The Catholic League goes after “The Golden Compass”
December 4th, 2007 | by Jones of the Nile |Another news cycle, another round of stories quoting Bill Donohue and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Given all of the media attention Bill Donohue gets, you’d expect his organization to be a major public policy think tank. It’s not. It’s one person – BD himself – and he bilks the 501c3 organization for a mind-blowing $300,000 annual salary.
What does Bill Donohue do to earn that money? He lambastes Kathy Griffin. He criticizes Joy Behar and The View. He rants on the Folsom Street Fair. He protests companies that say “Seasons Greetings” instead of “Merry Christmas” . And in his latest round of media whoring, Donohue is launching a vendetta against the upcoming Nicole Kidman movie, “The Golden Compass.”
I cannot figure out why mainstream press gives this guy any credence. He is a one man shop pretending to speak for a movement. Their Web site lists no other staff other than Donohue, and their 990 IRS report (posted on Guide Star) lists only one other paid person – Bernadette Brady, Vice President (and she makes $170,000!). He speaks for a movement of one.
Moreover, he’s not officially a representati ve of the Catholic Church. Time after time the media lets him offer a Catholic position, but he has no formal ties to the institutiona l Church. He’s not a priest, nor does he work for the US Bishops Conference. True, his physical office space is part of the New York Archdiocese s property, but he’s not employed the by Archdiocese.
So to recap: Bill Donohue. Rants about pop culture while pretending to be the official voice of a major U.S. religion, while cashing in a $300,000 annual salary as director of a NON-PROFIT. It’s no wonder you won’t find much about poverty or economic injustice on his organization ’s Web site!
Donohue’s venom toward “The Golden Compass” stems from what he thinks is an anti-religio us bent, and suggests that the author of the “Dark Materials” fantasy trilogy (which “The Golden Compass” is a part of) is an extreme atheist. Donohue hasn’t read any of these books, of course. Nor has he seen the movie yet. Yet AFP still gives him a soapbox to stand on.
Pathetic.
Though I usually find her a bit abrasive, I think Kathy Griffin has it right when it comes to Bill Donohue. Check out this YouTube clip of her comedy special, where she trounces Bill Donohue. Donohue went full force after Griffin when she won an Emmy and told the audience that no one had less to do with her winning the award than “Jesus.”
I’m starting to think that no one has less to do with the work of Bill Donohue than Jesus. But that’s beside the point. Enjoy Kathy Griffin’s clip, and go see “The Golden Compass,” just to spite Bill Donohue. Then give the books to your children for Christmas!
Tags: General, BIO, bill donohue, catholic, Catholic League, religion
