Catholic League President Bill Donohue Says Charlie Hebdo Journalists “Deserved it”

Catholic League President Bill Donohue Says Charlie Hebdo Journalists “Deserved it”

Like many Catholics who find themselves more on the conservative end of the political spectrum, I have been asking myself for awhile now if the religion of my birth still “fits” me. Thankfully when I have encountered these types of faith crises in the past I have found priests who have helped me recognize that I am on the right path in my church. Unfortunately, the past decade has found me once again re-evaluating my stance on Rome-but nothing could have prepared me for what I read today. Evidently, yesterday when the rawness of the slaughter of journalists at the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices was still fresh the president of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue, released a statement which did the unthinkable. It blamed the journalists for their own savage murder by Islamic radicals.

“Those who work at this newspaper have a long and disgusting record of going way beyond the mere lampooning of public figures, and this is especially true of their depictions of religious figures. Had [Charbonnier] not been so narcissistic, he may still be alive,”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue

Donohue continued:

“Killing in response to insult, no matter how gross, must be unequivocally condemned. That is why what happened in Paris cannot be tolerated,” says Donohue. “But neither should we tolerate the kind of intolerance that provoked this violent reaction.”

Mr. Donohue is obviously not a supporter of the First Amendment, nor of freedom of expression and frankly this is exactly the kind of thinking that leads people of lesser intelligence to pick up a weapon and murder innocent people with whom they have an ideological beef. I, frankly, do not see how Mr. Donohue can say that his organization represents Catholics in any way, shape or form. Raised as a Catholic and educated in Catholic institutions I can tell you that blaming victims of religious zealotry was not a tenant of the Church I grew up with. Now, Luke 6:31 certainly was something that I grew up believing and still set stock by in my adult life.

“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. Luke 6:31”

Now, you may argue that the same advice could have saved those at Charlie Hebdo a world of hurt (literally) but Jesus did not live in a world where the First Amendment (or the European equivalent the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)  existed.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Now, free speech can be a real pain in the tush. After all, it protects idiots like the KKK and the Black Panthers when they spout their vitriol on Twitter or through their bullhorns. It also enables people here in the U.S., and in Europe,  to say what so many other societies throughout history said to radical Islam throughout the ages- we will not submit.

Members of the New Black Panther Party

The Catholic League’s statement continued to elucidate Mr. Donohue’s grievances against the editor of Charlie Hebdo, whom he labeled “narcissistic” and called out by name.

“Mr Donohue cited cartoons of nuns masturbating and popes wearing condoms, as well as depictions of the prophet Mohammed in “pornographic poses”.

Well, guess what Mr. Donohue? Depictions of masturbating nuns, while they may be offensive, are old news (goth band Christian Death beat Charlie Hebdo to that one by 20 years) and I am sure there have been pictures of pedophile priests in many political cartoons due to the American church’s irresponsible handling of the multiple cases of clergy abuse. Bottom line-if you don’t like it in a free society then you don’t have to support it but no one deserves to die because you do not agree with their stance on any political or religious issue. When we start acting like the murderous radical Islamists and spouting the same kind of rhetoric that they do, they have won.

“Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be
unyielding to them; and their abode is hell, and evil is their destination.”

Quran 9:73″

If you would like to express to Bill Donohue, or the other leadership of the Catholic league, that you disagree with their position on the Charlie Hebdo murders, please visit their site at http://www.catholicleague.org/contact/.

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11 Comments
  • Penny says:

    You knocked this one right out of the ball park, Jennifer!! Totally agree!! Personally, I’m very conservative in just about everything, but I’m very strong minded in my beliefs. Yes, I was extremely upset by the crucifix in urine ugliness, but, that “artist(?)” will have to answer to God, as we all will. Yes, I get extremely sick&tired of the constant attacks by non-believers, but I try to choose my battles…..but, sometimes, the cherry picking is astonishing and disgusting.

    I was raised a “northern” Baptist, and now attend an Evangelical Lutheran church. But, I’ve attended Congregational & Episcopal, which have now become way too liberal for my conservative taste. It would seem that our churches have become like supermarkets or Chinese menus, you can choose what you want to believe, and cast out what you don’t particularly care for. That’s not what God’s plan is, Jesus & God are pretty clear, and we take the risk when we mock them. We also have every opportunity to ask for, and receive, forgiveness.

    I had high hopes for the present Pope, but, it seems everything&everyone is taking the easy, overly traveled, and crooked road…the road to Liberalism & Socialism. When you consider that the most corrupted members of Congress, the VP Biden, and the former Secretary of HHS, Katherine Sebelius, are all “practicing” Catholics….it makes me worry about the sustaining ability of the great Catholic Church that I have admired since I was a child. Hang in there, Jennifer, you are not alone!!

  • Appalled By The World says:

    I sure miss John Paul II. It seems like once he left the scene the idiot liberation theologists seized control of the Vatican. Because of them we seem a lot closer to the Koranist goal of flying their green flag over St Peter’s.

  • Jennifer says:

    Penny and Appalled,
    Thank you! The liberation theologians and the social justice crowd make my head hurt. I also see a ton of un-Christlike behavior from people like this guy. NO ONE deserves to die like those journalists did and no one should advocate someone dying because they do not share their political or theological belief. Perhaps it is because I stood in front of the ovens at defunct concentration camps at the tender age of 6 but I have never been able to fathom (or tolerate) someone saying these types of things.

    Thank you both so much for following us and giving us your feedback! It’s nice to know we aren’t alone 🙂

    Jennifer

  • Xavier says:

    Donahue was on a Hannity special on radical Islam tonight; the nicest terms I can use to describe him would be loudmouthed, rude, oafish moron. Pam Geller and Robert Spencer looked like they wanted to choke him.

    The program will repeat on Fox Sunday at 8 PM EST and is worth watching until the last 10 minutes when it breaks down into a free-for-all shouting match. I’m not a big Hannity fan but there was some serious Obama bashing going on and that’s always fun.

  • Merle says:

    I used the link & sent them an e-mail with my thoughts. Somehow I doubt I’ll be getting a Christmas card from them!

    Merle

  • Jennifer says:

    Xavier,

    Haha! I watched Megan Kelly school him online, gorgeous! #popcorn

    Merle,
    Good job! We should all do this!

    Jennifer

  • Dana says:

    Well, Mr Donohue didn’t exactly say that the attack was deserved, but he came close enough. But that’s Mr Donohue’s job: it is his job to defend the Church against any heresy or slander at all, and from any criticism, and that’s the mindset he brings.

    Usually, he’s right; this time, he should have kept his mouth shut.

    • GWB says:

      But that’s Mr Donohue’s job: it is his job to defend the Church

      Ummm, actually, that’s not his job at all. His organization is one person, and its purpose is to agitate for certain positions, regardless off the Roman Catholic Church’s actual stance or feelings on the matter. He doesn’t work for the Church at all.

  • GWB says:

    Now, I’m not in any way denigrating Charlie Hebdo‘s courage in poking the troll of islam over and over again. But I am not Charlie. I think the phrase is trite and too event-specific.

    Here’s the phrase we should be using instead:
    AN ASTASLEM!
    It means “I will not submit!” This should be our ongoing slogan to stick in the faces of the sharia pushers around the globe. It should be brought out every time one of them whines or threatens or actually commits an act of barbarity.
    AN ASTASLEM!

  • ag says:

    He was not saying they deserved it but that they were gratuitously inviting backlash, tempting fate so to speak. If you find that magazine’s cartoons acceptable (or even, if you don’t find them reprehensible and deserving of censure, and apt to provoke needless violence) then Catholicism might be too rigid for you. I’m not a Catholic either.

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