Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Catholic League's William Donohue Proves to be Another Self-Enriching Bigot

Even before I left the Catholic Church a decade or more ago, I found William Donohue and the Catholic League to be liars and professional victims. Now, new financial information indicates that Donohue - like Maggie Gallagher and other professional homophobes - is living very high on the hog living off of demonizing gays, claiming that anti-Catholic bigotry exists under every bush, and unquestioningly kissing the asses of the corrupt and disingenuous members of the Church hierarchy. Like his professional Christian cohorts, Donohue makes the tawdriest of hookers look virtuous. According to Catholic United - a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the message of justice and the common good - Catholic League President William Donohue receives $399,156 in annual compensation. Meanwhile, the Catholic League holds some $26 Million in assets. Indeed, Donohue proves himself to be just as arrogant and corrupt as the members of the Church hierarchy to whom he prostitutes himself. Here are highlights from the Catholics United website:
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Controversial Catholic League president William Donohue – whose work has now gained the support of the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops – earned a salary of $342,500 in 2009, with an additional $56,656 in fringe benefits. According to annual IRS Form 990 filings, the organization spent more than $2.6 million in 2009, despite the fact that its program work constitutes little more than the issuing of inflammatory press releases.
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The Catholic League masquerades as an official ministry of the Catholic Church while engaging in heavyhanded tactics that many Catholics find distasteful. Donohue recently threatened a media campaign against state governors who didn't display nativity scenes in state capitol buildings.
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Despite this, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, authored a blog post last week expressing support for Donohue and his organization. . . . “Across the country, Catholic dioceses are closing parishes and everyday Catholics are struggling to make ends meet. Bill Donohue is clearly out of touch with this reality,” said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United. “Now we know why Donohue is so intent on ignoring social justice, concern for the poor, and other actual teachings of Jesus Christ: focusing on these issues is not good for the bottom line.”
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As organizations go, the Catholic League is a “non-profit” in name only. In 2009 it pocketed $943,516 in excess revenue, down from $1.35 million in 2008. As of the most recent filings, the Catholic League reported $26.2 million in net assets.
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The Catholic League's recent 990 filings can be found here.

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