canard that it's somehow the fault of gays. (No matter what the situation, this is the only stone Bill throws.)
One section of the Times' advertisement reads: "The Times continues to editorialize about the 'pedophilia crisis,' when all along it's been a homosexual crisis. Eighty percent of the victims of priestly sexual abuse are male and most of them are post-pubescent. While homosexuality does not cause predatory behavior, and most gay priests are not molesters, most of the molesters have been gay."
Psychotherapist Joe Kort explains pedophilia on Psychology Today: Rarely does a pedophile experience sexual desire for adults of either gender. They usually don't identify as homosexual - the majority identify as heterosexual, even those who abuse children of the same gender. They are sexually aroused by youth, not by gender. In contrast, child molesters often exert power and control over children in an effort to dominate them... (They) molest children episodically, for reasons apart from sexual desire, much as rapists enjoy power, violence and controlling their humiliated victims... To call child molestation of a boy by a man "homosexual" or of a girl by a man "heterosexual" is to misunderstand pedophilia. No true pedophile is attracted to adults.
The Catholic League's ad continues: "The Times has teamed up with Jeffrey Anderson, a radical lawyer who has made millions suing the Church and greasing professional victims' groups like SNAP so they can weaken its moral authority. Why? Because of issues like abortion, gay marriage, and women's ordination. That's what's really driving them mad and that's why they are on the hunt."
"Greasing professional victims' groups like SNAP?" Is Donohue fucking kidding? So much for Christian compassion. Or taking responsibility for the Vatican's systematic cover-up of these crimes against children. To Bill Donohue and other Church apologists (including the Holy See itself), the only thing "professional victims' groups" really care about is bilking money from the misunderstood (and completely blameless!) dioceses where the offenses occurred. That, and advancing progressive causes like same-sex marriage. (How he can make that bizarre connection is anybody's guess.)
To make matters worse, much worse, Bill Donohue appeared on CNN's Larry King Live last night and insisted that many of these abuse cases don't actually classify as pedophilia because "most of the victims were post-pubescent," twelve or thirteen years old. According to Mr. Donohue, boys of that age should not be characterized as innocent children.
John Amato writes on Crook and Liars: Unbelievable. Bill Donohue is so desperate to bash gays and defend the Catholic Church that's he's willing to pretend that people who are attracted to thirteen-year-old boys aren't really child predators. They're just gay. And King let him say it unchallenged as though it was no big deal. (C&L has video of King's drowsy non-response to Donohue's outrageous assertions, along with a transcript of the segment.)
"It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you place the blame." - Oscar Wilde




