By Joel Thurtell
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Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, has come out swinging against The New York Times.
The newspaper, he wrote on his blog, is unfair to Roman Catholics.
In his November 8, 2009 public editor’s column, Clark Hoyt defended the Times against the archbishop’s attack.
Does the archbishop have a right to differ with the Times, even attacking its writers?
Absolutely.
Also in the Times, we learn that U.S. Catholic bishops have been lobbying fiercely to make sure health insurance reform doesn’t go too far by paying for abortions. The boys in red and black have been politicking big time to impose their will — God’s will, to them — on the rest of us.
Do they have a right to their arm-twisting?
Absolutely.
But we should have a right, too.
That right would be the ability to assess taxes on those holier-than-us institutions that choose to engage in politics.
Supposedly, nonprofits such as 501 (C) 3 groups, are not supposed to take part in politics.
Most religious organizations, one way or another, have themselves christened as nonprofits.
Supposedly, nonprofits are apolitical.
I’m not sure how churches manage to have their politics and eat us, too.
That’s “church” with a lower-case “c.”
Too many of them — Protestant, Catholic, and lets not leave out the synagogues and mosques — feel they can use their pulpits to bully society at large into accepting their values.
That’s fine, as long as they pay.
Which they don’t.
Drop me a line at joelthurtell@gmail.com
