Catholic League: Dissident Groups Attack Vatican in Ad

The "Open Letter to the Pope" is the work of Catholics for Choice and was signed by many dissident Catholic organizations.

NEW YORK, NY (Catholic League) - An ad criticizing the Catholic Church for its teaching on contraception was placed today in Italy's largest newspaper, Corriere della Sera. The "Open Letter to the Pope" is the work of Catholics for Choice and was signed by many dissident Catholic organizations.

Here's what Catholic League president Bill Donohue had to say about it:

"There are several anomalies here. First, the alleged subject matter of the ad, namely contraception, is a ruse. Second, the mission of some of the groups who signed it has absolutely nothing to do with contraception. Third, the group which promoted it has no members.

"To be specific, contraception is not what motivates these groups--their real interest is in getting the Catholic Church to change its teachings on every aspect of human sexuality. For instance, Catholics for Choice was not founded as an anti-contraception organization, rather it was established as a pro-abortion group. It is also decidedly anti-Catholic and has twice been cited as a fraud by the Catholic Bishops.

"Among the groups which signed the ad are Dignity, New Ways Ministry (NWM), Pax Christi (Maine), Voice of the Faithful (New Jersey), and Women's Ordination Conference (WOC). Dignity and NWM are gay groups which reject the Church's teachings on homosexuality. Pax Christi is an organization which claims to be interested in peace, Voice was founded to address the sexual abuse scandal, and WOC advocates women's ordination. For obvious reasons, contraception is not exactly a pressing issue in the gay community, and issues like peace, sexual abuse, and women's ordination are clearly removed from matters like birth control. What all these groups have in common, however, is a general loathing of the Church's teachings on sexuality.

"Were it not for the Ford Foundation and other anti-Catholic members of the foundation establishment, there would have been no ad. In other words, deceit marks every aspect of this campaign. But at least it pulls the mask off of these phony dissident groups."

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The Catholic League is the nation's largest Catholic civil rights organization. Founded in 1973 by the late Father Virgil C. Blum, S.J., the Catholic League defends the right of Catholics – lay and clergy alike – to participate in American public life without defamation or discrimination. It is led by its' President, William A. Donohue, Ph.D.