Two weeks ago Chicago Cardinal Francis George compared the city’s gay Pride parade to the Ku Klux Klan, setting off a firestorm of criticisms and calls for his removal. All because the parade route might interfere with Catholics entering one particular church for Mass. (Pride organizers even reschedule the parade to accommodate parishioners.)
Well, George might have thought the whole mess died down over the holidays but, on Sunday, gay rights group Truth Wins Out (TWO) took out an ad in the Chicago Tribune, demanding his resignation and claiming that “Cardinal George’s outrageous comparison of the LGBT community to the Ku Klux Klan was so degrading and hurtful that apologizing will not be sufficient.”
Funny, we don’t remember him apologizing.
George, 75, is set to retire later this month anyway, so the point is somewhat moot. But we laud TWO’s attempt to shine a light on the cardinal’s incredibly offensive and out-of-touch comment.
Your move, George.
Click through to see the full ad from the Chicago Tribune
Hyhybt
A part of me I don’t much like listening to wonders if they knew he was about to retire already and were hoping that detail would go unnoticed.
the crustybastard
Good!
Tom J
Regardless of his planned retirement, I’m glad our community is starting to call out these bigots.
Kurt
I have the upmost respect and admiration for Meyer, Stritch, Mundelein and Bernardin. George cannot hold a candle to any of them.
Kylew
@Hyhybt: Yes, it’s hard not to be thoroughly cynical when everyone seems so machiavelian nowdays, but even if this was a slightly cynical attempt to gain a little credibility by cashing in on this asshole’s retirement,any time the churches bad behaviour is highlighted, it’s a good thing because it drives a wedge between them and right-thnking people.
Also, whilst we’re being cynical, you might just as well ask if the Cardinal didn’t use his impending retirement to vent some feelings he wouldn’t have otherwise. Better out than in though – then the world can see what a bunch of bigots are still at the top of the catholic church. Each reminder is a new atheist and a new person rejecting the old false morality of the church.
Ronbo
I’ll listen to their thought when they’ve done everthing that can to STOP molesting children. Merely moving their monsters to a a new group of victims isn’t enough.
randy
I guess I’m the only one troubled by the amateurish graphics of the ad. It looks like any one of those ads placed by crazyland groups.
Otherwise, I think it’s great that they placed the ad.