The President is getting hammered on the Catholic issue again. It's not Notre Dame this time. Now it has to do with someone he named to his Faith Council.
Harry Knox from the Human Rights Campaign has said some pretty controversial things about the Pope. Now some leading conservative leaders have come together and have sent the following letter to President Obama. It was just released this morning. Read it below:
Quick comment: mark my words: one of the key religious themes of the 2012 campaign is already taking shape. We have a Catholic battle on our hands. Conservative, pro-life Catholics are going to try and label the President as anti-Catholic. Moderate Catholic groups will defend the President and his policies. The Obama team won this battle in 2008. They'll have to work overtime in 2012 to overcome a mounting offensive.
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500-0003
Dear Mr. President,
On April 6, you named Harry Knox to your Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. You claim to have created this Council, among other things, to “bring everyone together – from both the secular and faith-based communities.”
Harry Knox is the hate-filled antithesis of this noble objective. Knox is a virulent anti-Catholic bigot, and has made numerous vile and dishonest attacks against the Church and the Holy Father. He has no business on any Council having to do with faith or religion.
We do not know if you or members of your Administration were aware of Knox’s deplorable, abusive attitude towards the Church and Pope Benedict XVI when you named him to the Council. We assume you were not. But since then, there have been numerous press reports on Knox’s loathsome, and clearly bigoted rhetoric, so there no longer is any excuse for your failure to act. We can remain silent no longer.
As Catholics, we call on you to remove Mr. Knox from his position and to formally disassociate yourself from his militant anti-Catholicism. Failure to do so will result in the tainting of your Faith-Based Council—and indeed, your entire administration—as anti-Catholic. We urge you to give this matter your immediate consideration.
Sincerely,
L. Brent Bozell III
Founder and President
Media Research Center
Judie Brown, President,
American Life League, Inc.
Stafford, VA
Larry Cirignano
Catholic Activist and Founder
CatholicVote.org
Eileen Cubanski
Executive Director
National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools (NAPCIS)
Bill Donohue
President
Catholic League
Chuck Donovan
Executive Vice President
Family Research Council
Deacon Keith A. Fournier
Editor in Chief, Catholic Online
Founder, Common Good
Deal W. Hudson
Director
InsideCatholic.com
Philip F. Lawler
Editor
Catholic World News
Leonard Leo
President
National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
** Affiliation listed for identification purposes only
Tom McClusky
Vice President of Government Affairs
Family Research Council
Kate O’Beirne
President
National Review Institute
Thomas Peters
American Papist Blog
Al Regnery
Publisher
The American Spectator
Patrick J. Reilly
President
The Cardinal Newman Society
Charles Rice
Professor, Emeritus
Notre Dame Law School
Austin Ruse
President
Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM)
Phyllis Schlafly
Founder and President
Eagle Forum
Fr. Robert Sirico
President
The Acton Institute
Richard Viguerie
President
American Target Advertising