| William A. Donohue |
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William A. Donohue (Born July 18 , 1947 in Manhattan, New York ) has been the president of the Catholic League in the United States since 1993 . His term has been wracked by his controversial views. BIOGRAPHY William A. Donohue began his teaching career in the 1970s working at St. Lucy's School in Spanish Harlem. In 1977, he took a position as a college professor teaching at La Roche College in Pittsburgh. In 1980, Bill was awarded his Ph.D. in sociology from New York University. In 1980 he received his doctorate in Sociology from New York University (NYU). His first book was The Politics of the American Civil Liberties Union, and he became associated with the Heritage Foundation . His books on the ACLU made him one of the group's most prominent critics. Donohue also served as a Professor of Sociology at '''La Rochelle College''' in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . While Donohue was in college in New York, a Jesuit at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin named Virgil C. Blum founded the Catholic League to counter Anti-Catholicism in American Culture . Virgil C. Blum died in 1990 . In 1993 , Dr. Donohue became the director of the organization. Under his leadership, the group has become a far more vocal organization than it had been before. PUBLICITY Joan Osborne In 1996, Donohue took issue with singer Joan Osborne over her song "One of Us", which explores the question of what it would be like if God were a normal person. Donohue questioned the point of the song when viewed in light of her own Activism . "It is no wonder that Joan Osborne instructs her fans to donate their time and money to Planned Parenthood . It is of a piece with her Politics and her Prejudice s. Her Song s and Video s offer a curious mix of both, the effect of which is to dance awfully close to the line of Catholic Baiting . If even her admirers see something of the Sacrilegious in her work, it is hard to maintain that Osborne doesn't have an agenda. It is our hope that she doesn't let her sentiments regarding Catholicism get in the way of whatever Artistic abilities she has." {Link without Title} Nothing Sacred In 1997, Donohue declared the , he stated that the show portrayed Catholics with a traditional view as cold or cruel while glorifying more the maverick, irreverent voices in the community. However, the show was defended by some Catholics and had been written with the consultation of Jesuits , from which it later won the Humanitas Prize . Many Catholics agreed with him that the show was hostile to the beliefs and values of the Catholic Church, and ABC cancelled ''Nothing Sacred'' after less than a season, reportedly for ratings difficulty. Defenders and critics think he may have played a significant role in the show's rapid demise as advertisers often become leery of shows deemed "controversial". [http://www.sffaith.com/ed/articles/1997/1197cs.htm Dogma The year 1999 saw the release of Kevin Smith's controversial film '' Dogma ''. Despite the fact that Smith is a practicing Catholic, several religious groups (especially the Catholic League For Religious And Civil Rights led by William Donohue ) claimed that the film was anti-Catholic and Blasphemous , and organized protests, including one that took place at the November 12 premiere of the film at Lincoln Center in New York City . Smith noted that several of the protests occurred before the film was even finished, suggesting that the protests were more about media attention for the groups than for whatever was controversial about the film. {Link without Title} Marilyn Manson In 2000, Donohue claimed that Heavy Metal singer Marilyn Manson hated not only Christianity but also Catholicism. Donohue said, "It is Christianity that {Link without Title} hates, and it is Catholicism that he hates most of all. This guy is at war with Christ." Marilyn Manson then responded to Donohue's claim by saying, "I can't possibly be at war with Christ, because your religion killed him and what he stood for. But if you want to be at war with me, bring it on." {Link without Title} Scarborough Country appearances and anti-Semitism On the December 8 , 2004 broadcast of '' Scarborough Country '', Donohue claimed, "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jew s who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It's not a secret, OK? And I'm not afraid to say it. That's why they hate this movie. It's about Jesus Christ , and it's about truth. It's about the Messiah ." This statement was viewed and called agreed with the rabbi but for himself, he stated the more mild: "The rabbi is saying it hurts the Jewish faith equally to fight the secularist fight. And that is how to find the right perspectives in the current quarrel." Of Hollywood and incest Donohue also faced criticism for other statements he made on ''Scarborough Country'' that concerned Hollywood in general. At an event he proclaimed that, " Hollywood likes Anal Sex . They like to see the Public Square without Nativity Scene s. I like families. I like Children . They like Abortion s. I believe in Traditional Values and restraint. They believe in Libertinism ." {Link without Title} On ''Scarborough Country'' on February 9 , 2006 , while commenting on why mainstream American actors like Billy Zane and Gary Busey would star in an Anti-American and Anti-Semitic film like Valley Of The Wolves Iraq , he went further, proclaiming, "Well, look, there are people in Hollywood, not all of them, but there are some people who are nothing more than harlots. They will do anything for the buck. They wouldn't care. If you asked them to sodomize their own mother in a movie, they would do so, and they would do it with a smile on their face." {Link without Title} Passion of the Christ Donohue is a staunch defender of Mel Gibson 's controversial movie the Passion Of The Christ . On the March 12 , 2004 broadcast of ''Scarborough Country'', he stated, "Well, first they (critics of the film) said The Passion Of The Christ was anti-Semitic. That didn't work. Then they said it was too Violent . That didn't work. Then they said it was S&M . That didn't work. Then they said it was Pornography . That didn't work. Now they're saying it's Fascist ic Queer -bashing. That kind of language would ordinarily get somebody taken away in a Straitjacket and -- put you in the Asylum . I don't know what about -- the Queer -bashing is all about. I'm pretty good about picking out who Queer s are and I didn't see any in the movie. I'm usually pretty good at that." Catholic priest scandal On October 13 , 2005 , he appeared on NBC 's '' Today Show ''. Reacting to the Sexual Abuse Scandal , he stated that the crisis was "a Homosexual scandal, not a Pedophilia scandal". {Link without Title} Bush holiday cards After U.S. President George W. Bush used the term "Holidays" instead of "Christmas" on the White House 2005 holiday cards, Donohue stated "The Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and... they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture." {Link without Title} CSI dispute Donohue took issue with the '' broadcast for its portrayal of Anti-abortion Activists . Donohue claimed, "A talented writer could easily spin an interesting who-done-it from this plot, but CSI chose to advance a Pro-abortion rights agenda by portraying those who are opposed to abortion as religious nuts not to be taken seriously." He went further and claimed, "Americans who respect human life in all of its stages have become the target of public ridicule. Enough is enough." {Link without Title} Muslims "In this country, we are civilized. We don't appreciate it when somebody sticks it to you in the name of freedom of speech, sir. We condemn it. But over there, they take the uncivilized approach. And then they wonder why so many people don't trust the Muslims when it comes to liberty, because they will abuse it." {Link without Title} Michael Savage "I was scheduled to be on with Mike Savage the day he savaged the Catholic Church and made bigoted comments about Latinos," Donohue said. "But in the pre-interview — which occurred just a half hour before Savage went ballistic — I let a producer know that I did not share the host’s position; after he checked with Savage, I was told they would not have me on the show. That was fine, but what is not fine is Savage’s diatribe about the ‘greedy pigs’ in the Catholic Church and how ‘the institution is rotten from the top to the bottom.’ He owes all Catholics an apology." {Link without Title} South Park "The ultimate hypocrite is not Comedy Central — that's their decision not to show the image of Muhammad or not — it's Parker and Stone . Like little whores, they'll sit there and grab the bucks. They'll sit there and they'll whine and they'll take their shot at Jesus. That's their stock in trade." -Donohue, in a statement about '' South Park '' creators Parker and Stone following the " Cartoon Wars Part II " episode. Parker and Stone had criticized their home network, Comedy Central, for refusing to display an image of Muhammad in a ''South Park'' episode. Though the image of Muhammad was not present, an image of Jesus Christ , depicted defecating on an American flag and President Bush , was left intact in the episode. {Link without Title} EXTERNAL LINKS Pages critical of Donohue
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