From The New York Daily News...
Chicago cardinal apologizes for comparing gay rights activists to Ku Klux Klan
Satisfied with apology, gay and civil rights activists call off protest in front of Cardinal Francis George’s church planned for Sunday
By Roque Planas / New York Daily News
Chicago Cardinal Francis George is sorry for comparing gay activists to the Ku Klux Klan in an interview on Christmas Day.
“I am truly sorry for the hurt my remarks have caused,” George said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune published Friday.
“When I was talking, I was speaking out of fear that I have for the church’s liberty and I was reaching for an analogy which was very inappropriate, for which I’m sorry.”
The controversy erupted back in October when George objected to next summer’s Gay Pride Parade passing by his Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on a Sunday during mass. Organizers agreed to push the start time of the parade to noon to avoid bothering morning worshippers, according to the Chicago Tribune.
But the compromise didn’t solve the dispute for George, who continued to rail against segments of the Chicago gay rights movement, arguing that they view Catholics as an enemy—which reminded George of the KKK.
“You don’t want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism,” George told Fox Chicago in an interview broadcast on Christmas day.
“That’s a little strong analogy, don’t you think? Ku Klux Klan?” the host asked George.
“It is, but you take a look at the rhetoric—the rhetoric of the Ku Klux Klan, the rhetoric of some of the gay liberation people. Who is the enemy? The Catholic Church.”
Days later, the cardinal doubled down, defending his comparison in a public statement.
“Organizers (of the pride parade) invited an obvious comparison to other groups who have historically attempted to stifle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church,” the cardinal said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“One such organization is the Ku Klux Klan which, well into the 1940s, paraded through American cities not only to interfere with Catholic worship but also to demonstrate that Catholics stand outside of the American consensus. It is not a precedent anyone should want to emulate.”
The comments sparked a firestorm of criticism, while few leaders came forward to back George up. The Rainbow Sash Movement—a Catholic group that supports gay rights—demanded the Chicago cardinal to step down. Several gay and civil rights groups planned to show up at George’s Sunday mass for a protest if they didn’t get an apology.
But George’s apology satisfied most and the organizers called off Sunday’s protest, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
George’s public relations fiasco came just a month after he landed himself in hot water by blasting Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn for agreeing to present an award to rape survivor Jennie Goodman on behalf of pro-choice organization Personal PAC.
“Governor Quinn has gone beyond a political alignment with those supporting the legal right to kill children in their mother’s wombs to rewarding those deemed successful at this terrible work,” the Illinois bishops said in a public statement.
It turned out Goodman had never had an abortion, so the Catholic leaders backed down.
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