Catholic League's Bill Donohue Paid Well for Manning Fax Machine

Bill Donohue, whose anti-gay crusades include getting a gay Smithsonian art show censored, have wrongly scapegoating gays as the problem for sexual abuse in the Catholic church, campaigning against gay adoption, condemning Kathy Griffin, slobbering over gym bodies, and attacking Towleroad, gets paid handily for his efforts.

Catholics United reports:

"Controversial Catholic League president William Donohue – whose work has now gained the support of the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops – earned a salary of $342,500 in 2009, with an additional $56,656 in fringe benefits. According to annual IRS Form 990 filings, the organization spent more than $2.6 million in 2009, despite the fact that its program work constitutes little more than the issuing of inflammatory press releases."

It's bad work if you can get it.

"The IRS filings list other examples of lavish spending. The organization shells out $335,914 for its midtown Manhattan office space, and compensates vice president Bernadette Brady to the tune of $203,727. An additional $57,826 is spent on office equipment."

Warhol Foundation Threatens to Pull Funding from Smithsonian Unless it Restores Censored Wojnarowicz Video

The Warhol Foundation today threatened to stop funding exhibits at the Smithsonian unless it restores the David Wojnarowicz video piece "A Fire in the Belly" to the National Portrait Gallery's Hide/Seek exhibit. The Smithsonian, as you may know, pulled the Wojnarowicz piece from the exhibit after complaints from the Catholic League that the video, which depicts ants on a crucifix and memorializes the death of Wojnarowicz's lover from AIDS. 

Wrote the Warhol Foundation in a letter:

Mr. Wayne Clough
Smithsonian Institution
SIB Office of the Secretary
MRC 016
PO Box 37012
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Dear Mr. Clough,

The Warhol Foundation is proud to have been a lead supporter of Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, but we strongly condemn the decision to remove David Wojnarowicz’s video A Fire in My Belly from the exhibition. Such blatant censorship is unconscionable. It is inimical to everything the Smithsonian Institution should stand for, and everything the Andy Warhol Foundation does stand for.

Although we have enjoyed our growing relationship during the past three years, and have given more than $375,000 to fund several exhibitions at various Smithsonian institutions, we cannot stand by and watch the Smithsonian bow to the demands of bigots who have attacked the exhibition out of ignorance, hatred and fear.

Last week the Foundation published a statement on its website www.warholfoundation.org, condemning the National Portrait Gallery’s removal of the work and on Friday our Board of Directors met to discuss the long-term implications of the Museum’s behavior on the Foundation’s relationship with the Smithsonian Institution. After careful consideration, the Board voted unanimously to demand that you restore the censored work immediately, or the Warhol Foundation will cease funding future exhibitions at all Smithsonian institutions.

I regret that you have put us in this position, but there is no other course we can take. For the arts to flourish the arts must be free, and the decision to censor this important work is in stark opposition to our mission to defend freedom of expression wherever and whenever it is under attack.

Sincerely yours,

Joel Wachs
President

It's good that folks are finally taking action over this shameful censorship.

Also, Tyler Green reports that National Portrait Gallery commissioner James Bartlett has resigned in protest:

"Bartlett is the former board president of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The commission functions as a kind of board of directors for the gallery."

Previously...
Frank Rich Bashes The Smithsonian Over Censorship [tr]
Watch: Activist Banned for Life from Smithsonian for iPad Protest [tr] 
National Portrait Gallery Censors AIDS Artwork [tr]

Catholic League's Bill Donohue Writes About The Homosexual Crisis In The Catholic Church In The Washington Post

In a clear response to the latest scandal to hit the Catholic Church, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, who has in the past taken out full page ads in the New York Times defending the Pope, this time has decided to write a piece in the Washington Post. Donohue once again maintains that there isn't a pedophilia crisis in the Church, but a "homosexual crisis." In order to make his point clear, he uses alcoholism and people who are of Irish heritage as an example.

Writes Donohue: 

"Correlation is not causation; it is an association. So to say that there is a correlation between homosexual orientation and the sexual abuse of minors is not to say that being a homosexual makes one a molester. Indeed, as I have said many times, most gay priests are not molesters, but most of the molesters have been gay. In other words, although sexual orientation does not cause sexual abuse, the fact that there is a relationship between homosexuality and the sexual abuse of minors cannot be ignored in dealing with this problem."

"Think of it this way. We know there is a correlation between being Irish and being an alcoholic, but that doesn't mean all Irishmen are, or will become, alcoholics. But it does mean they have a special problem in this area. Does this now make me anti-Irish?"

Catholic League's Bill Donohue and Lesbian NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn Bond Over Empire State Building Battle

 

The Catholic League has been pressing the Empire State Building to go blue and white for what would have been Mother Teresa's 100th birthday on August 26, but the ESB has thus far resisted.

Their official response?  

"The Empire State Building celebrates many cultures and causes in the world community with iconic lightings, and has a tradition of lightings for the religious holidays of Easter, Eid al Fitr, Hanukah, and Christmas. As a privately owned building, ESB has a specific policy against any other lighting for religious figures or requests by religions and religious organizations."

NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn criticized the organization, telling the Daily News:  The question of why the building will not be lit is a question that deserves answering. As far as I'm concerned, the answer should be yes."

Quinn also wrote a letter to the ESB, arguing "She was voted the most admired woman in the world three years in a row and even won the Nobel Peace Prize."

Quinn's efforts have sparked an alliance between the openly gay City Council speaker and the Catholic League's Bill Donohue, who is known for opposing gays on a variety of issues.

Donohue praised her as a good Catholic: “Oh, I don’t care if she’s openly gay. What do I care about that! I disagree with Christine Quinn on gay marriage. She has been very supportive of Catholics in other areas. I’ve been involved in coalitions with Protestants and Jews and occasionally with Muslims and Hindus. I think Christine Quinn has shown herself to be a very good Catholic, and I appreciate what she’s done. We may have differences in other areas. I don’t care about that.”  

New York magazine notes that under the same ownership, the building dimmed its lights for the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005.

Watch: Bill Donohue Continues to Peddle Lie Scapegoating Gays for Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Epidemic

 

The Catholic League's Bill Donohue went on CNN to discuss the ad he took out in the NYT claiming that the Catholic clergy sexual abuse problem is a homosexual problem.

Said Donohue: "As I said in the ad, which I wrote, most gay priests are not molesters, but most of the molesters have been gay. And I also said, that there’s no such thing as a — that homosexuality does not cause predatory behavior. Let me give you a quick example. I’m Irish. Everybody who has half a brain knows that the Irish have a bigger problem with alcoholism than the Italians or the Chinese, for example. Does that mean because you’re an Irishman, therefore, you are driven to become an alcoholic? Of course, not. What it means, though, if your group is overrepresented in a particular problem area, you ought to explore it. Yes, there’s a connection between Irish and alcoholism, and, yes, there’s a connection between homosexuality and sexual abuse of minors."

Yesterday, GLAAD urged the media to ignore Donohue's anti-gay attacks.

Said Rashad Robinson, Senior Director of Media Programs at GLAAD: “It’s telling that when media start taking a closer look at the recent revelations in the abuse crisis, Donohue instantly tries to change the subject by blaming the media and casting gay people as sexual predators. But Americans are getting sick of this ugly, vicious scapegoating. Donohue is feeding a hostile climate that gay people continue to face in this country. It’s wrong, it’s unacceptable, and no credible media outlet should be providing a platform for these kinds of attacks.”

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Watch: Sinead O'Connor, Thomas Roberts, and Bill Donohue Appear on Larry King to Discuss Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Epidemic

Last night, Larry King had a roundtable on the Catholic Church clergy sexual abuse epidemic featuring a barely recognizable Sinead O'Connor, former CNN anchor and sexual abuse victim Thomas Roberts, Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue, and a couple Catholic priests.

Donohue continued to defend the Pope and reiterated his false claim that priests aren't pedophiles, they're homosexuals.

Said Donohue (in part 3): "It's not pedophilia. Most of the victims are post- pubescent. You have to get your facts straight. I'm sorry. If I'm the only one who is dealing with facts tonight, that's it. The vast majority of the victims are post-pubescent. That's not pedophelia, buddy. That's homosexuality...Post-pubescent means beyond puberty. In other words, you're adolescent. That's what homosexuals do, and of the molesters have been homosexuals in the Catholic church."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...