Letter From Catholic Leaders Calls for President Obama to Fire Anti-Catholic Bigot Harry Knox

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2009

CONTACT: COLLEEN O’BOYLE or TIM SCHEIDERER AT 703.683.5004

Letter From Catholic Leaders Calls for President Obama to Fire
Anti-Catholic Bigot Harry Knox

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500-0003

Dear Mr. President,

On April 6, you named Harry Knox to your Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. You claim to have created this Council, among other things, to “bring everyone together – from both the secular and faith-based communities.”

Harry Knox is the hate-filled antithesis of this noble objective. Knox is a virulent anti-Catholic bigot, and has made numerous vile and dishonest attacks against the Church and the Holy Father. He has no business on any Council having to do with faith or religion.

We do not know if you or members of your Administration were aware of Knox’s deplorable, abusive attitude towards the Church and Pope Benedict XVI when you named him to the Council. We assume you were not. But since then, there have been numerous press reports on Knox’s loathsome, and clearly bigoted rhetoric, so there no longer is any excuse for your failure to act. We can remain silent no longer.

As Catholics, we call on you to remove Mr. Knox from his position and to formally disassociate yourself from his militant anti-Catholicism. Failure to do so will result in the tainting of your Faith-Based Council—and indeed, your entire administration—as anti-Catholic. We urge you to give this matter your immediate consideration.

Sincerely,

John Boehner
House Republican Leader
Member of Congress

L. Brent Bozell, III
Founder and President
Media Research Center

Judie Brown, President,
American Life League, Inc.
Stafford, VA

Larry Cirignano
Catholic Activist

Eileen Cubanski
Executive Director
National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools (NAPCIS)

Bill Donohue
President
Catholic League

Chuck Donovan
Executive Vice President
Family Research Council

Deacon Keith A. Fournier
Editor in Chief, Catholic Online
Founder, Common Good

Deal W. Hudson
Director
InsideCatholic.com

Philip F. Lawler
Editor
Catholic World News

Leonard Leo
President
National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
(Mr. Leo’s affiliation is listed for identification purposes only)

Tom McClusky
Vice President of Government Affairs
Family Research Council

Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI)

Kate O’Beirne
President
National Review Institute

Thomas Peters
American Papist Blog

Al Regnery
Publisher
The American Spectator

Patrick J. Reilly
President
The Cardinal Newman Society

Charles Rice
Professor, Emeritus
Notre Dame Law School

Austin Ruse
President
Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM)

Phyllis Schlafly
Founder and President
Eagle Forum

Fr. Robert Sirico
President
The Acton Institute

Richard Viguerie
Chairman
American Target Advertising

Instances of Harry Knox’s Bigotry

To schedule an interview with MRC President Brent Bozell or another MRC spokesperson, please contact Tim Scheiderer (x. 126) or Colleen O’Boyle (x. 122) at (703) 683-5004.