In-fighting can be funny. And this is hilarious.
Two of the most vicious anti-LGBTQ mouthpieces in the nation are at each other’s throats. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League, are lobbing insults at each other over, of all things, Satanic Catholic bishops.
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The Catholic League is an outrage-generating machine with a particular fondness for going after anything LGBTQ-related. The group attacked the Equality Act as a ruse for affirmative action and “anti-Christian.” The League pinned all the blame for the Church’s massive sexual abuse scandals on “the media cover-up of the role played by gay molesters.” As for President Biden, only the second Catholic elected to the Presidency, the League complained about his “obsession with the rights of sexual minorities is his total disinterest in the rights of Christians.”
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As the president of the outfit, Donohue has proven to be a savvy PR operator, ready to serve up a quote on a moment’s notice and churning out an endless stream of press releases, statements, and tweets all of which have one thing in common: him. The group spends zero money on lobbying or grassroots organizing. Most of its energy is devoted to Donohue’s media visibility.
And when Donohue, who zealously defends the Church’s worst moments, turned his sights on Greene, all hell broke loose. It was a heavenly sight.
In over 21 tweets transcribing an official press release, Greene shot back at Donohue’s allegation that she had “slandered” Catholics during an interview with the far-right Church Militant website. Greene said during the interview that “Satan’s controlling the church.”
Greene defended herself, saying American Catholic bishops have “have lied, deceived and committed despicable criminal acts for decades, driving millions out of the Church, causing children to kill themselves, emotionally crippling others and sentencing countless victims to lives of deep mental pain.”
“I refuse to use kinder, gentler language as Bill Donohue might prefer when I talk about his disgusting and corrupt friends, who have made him rich with the donations from ordinary churchgoing Catholics.”
Donohue’s grift made national news earlier this year when it was revealed that he’d made a fortune defending pedophiles, bigots, and anti-LGBTQ activists. And he used his shady organization as a veneer to enrich himself.
The organization claims a membership base of 350,000, although how accurate that number is is anyone’s guess. But for a group that purports to have so many members and that has reported $50 million in assets to the IRS, the League has a surprisingly small staff. Just 12 people are working at the League.
But the bigger surprise is how much of the operating budget is devoted to salaries. Out of $3.5 million in revenue, $2.2 million was spent on salaries. And nearly half of that went directly to Donohue. He received compensation totaling $1,053,127 in salary and other benefits, according to IRS filings.
“I myself, baptized and married in the Catholic Church, left because I would not submit the spiritual and physical livelihood of my children to these monsters. Bill Donohue, by contrast, makes a million dollars a year, partly from sending out emails to defend corrupt bishops,” Greene tweeted. “He has done nothing in his long career to reform the appalling state of the clergy.”
“Forgive me if I decline to take lectures from the man bishops send out to do their dirty work when their delicate feelings are hurt.”
“Until the people running the Catholic Church stop abusing children and stop covering up the abuse of children, I will continue to hold them to account. And I’ll keep naming and shaming the craven enablers who write their press releases, too,” Greene tweeted as she wrapped up her 700 word response. “I know they’ve made you rich, Bill, but before you meet Almighty God, you might want to consider new clients.”
Today, I released the following statement regarding @CatholicLeague President Bill Donohue's comments. pic.twitter.com/3jFHGmti3X
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
Donohue should have called my office, or had a staffer check Google, before firing off a hysterical-sounding statement. He doesn’t know this, but I am a cradle Catholic. I was born into the church, raised in it and I was married in the Church. 3/
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
It’s the church leadership I was referring to when I invoked the Devil. The bishops know that, but had their loyal lapdog pretend I was being disrespectful about the faith. 5/
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
I refuse to use kinder, gentler language as Bill Donohue might prefer when I talk about his disgusting and corrupt friends, who have made him rich with the donations from ordinary churchgoing Catholics.
I love God and I love Jesus Christ. 7/
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
But I can tell you that it’s the bishops’ wickedness that has driven me away from the Church, and I make no apologies for saying so.
America’s Catholic bishops are some of the worst in the world. 9/
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
The tragedy is that America is full of pious, churchgoing Catholics and kind, brilliant priests. There are even a few good bishops. The faithful deserve better pastoral leadership, and bishops who don’t smear and punish good priests for being “too Catholic.” 11/
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
The bishops are also busy destroying our nation using taxpayer money to advocate for the illegal invasion across our borders. They dare to dress up Democrat vandalism and lawlessness as somehow “religious,” which perhaps explains their distaste for me. 13/
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
I myself, baptized and married in the Catholic Church, left because I would not submit the spiritual and physical livelihood of my children to these monsters. Bill Donohue, by contrast, makes a million dollars a year, partly from sending out emails to defend corrupt bishops. 15/
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
If you think I’m exaggerating, Donohue breezily claimed on television recently that the abuse crisis in the church was “over,” relying on data provided by the same bishops who rake in taxpayer money in the name of our Heavenly Father yet have still, somehow, bankrupted the… 17/
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
I stand by my statement, and I will continue to pray for the urgently needed reforms of, and repairs to, the Bride of Christ. 19/
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
I know they’ve made you rich, Bill, but before you meet Almighty God, you might want to consider new clients.” 21/21
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 27, 2022
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