Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:
June 21 marks the beginning of the “Fortnight for Freedom” events, the campaign
for religious liberty being conducted by the nation’s bishops. Fair-minded
persons may disagree with this effort, but there is something unseemly going on
when those who work for a George Soros-funded group are quietly providing
talking points to the media.
John Gehring is an official at Faith in Public Life, and it is his organization
that lives off the bounty of the left-wing atheist billionaire, Mr. Soros. On
June 7, Gehring sent a memo to his buddies in the media (a copy of which was
generously leaked to me—click here) instructing them on how to handle the bishops. They
should begin by questioning the prelates why the Obama “accommodation” wasn’t
good enough. “You have to ask why the bishops can’t take yes for an answer,” he
wrote.
Teaching them how to handle the “war on the Catholic Church,” Gehring advises,
“Several bishops have used inflammatory and irresponsible rhetoric that
conflates a process of working through complex policy issues with a fundamental
attack on the Catholic Church.” He also frets over the politicization of the
religious liberty campaign, an effort made possible, he neglects to say, because
of the politicization of religion by President Obama.
Not to be outdone, Gehring presses his lackeys to victimize the victim,
beckoning them to ask the bishops—all of whom refuse to prostitute their
principles—“Are you willing to sacrifice Catholic charities, colleges and
hospitals if you don’t get your way on the contraceptive mandate?”
Finally, Gehring provides a go-to list of Catholic activists who can be counted
on to subvert the bishops’ message. It’s what we would expect from a George
Soros group.
Contact Gehring: Gehring@faithinpubliclife.org