Today, Bill Donohue, the President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, a 501c3 tax exempt organization, issued a press release labeling Obama's Catholic advisors as Catholic dissidents. By issuing this statement, Donohue not only jeopardizes his tax exempt status but also raises larger concerns over the use of his organization for a partisan agenda.

According to the book Onward Christian Soldiers by the Republican operative Deal Hudson, Karl Rove recruited Bill Donohue to participate in Republican organized efforts to court Catholic voters. By attacking the Catholic advisors of a presidential campaign at this moment, Bill Donohue is again engaging in partisan politics.

Sen. John McCain today visited storm-ravaged New Orleans and held press events at St. David’s Catholic Church and Xavier University. Despite mounting pressure, however, the senator has yet to reject comments made this week by prominent supporter Pastor John Hagee – who claims God “willed” Hurricane Katrina because the city of New Orleans had been planning a “homosexual rally.” Catholics United is calling on Sen. McCain to reject Hagee’s intolerant statements.

As Pope Benedict XVI addressed the United Nations today, calling on the global community to reject violence and strive for a more peaceful world, Republican operatives hosted President George Bush and Senator John McCain at the National “Catholic” Prayer Breakfast (NCPB) in Washington. Although the event is billed as nonpartisan, 4 of 5 members of its board of directors are engaged in Catholic outreach for the GOP and for the McCain campaign.

Catholics United members gathered outside the event at the Hilton Washington today to inform individual Catholics and members of the media about the true nature of the prayer breakfast, and to remind Americans that President Bush and Senator McCain are out of step with Catholic teaching on a number of issues – chief among them war and torture.

These members honored the fullness of the Catholic faith and Pope Benedict’s message of peace with two giant 64 square foot banners reading “Enough with the Slaughter… Violence… Hatred in Iraq! - Pope Benedict XVI Palm Sunday 2008,” and “Thank You, Pope Benedict, for Speaking out against War.” They also delivered more than 1,200 signatures from members across the country, calling on prayer breakfast organizers to “refrain from using our faith to advance a partisan agenda,” and to “support the fullness of Catholic teaching by using this year's prayer breakfast to challenge President Bush and Senator McCain on unjust war and all forms of torture.”

(FULL RELEASE)

Catholics United has sent a letter to Cardinal Newman Society Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education Director Joseph Esposito expressing concern over the organization’s apparent inconsistent application of Catholic teaching to candidates for public office. Last month, the society challenged Villanova University for hosting Michelle Obama – citing her husband Barack Obama’s support of “Roe v. Wade, partial-birth abortion and embryonic stem cell research,” – but has yet to express similar concerns over a speech Sen. John McCain gave at the same university yesterday.

Senator McCain has not indicated that he opposes all forms of embryonic stem cell research.

In the letter, Catholics United urges Mr. Esposito to “correct this discrepancy immediately, so as to avoid any appearance that your organization is applying Church teaching and its own policies selectively in the service of certain political candidates.”

The full text of the letter is available here.

On Friday April 18th, as Pope Benedict XVI addresses the U.N. on the importance of seeking peace and the global common good, Republican operatives will be hosting President Bush and Sen. McCain in Washington at the National "Catholic" Prayer Breakfast. The NCPB pretends to be authentically Catholic, but its true purpose is to foster the false impression that the Church supports the policies of President Bush and the Republican Party.

Our Church and our pope have consistently opposed the Iraq War and the administration's use of certain forms of torture. But the leaders of the prayer breakfast would prefer to downplay Pope Benedict's message of peace in favor of their own blatantly partisan agenda.

How blatant is the Prayer Breakfast's partisanship? Of the NCBP's five board members, three serve on the national Catholics for McCain committee and McCain's Virgina Family Issues Committee, one co-chairs the Republican Party's Catholic outreach operation, and one other has ties to the Republican-affiliated Family Research Council.

The White House has used President Bush's prayer breakfast appearances in 2005, 2006, and 2007 to shape media coverage portraying the president as friendly to the Catholic moral worldview. It's up to us to make sure that this misuse of our faith doesn't happen again.

Sign this Petition to Hold the National "Catholic" Prayer Breakfast Accountable to the Teachings of Pope Benedict and Our Church

For more information on the National "Catholic" Prayer Breakfast, see our fact sheet at: www.catholics-united.org/ncpb.

Catholics United executive director Chris Korzen issued the following statement today welcoming Pope Benedict XVI's message “to Catholics and People of the United States of America on the Occasion of the Upcoming Apostolic Journey," released April 8, 2008:

"At a time when our country is in great need of healing and unity, Catholics United welcomes Pope Benedict's message of hope. We believe this message will find strong resonance with Americans of all political stripes and faith traditions in this election year, Americans who desperately hunger for a 'post-partisan' public debate that moves our nation beyond division and fear and reclaims a sense of profound concern for the common good."

"In putting forth the Gospel's timeless call to love one another, Pope Benedict's message offers a powerfully relevant solution to the core problems of our day: partisanship, materialism, and the culture of going it alone. We sincerely hope our leaders will take this message to heart, and help Americans work together to build a nation and a world in which all human beings can reach their full and true potential."

View the full text of Pope Benedict's message: http://www.uspapalvisit.org/stories/vmessage.htm

This July, Catholic social justice activists and leaders will gather in Philadelphia for an historic meeting, the "Convention for the Common Good." From July 11-13, some 600 representatives of organizations like ours will begin charting a course for the future of our movement, and planning efforts to raise up the important moral issues of our day in the coming elections - issues like war, poverty, and the climate crisis. The convention will culminate with the ratification of a "Platform for the Common Good," which we will take to both the Republican and Democratic parties.

We're asking our members to represent Catholics United as delegates to the convention.

Catholics United delegates will join activists from across the country in helping to set our national agenda for the common good. They'll also have the opportunity to represent the concerns of Catholics in your community at this historic event, and to be members of Catholics United's "Platform for the Common Good" leadership committee.

For more information on the Convention for the Common Good, visit www.commongoodconvention.org.

Pro-Life Republican Douglas Kmiec Cites Iraq War, Need for Unity

In a move that sent shockwaves through the pro-life community, Professor Doug Kmiec, a well-known Catholic legal scholar and anti-abortion advocate, broke with the Bush administration and U.S. Sen. John McCain this week by endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for President. In an editorial on Slate.com, Kmiec pointed to the War in Iraq and Obama’s ability to “move the nation beyond its religious and racial divides” as reasons for the endorsement.

“Kmiec’s endorsement reflects a fundamental shift that is occurring within the conservative movement and among Catholics in particular,” said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United and co-author of the forthcoming book A Nation for All: How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good Can Save America from the Politics of Division. “Americans of all political persuasions are tired of the scorched-earth policies of the Bush Administration, and are desperate for leaders who can unite our country behind a sense of greater purpose.”

As President Bush defended his foreign policies to religious broadcasters today, Catholics United renewed its call for a new direction in Iraq. To date, nearly 20,000 Catholics have signed a “Catholics for an End to the War in Iraq” petition (www.catholicsforanend.org) calling for “an immediate and responsible end to the Iraq War.”

The president’s address – given at the Convention of Religious Broadcasters in Nashville – is billed as the first in a series of speeches designed to shore up flagging public support for the war. But despite continued attempts to portray the conflict as a moral imperative, faith communities, including the Catholic Church and the president’s own United Methodist Church, have maintained a consistent opposition to Bush’s questionable war.

Prior to the invasion of Iraq, both Pope John Paul II and the U.S. Catholic Bishops voiced what the bishops referred to as “Grave moral concerns about military intervention in Iraq and the unpredictable and uncontrollable negative consequences of invasion and occupation.” The United Methodists expressed concerns that the war was undertaken “without any justification according to the teachings of Christ.”

On Friday, March 7, 2008, Senator John McCain responded to Catholics United and a growing chorus of concerned Americans by renouncing controversial televangelist John Hagee’s anti-Catholic comments. Catholics United is now asking Senator McCain to finish the job and reject this endorsement.

John Hagee is a prominent Texas pastor who has referred to the Catholic Church as "the Great Whore," calling it a "false cult system" and "the apostate church." Hagee has also compared women to terrorists and dogs, and made light of slavery. In 2006, he argued that Hurricane Katrina was an act of retribution from God for a "homosexual parade" in New Orleans. Pastor Hagee also advocates immediate war with Iran and an end to the peace process in the Middle East.

“We applaud Senator McCain for clearly repudiating Hagee’s anti-Catholic sentiments. But the fact is that the senator still remains ‘proud’ to receive this endorsement,” said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United. “By publicly accepting and celebrating this endorsement, McCain is sending a signal that he tolerates these extremist positions. Hagee has offended many groups besides Catholics. The best way for him to move forward is by simply rejecting his endorsement.”

In his comments to the press on Friday, McCain said that he had been hearing from many Catholics who find Hagee’s comments offensive. This week more than 1,000 Catholics United members emailed Senator McCain asking him to stand for his convictions and reject this endorsement.