Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) sent Fidelis the following statement regarding the anti-Catholic campaign mailings distributed by the DCCC against Catholic candidate Keith Fimian:

Left-wing Democrats have expanded their litany of anti-Catholic bigotry.

This latest leftist smearing of Catholics was launched by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which repeatedly mailed vile attacks upon Republican Congressional candidate Keith Fimian (VA-11) for his Catholic faith, and upon a noble Catholic organization, Legatus.

Here are the facts.  Mr. Fimian is a member and officer of Legatus, an organization for Catholic business owners and their spouses that is dedicated to bringing Christian ethics into the field of business, and strengthening the faith of its members.  Unlike some purportedly “non-partisan” secular organizations, Legatus takes no formal positions on public policy issues, such as abortion, stem cell research or contraception; nor does Legatus suggest public policy be adopted based on St. Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians in Chapter 5.  

Yet, the official political organization of United States House Democrats is attacking Legatus and Mr. Fimian over website links on the Legatus homepage to an organization devoted to defending and advancing the sanctity and dignity of life, and another that encourages husbands to love their wives in a Christ-like fashion.  Neither organization opposes contraception, as the mailings suggest, and not surprisingly, the House Democrats are also twisting St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which instructs men to love their wives like Christ loved the Church. This is the height of left-wing gutter politics.

Sadly, Fimian’s opponent, Gerry Connolly – the intended beneficiary of this Democrat smear attack – supports this anti-Catholic bigotry and refuses to call for its end.  Disturbingly, like Mr. Fimian, Mr. Connolly is Catholic; however, unlike Mr. Fimian, Mr. Connolly subscribes to the teachings of Nancy Pelosi, not the true teachings of the Catholic Church.

Perversely if not surprisingly, this vicious assault on Mr. Fimian occurs at a time Democrats are engaging in “Catholic Outreach” to lure back voters disgusted by the Democrats’ dominant left-wing’s virulent secularism and moral relativism.  

True, a spirited debate can and should happen on all public issues, including the topics of abortion and embryonic stem cell research.  But to mask these issues regarding the culture of life behind fliers laden with anti-Catholic bigotry provides another example of how today’s left-wing Democrats have destroyed the moral foundations of the party that once gave America her only Catholic President.

A new exhibit called “Catholics in New York, 1808 to 1946″ at the Museum of the City of New York served as the launching pad for a lively discussion over whether prejudice against Catholics was still alive in America. From the New York Times: 

The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus — a leading conservative intellectual, a former Lutheran pastor and the editor of the leading Catholic journal First Things — offered a surprising view on the question.

“To be a Catholic is not to be refused positions of influence in our society,” he said. “Indeed, one of the most acceptable things is to be a bad Catholic, and in the view of many people, the only good Catholic is a bad Catholic.” …

Peter Steinfels, a Fordham professor who writes the Beliefs column for The Times, spoke last.

Like Professor McCartin, he attributed anti-Catholic sentiment to long-standing historical traditions, including English nationalism that vilified the papacy and Catholic powers like Spain, and the anti-Catholic polemics of the Enlightenment, particularly in France. (The first tradition gave us the controversial Christian evangelical pastor John C. Hagee, and the second the television talk-show host Bill Maher, Mr. Steinfels quipped, to laughter.)

Two great observations.

Austin Hill is glowing over Bobby Jindal. But he’s worried that Evangelicals who were uneasy over Mitt Romney’s Mormonism might also blanch at Jindal’s Catholicism.

So what could possibly get in the way of Governor Jindal’s rise to national influence? Could it be the fact that he is a Catholic, and not an evangelical?

I don’t think there’s any need to worry about it.

First of all, was it Mormonism that did Romney in, or was it concern that the slick New England Governor wasn’t a true conservative? I will grant that his Mormon faith was a liability, but it could have be overcome by other strengths. In other words, I don’t think it would hamper Romney should he run for president again. He seems to have convinced a sufficient number of conservatives that he is one of them.

Also, Evangelical anxiety over Mormonism is stronger than it is with Catholics. Evangelicals have a lot of differences with Catholics (Mary, sacraments, saints, etc.) but many Evangelicals and Catholics consider Mormonism to be a different religion, outside of Christianity. They don’t believe in the Trinity, for example.

I think most Evangelicals would actually be ecstatic that McCain picked Jindal. They would love his defense of life and marriage and the openness he has about his faith. It would be an excellent choice for McCain. Jindal McVeep!

Bill Maher says ‘Nazi’ Pope runs ‘Child-Abusing Cult.’

Of course, if he said something similar about Jews, he’d be out of a job. If he said it about Muslims, he’d be dead.