Billy the bully is bad for the church

Send in the clowns. They're all over Fox News.

Amen.

THANK YOU, Joe for finally writing something about this baffoon. Can anyone please talk to the networks and offer them an alternative to this guy. He has long been an embarassment to all of us. Surely he has a Board of Directors that should hold him accountable, or is it his own show. Perhaps an IRS investigation is necessary to assure that the Catholic League meets all the standards for a not for profit status.

According to Tradition, court jesters are a needed component in a monarchial situation.

A well-written article Joe! I have been engaged in researching Pope Pius XII for the last ten years of so. Donohue's website maintains much of the fiction material so beloved by the "canonise him now" lobby groups. Donohue's "no-evidence needed" attacks on those he deems as attacking the Church does nothing to help those who seek the truth about the war-time Pope and the work of the Church in rescue or desertion of the Jews of Europe. I also recognise that on the scale of issue importance, Pius is not the most important issue, but Donohue's a-historical, a-theological and hysterical behaviour serves noone but his own clique and gives the rest of the world, and a good part of the Church, a bit of a giggle. Here in Australia there are many of us who are very glad Donohue is "over there" and not "over here".

Embarassed to say I don't know "Billy the Bully, but he looks (and sounds) a lot like Rush Limbaugh.

I'm afraid I don't know "Billy the Bully". It strikes me , though, that he looks (and sounds) a lot like Rush Limbaugh.

Mr Feuerherd:
It's the ultimate irony that you write such an article. Donahue might be a little belligerent, and have his foibles, but any ill byproduct pales in comparison to what this rag publishes and spews on a daily basis. You encourage hatred and disdain for the Church (in it's full meaning, head (hierarchy) and members).

Save for Mr. Allen NCR is one of the great scandals in the US Church today.

Joe: Who says the "worst stereotypes of triumphalism, homophobia, misogyny and intolerance" have been abandoned by the church? Not in my diocese they haven't.

Hopefully this is not some sort of life-time appointment!

"It plays to the worst stereotypes of triumphalism, homophobia, misogyny and intolerance THE CHURCH HAS LONG SINCE ABANDONED." Really? With Cardinals and Bishops in long capes, with another Cardinal, the number two in the Vatican, blaming homosexuality for all the pedophilia problems of the Church, with Church authorities running away from women religious in Rome, well... has the Church really abandoned triumphalism, homophobia, misogyny and intolerance? Lets get real here! Many thanks!

The headline says it all! I agree 100% - he's bad for the Church!

A couple of years ago South Park lampooned Donahue in their Easter episode where he is made out to be holier than the Pope, which in his diatribes is not far from the truth.

He takes the most extreme positions for what I believe his is own personal ego and the Church as a whole is worse off for it. The Catholic League has never had credibility in my eyes.

I'd be interested to know where the money comes from. Is this IRD at it again?

At last, someone has had the courage to say it. Not a Cardinal or bishop; just a good Catholic layman who has to work for his salary.

Where does the money for Donahue's salary and deferred compensation come from?

What's his name is full of it, baloney, that is.

The worst of it is that so many people in the pews believe he is some kind of a representative voice for the Roman Catholic Church.

Good Gawd, don't we have enough problems?

Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
New Castle, Delaware
maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com

Thank you for an excellent article on this man who is doing great harm to the church, and it amazes me that he is totally unaware of the damage he is doing.
Unfortunately, many people in my age bracket (latter 70s) believe in him. I guess it is easier to be a pray, pay, and obey catholic than a thinking catholic.

Amen to all that. His behavior shames all Catholics.

$372,501, nice work if you can get it. But does that include expenses? If Cardinal George can complain about Donohue's associates how about New York's Archbishop Dolan. Take a look at his blog http://blog.archny.org. Especially his guest George Weigel's comments. Some of Dolan's and Weigel's remarks could have easily come from the pen of Donohue.

JF:
You have some excellent suggestions for Catholic League projects.
I just cant believe the Catholic League has $20 Million in assets.
And how can they afford to pay Wm. Donahue's huge salary and an office in New York?
When the office was in Milwaukee they could barely make payroll.
The contributors were mostly small donations.
Is there any way to discover who contributes to CL?
Are they receiving donations that have political connections? Or from the hierarchy of the Church?
Excellent article.
Thanks.

I love this site!! It's good to see that I am not the only one who thinks William Donahue is a bully and a liar. His take on blaming the clergy sex abuse on gays is outrageous. thanks for a great article!

When Mr. Feuerherd declares Donahue's job to be "good work if you can get it,"
I think he means it. If it were as he describes it, the job would be one for
which he is entirely suited. His own record at NCR proves that he has the requisite tact, taste and ethical standards.

If my words are too subtle for any reader, what I mean is that Feuerherd has
proven over and over that he himself is a bigoted buffoon.

Mr Donahue is not alone as THE carnival barker posing as a defender of the Faith.

Look at the comments that came from Rome following the NYTimes articles.

Rome's Theme: "Shoot the Messenger."

I have solved the problem as far as 'leadership' is concerned. Catholic hierarchy has shown none so they have no legitimate authority.

Maybe I am waiting for Pope Benedict to show me his birth certificate.

I agree with everything in this article except the last line: the church has not abandoned triumphalism, homophobia, misogyny or intolerance-- and that's why people like Donohue can continue to blabber so. He has a lot of clerical support with those tactics. For shame!

"Donohue’s argument is baloney."

Oh, you are SO right about "Billy the Bully." I saw one of his non sequitur tirades on CNN's Rick Sanchez show and was furious about it. I commented on it by saying that Bill Donohue would serve the church best by selling hot dogs at baseball games.

Is the Catholic League THAT hard up for members that they put Bill Donohue as their leader? This guy always seems so 'pleased' with himself after he has insulted several categories of good and holy human beings.

"But the best part of being president of the Catholic League is you can say almost anything, impugn nearly anyone, make the most outlandish public statements, and you’re never held accountable."

The way he twists facts and indicts innocent people is matter for the confessional. Here is a guy with apparently no conscience. Anything to protect the Pope? I think not.

I do hold Mr. Donohue accountable. Everyone else should, too. He is way out of control.

You are totally correct, Mr. Feuerherd: Billy the Bully is BAD, really B-A-D for the church.

Billy the Bully - perfect description. But you know what? He's just an opportunistic slob like the other one over at the Cardinal Newman Society. That is what you expect from cannibals.

The real issue I have is that none of the hierarchy in this country (or elsewhere) have the b**ls to tell people that he has no ecclesiastical authority - he doesn't speak for the Church - and he delivers a message inconsistent with our faith.

I don't really care so much what non-Catholics think of him, it's the fact that Catholics themselves by and large are led to believe that the "Catholic League" somehow speaks from a chair of authority.

I understand how the crowd of blowhards like Burke and Chaput would favor him, but exactly why are all the other red-hats so unwilling to speak up? And they wonder why so many Catholics won't accept them as teachers....

Wonderful. It is great that someone is able to articulate the feelings and thoughts of, I am sure, many of us. I refuse to pay any attention to him under any circumstanced, but find it amazing to see what he actually receives for his invective and clownish behavior. Sadly, I believe that he actually speaks for many bishops and others in positions of authority. He and Limbaugh are blood brothers, making an excellent living by stirring up hatred and fear.

I subscribed to the Catholic League's publication for one year and found it to be a waste of time and paper. I have rolls of paper in my bathroom which are more useful. Donohue has been a buffoon and a bully for many years and whenever you want a quote which shows Catholics as ignorant, uncaring or even racist the good doctor can always be counted on to provide the needed quote.

Its about time someone stood up to and exposed Bill the Bully. For many years I thought him to be an embarrassment to the Church and cringed when his angry face appeared asd a talking head.

I recall my dismay when Donahue spearheaded a drive to force network TV and advertisers to drop "Nothing Sacred" an excellent series about an inner city priest. I don't recall if Donahue objected to the fact that the young, long haired and socially conscious priest and his pastoral associate nun were too soft on struggling "sinners" or too hard on the pompous prigs at the diocesan chancery. But this excellent drama series was plummetted by Billy the Bully who objected apparently that a Catholic priest was being portrayed as dealing with serious moral and social issues in a grown up way. I don't know who this paranoid group of pseudo Defenders of the Faith represent - but it isn't me.

the gray face of anglo Catholicism in anglo America

get real.
turn off that darn TV.
come to the Spanish Mass.

Catholicism in English is just a nonstarter
Henry the Eighth and Elizabeth Regina first knew that.

Some people will believe mr. donahue,however it does not absolve the 'pope and his minions' for their evil deeds. What does the number of victims have to climb to in order for legislation to be passed that will provide the victims justice ? Is this the cost of doing business, the children are expendiable just as long as the image of the church isn't tarnished. Shame on the 'pope' and all those who enabled and protected the perps rather than the children !

Amen to this article. It embarasses me as a Catholic that the secular media regularly portrays this loud, angry, arrogant man as some sort of a spokesperson for the Church; a go to guy for the "Catholic" viewpoint. Donahue does not speak for the Church at large. Unlike Donahue, most Catholics do not exist in a perpetual state of egotistical fury over the trivial. The great majority of the alleged incidents of anti-Catholicism the "Catholic" League brings attention to are silly trifles, magnified by the League to near-apocalyptic heights of importance.

Everything you write matches my understanding of this cardboard character. And, for all that cardboard, I think he has much more influence over the US bishops than your piece intimates. This screaming, red-faced blowhard on national TV has lots of influence; no one wants to irritate him. No one will shut him up or tell him how much he embarrasses the church.

Guilt by association still works. Easier to cave to Donohue's screeching that confront him with his hot air approach. Somebody needs to make this guy retire. Seems like he has enough of a pension, more than most, so he won't go hungry.

Add Donohue to the current crisis, and the black pot boileth over right into the even blacker kettle.

He sucks all the air out of hope.

He is a fear-monger who takes the low road of intimidation to earn his really big salary.

He is a humorless, joyless man. More the pity. More to pity.

God help us.

PS He doesn't speak for me. Ever.

Why isn't anyone else doing this kind of work?

I've had a lot of issues with the way Mr Donohue does things. I've been frustrated with how he argues and how his brand of jingoistic Catholicism doesn't reflect who I am as a Catholic.

But who else is there? And who else will be covered in the media?

The truth of the matter is that he's probably invited on news programs precisely BECAUSE of his over-the-top personality. It's the same reason we keep getting Christopher Hitchens on news shows. When people like them are on the air, their personalities will take over and it will make for good TV.

Find a more palatable personality and they aren't going to get the same airtime.

And, on the other hand, those critical of Mr Donohue may also be too tolerant of expressions of anti-Catholicism, of remaining quiet when the faith of Catholics is attacked, misrepresented, mocked, and discriminated against in the public square. We've tolerated a lot of this in the name of free-expression and art, ready to defend the sacredness of meta-critical expression over the mystery of God and the Church. Combating this is a matter of justice, worth the time and the effort. To allow attacks on our faith betrays our own sense of sacredness and mystery, something to which we are all called to be witnesses to.

So we have Bill Donohue, a talking head among other boisterous and exaggerated talking heads, speaking out of love for Christ and His Church, a Church that he correctly perceives as often being singled out for insult, who often doesn't speak in an exaggerated style the does not reflects the temperament of most Catholics, but who ironically stands out because of that same style.

Let's see someone do better.

AMEN!!!

He's horrid and shouldn't be allowed to represent the church in any way.

Thank you, thank you for finally standing up to this bully. I live in the South where Catholics are in the minority and considered a might satanic. When this Bill Donohue is shown on CNN or other talk shows I realize that my many friends think this is the face of Catholicism and I cringe at the thought.
Until your article I have never heard anyone talk about the buffonary of his talk, so again I say thank you, thank you....

"nearly half of the cases of abuse by clergy in the United States involve victims ages 12 or younger" doesn't this mean that more then half were over 12? Thus making Donohue's arguement when he says the most of the problem was a homosexual one?

Of course people and the media listen to a guy like him, it suits their anti Catholic purposes.

Well, there IS another way to look at this whole idea of a Christian response to very real persecution of the Church. We follow the Master. We let it happen and we suffer it gladly.

The Church probably does not need a PR guy to defend it in the manner of a henchman who is out to break metaphorical legs in a melee with dissenters or adversaries. Would Jesus act like this or would He witness the Spirit with his behavior?

It was so good to see the comment by Deacon Ray defending the TV drama "Nothing Sacred". It was a program that depicted the Church in a wonderful way.

I was a member of the Council of Catholic Women when the notice came from the Catholic League encouraging the women to protest the program. Many of them had never seen it, knew nothing about it... but because the Catholic League spoke, they got on the bandwagon at the diocesan level and spread the word.

Wonderful article about a person who is really full of "hot air." I agree with the comments about Mr. Donohue. Too bad he cannot float away into the sky.

It may interest your readers to know how this person and his over the top bellowing and demagoguery appear to a non RC Christian like myself. He gives your church a belligerent, defensive and decidedly right-wing image. I get the impression that conservative or "orthodox" RC may find him a bit pugnacious but they take the view that pit bulls are useful at times.

It is always a pleasure to listen to rare TV appearances by John Allen or one of the Jesuits from your "competition", America magazine. No snarling or sneering, but intelligent discussion. Mr. Donahue is a symptom of a larger problem with cable news. They want shouters or as the author of this piece wrote, heat not light. They require soundbites, preferably in 10 seconds or less and their motto is "Dumb it Down". Can you really blame the suits who run cable news? We are a nation where a minority of us have a 4yr. college degree and where many proudly state they never read a book, have never gone to a museum (except on a school field trip) and believe in flying saucers and an earth less than 12 thousand years old. In this milieu Bill the Blowhard fits, as my late father would say, in like Flynn.

Thanks so much for clearly articulating this idiot spokesperson...who voted him in anyway?
Also, Kudos to your website...finally a place where I fit in...certainly not the church of Bill...

Predictable article

When will some of NCR writers push off the staleness that plagues the content here. Almost without exception, I can fill in the tiresome phrases on almost all of these articles.

Write with the light and joy of Jesus. None of the recent articles reflect faith, hope or charity. It isn't that hard.

Dig a new rut somewhere else.

Spot on! But, as other respondents have indicated, Feuerherd’s comment that "it plays to the worst stereotypes of triumphalism, homophobia, misogyny and intolerance the church long since abandoned." is less than accurate. With its never ending vituperative invective, the hierarchy daily does violence to homosexuals and women. I've never heard a red hat publically disclaim any statement made by Billy the Bully.
Anonymous

I suspect that precisely because Donahue is so over the top and outrageous that he is invited as an "expert". He fosters anti-catholicism by his approach. I would bet that many non-catholics see him and say "Those Catholics must be crazy". We are being hoisted on our own petard by this loud rude fellow, and it hurts the church.

i don't get the anti homosexual stance of the catholic church when so many of their bishops, cardinals priests,nuns are gay..
In fact i remember reading that a high percentage of jesuits and other priests are gay.. i have an old article about how catholic priests and aids.

I think the catholic church is a hypocrit.

have watched Donohue and was embarassed the same as i am embarassed for shaun hannity and rush limbaugh when i hear them..

It is sad to me that these men make their living (millions??) off of trashing. the president, the democrats women , and anyone else who doesnt fit their playbook.
How can anyone believe anything said by anyone who is getting paid to say it or make it up..