The New York Times published and ad from the Freedom From Religion Foundation which calls for nominal and liberal Catholics to abandon the Church.
The ad asks “Why are you propping up the pillars of a tyrannical and autocratic, woman-hating, sex-perverting, antediluvian Old Boys Club? ” and states “No self-respecting feminist, civil libertarian or progressive should cling to the Catholic faith.” [Full Text Below.]
It goes without saying that the brave brave NYT would never accept and publish an ad criticizing Islam in the same way. But leaving aside the obvious cowardice and their disgraceful perfunctory anti-Catholicism, I think the ad is good. If that is what you believe, get out.
Dear ‘Liberal’ Catholic:
It’s time to quit the Roman Catholic Church.
It’s your moment of truth. Will it be reproductive freedom, or back to the Dark Ages? Do you choose women and their rights, or Bishops and their wrongs? Whose side are you on, anyway?
It is time to make known your dissent from the Catholic Church, in light of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops’ ruthless campaign endangering the right to contraception. If you’re part of the Catholic Church, you’re part of the problem.
Why are you propping up the pillars of a tyrannical and autocratic, woman-hating, sex-perverting, antediluvian Old Boys Club? Why are you aiding and abetting a church that has repeatedly and publicly announced a crusade to ban contraception, abortion and sterilization, and to deny the right of all women everywhere, Catholic or not, to decide whether and when to become mothers? When it comes to reproductive freedom, the Roman Catholic Church is Public Enemy Number One. Think of the acute misery, poverty, needless suffering, unwanted pregnancies, social evils and deaths that can be laid directly at the door of the Church’s antiquated doctrine that birth control is a sin and must be outlawed.
A backer of the Roman Catholic presidential candidate says that if women want to avoid pregnancy we should put an aspirin between our knees? Catholic politicians are urging that the right to contraception should be left up to states? Nearly 50 years after the Supreme Court upheld contraception as a privacy right, we’re going to have to defend this basic freedom all over again?
You’re better than your church. So why? Why continue to attend Mass? Tithe? Why dutifully sacrifice to send your children to parochial schools so they can be brainwashed into the next generation of myrmidons (and, potentially, become the next Church victims)? For that matter, why have you put up with an institution that won’t put up with women priests, that excludes half of humanity?
No self-respecting feminist, civil libertarian or progressive should cling to the Catholic faith. As a Cafeteria Catholic, you chuck out the stale doctrine and moldy decrees of your religion, but keep patronizing the establishment that menaces public health by serving rotten offerings. Your continuing Catholic membership, as a “liberal,” casts a veneer of respectability upon an irrational sect determined to blow out the Enlightenment and threaten liberty for women worldwide. You are an enabler. And it’s got to stop.
If you imagine you can change the church from within — get it to lighten up on birth control, gay rights, marriage equality, embryonic stem-cell research — you are deluding yourself. If you remain a “good Catholic,” you are doing “bad” to women’s rights. You’re kidding yourself if you think the Church is ever going to add a Doctrine of Immaculate ContraCeption.
It is disgraceful that U.S. health care reform is being held hostage to the Catholic Church’s bizarre opposition to medically prescribed contraception. No politician should jeopardize electability for failure to genuflect before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. (Question to ask your Bishop: Does he hold up an umbrella against the rain? Isn’t that just as “unnatural” as using a condom or diaphragm?)
Your Church hysterically claims that secular medical policy is “an assault against religious liberty.” You are savvy enough to realize that the real assault is by the Church against women’s rights and health care. As Nation columnist Katha Pollitt asks: Is it an offense against Jehovah Witnesses that health care coverage will include blood transfusions? The Amish, as Pollitt points out, don’t label cars “an assault on religious liberty” and try to force everyone to drive buggies. The louder the Church cries “offense against religious liberty” the harder it works to take away women’s liberty.
Obama has compromised, but the Church never budges, instead launching a vengeful modern-day Inquisition. Look at its continuing directives to parish priests to use their pulpits every Sunday to lobby you against Obama’s policy, the Church’s announcement of a major anti-contraception media campaign — using your tithes, contributions and donations — to defeat Obama’s laudable health care policy. The Church has introduced into Congress the “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, ” a bill to place the conscienceless Catholic Church’s “rights of conscience” above the rights of conscience of 53 percent of Americans. That the Church has “conscience rights” to deny women their rights is a kissing cousin to the claim that “corporations are people.” The Church that hasn’t persuaded you to oppose contraception now wants to use the force of secular law to deny contraceptive rights to non-Catholics.
But is there any point in going on? After all, your misplaced loyalty has lasted through two decades of public sex scandals involving preying priests, children you may have known as victims, and church complicity, collusion and coverup going all the way to the top. Are you like the battered woman who, after being beaten down every Sunday, feels she has no place else to go?
But we have a more welcoming home to offer, free of incense-fogged ritual, free of what freethinker Bertrand Russell called “ideas uttered long ago by ignorant men,” free of blind obedience to an illusory religious authority. Join those of us who put humanity above dogma.
As a member of the “flock” of an avowedly antidemocratic club, isn’t it time you vote with your feet? Please, exit en Mass.
Very truly,
Annie Laurie Gaylor
Co-President
Freedom From Religion Foundation
March 11, 2012 at 3:04 pm
This illogical tirade might actually be laughable, except my favorite teacher, Sr. Mary of the Rosary, used to caution us, when some kid would act up in class, "Don't laugh at him, children, pray for him." I don't want to see anyone lost, including Ms. Gaylor. While railing against the so-called anti-woman bent of the Church, she ignores pro choice folks stamping on and stamping out the lives of millions of women who would be born, but are denied that opportunity for capricious, specious reasons at best, and unjustifiable reasons, in reality. Like too many Catholics, she is not even cognizant of what Catholic theology actually teaches and of the Church's profound love and respect for women. In reply to the logician in an earlier post, I have begun to feel that before anyone gets out of high school, he or she should have had a course in principles of reasoning. I see so many logical holes in the arguments and rantings of our politicians and pundits, a la Ms. Gaylor, which holes would be painfully clear if the general populace were trained in logical processes,which incidentally frequently supersede "common sense". Finally, for those Libertarians and completely orthodox (small "o") Catholics who want to see all of the "riff raff" cleared out of the Church. These are the very riff raff that Jesus calls "lost sheep" . In John 15, Jesus says, "No servant is greater than his master." If Jesus wants "that all may be one, Father, even as You and I are one"., who are we not to want everybody. Jesus didn't give up, why should we faithful Catholics? Don't laugh at her, pray for her–and for us!
March 11, 2012 at 3:10 pm
It's quite obvious that the time has come for Bishops and priests to begin catechizing Catholics from the pulpit. Instead of speaking "fluff" in homilies, please consider some valid teachings of the Catholic faith, because truly so many in the congregation have no idea what the Church really teaches. If more were informed, perhaps there would be less sin and more going to confession. It doesn't take a Philadelphia lawyer to see there are perhaps a majority of Catholics who don't know the teachings of the Catholic faith. Therefore, they follow the law of the land and do whatever feels good. Please wake up, clergy and shepherd us!!!
March 11, 2012 at 4:03 pm
While reading the NYT's ad, I kept thinking that they sounded like they are running scared that voters might listen to the Church.
March 11, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Voters listen to the Church? Next thing you'll want is Catholics listening to the Church. Preposterous! What do you want, a loving world actually listening to and practicing the message of Jesus Christ? That might actually bring peace, order, and harmony to this completely "perfect" world. Heaven forbid that we get THAT!!!
March 11, 2012 at 4:24 pm
No surprise here folks. Arty Sulzberger, Jr of the renowned NY Sultzbergers reportedly took in $52,000 to run this screed against me and 65 million other American Catholics. Business is business. This dope has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by leading NYT from $25/share to $6 ish. Last year he managed a $40 million loss while giving the ousted Manager of his family company $24 million in lieu of a watch. Note the deafening silence from our Muslim, Jewish and other brothers about this ad. Raymond in Ct.
March 11, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Did anyone notice that the advertisement in the Times has a TOLL FREE NUMBER you can call? It doesn't say you have to call to SUPPORT the ad.
You can call the Number and PROTEST the ad to or call and just say SORRY WRONG NUMBER and hang up. Every call costs this group money. I'm not suggesting repeatedly dialing the number or doing anything to harass the group but you could call and say that you are a faithful practicing Roman Catholic and that you are calling to say that you are staying in the Church, thank you very much. The number in the coupon is:
1-800-335-4021
March 11, 2012 at 6:36 pm
I haven't read anything that spittle-spattered and foaming-at-the-mouth since the speeches of Goebbels. Well, Annie, if you think that your piece of hateful propaganda is going to convince any THINKING Catholic ("nominal", "liberal", or otherwise), you are in for a big surprise, missy. Perhaps some rebellious third-graders will follow you, though…
March 12, 2012 at 1:10 am
Ha ha ha ha ha ha !
March 11, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Thank you very much. I just made the call. Everybody please remember the oft quoted and absolutely true statement, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Be blessed
March 11, 2012 at 6:41 pm
They can rightfully beat us up over the pedophile issues in the Church the last few decades. But when they try to tell us to pull our kids out of parochial schools for 'safe' public schools. Um, have you SEEN the numbers of teachers having sex with their students lately? And the constant teachings for acceptance of and conversion to the homosexual lifestyle?
March 11, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Amen!!! I think liberal Catholic is an oxymoron. One priest said in his homily today, "I pity the fool who takes on Jesus and the Catholic church…where are the Third Reich, Caesar's Rome et al? DEAD and the Catholic church is still here, a beacon of light!". Liberals LEAVE the church…join your evil supporting friends, counterfeit Catholics who support evil and see what it gets for you…
Prolife and Catholic and proud of it!!!
March 11, 2012 at 11:51 pm
I just called the number on Sunday afternoon and someone actually answered. I spoke with him for about 10 minutes and the conversation was so circular I think I'm dizzy now…Anyway, he ended up hanging up on me because I was taking him away from his valuable time. Perhaps I irritated him by pointing out that the Church has lasted 2000 years for a reason…certainly it will be around longer than FFR! But he didn't leave before telling me (at least 6 times) how ashamed I should be for being a Catholic woman saying "you are smarter than that"…I seem to remember the serpent saying something like that to Eve…
March 12, 2012 at 2:52 am
The woman who wrote this states that "The Church that hasn’t persuaded you to oppose contraception now wants to use the force of secular law to deny contraceptive rights to non-Catholics." This is an out and out lie. The Church is not trying to deny anyone their so-called "contraceptive rights". They just cannot be the provider of these things as it is against Church teachings. This woman is an hysterical idiot.
March 12, 2012 at 3:03 am
" Join those of us who put humanity above dogma."
Is she serious? Is she blind? Their dogma is killing human babies.
God help us all!
March 12, 2012 at 4:29 am
If she doesnt like what the church teaches we will pray for her but theres the door. She can be an episcapalian. As Catholics all we need to do is lovingly tell the truth I wish her the best but she is leading others down the road to sin. She should be excomunicated.
March 12, 2012 at 4:32 am
I say bye, bye Liberals and Nominal Catholics, you are just baggage anyway!
Pared down and focused, the Roman Catholic Church of the future!
March 12, 2012 at 4:49 am
I mourn for anyone who leaves the Church — *to a point.*
'I wish you were either hot or cold. Because you are lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth…'
March 12, 2012 at 5:04 am
Consider the source. This morally and financially bankrupt NY Slimes published American Troop locations in the Iraq War. That is the level of moral depravity of this pathetic Pravda rag. Go to grass Judas Catholics and NY Slimes ! The Washington Times, now that's a conservative American Publication !! Christi Fidelis
March 12, 2012 at 6:43 am
Praying for our Lord's mercy to be poured out upon all of humanity. Maureen
March 12, 2012 at 11:28 am
As much as this ad bothers me, and it does – so do these comments saying "good riddance you Cafeteria Catholic you."
Are you serious?
This letter isn't meant as some kind of generous invitation to those members of our faith who disagree or don't really understand Church teaching, etc. It doesn't say come leave your crusty church and join "our forgiving, loving church where you'll be welcomed with open arms."
It is meant to "expose" our so-called rotten church. It is full of lies and is an insult to all of us. It's clearly saying "throw out the baby with the bathwater," and is signed by and paid for for by an organized group of atheists and agnostics.
Whether nominal, liberal, cafeteria, traditional, faithful, questioning or holier than thou – our Catholic brothers and sisters deserve our prayers for a united Church. Don't drink this kool-aid.
Kristine in MI
March 12, 2012 at 1:31 pm
“There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”
― Fulton J. Sheen
It appears many Catholics may not even know what the Catholic church is, well its a good time to teach them.
"The Church is not an association that wishes to promote a certain cause. It is not about a cause. It is about the person of Jesus Christ."
– Pope Benedict XVI, July 1, 2008
His Holiness also said he would prefer a faithful church over a large one. I couldnt find the exact quote but I believe it was on his tour of England. I think we should help our poorly informed brothers and sisters in the church to understand what it does mean to be a Catholic, and then they need to decide . For many their faith is a tradition, a habit, a cultural identity, and they are not evangelized. Time for us to get to work!