Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League, is refusing to heed Pope Francis’ call for Christians to apologize to members of the LGBT community whom they have offended.
“No,” Donohue said on CNN’s “New Day” Tuesday when asked if he would apologize. “As a matter of fact, I want an apology from gays. I’ve been assaulted by gays. I’ve never assaulted a gay person in my entire life.”
Donohue then insisted that the media twisted Pope Francis’ words.
The pope over the weekend was asked if he feels the Catholic church owes an apology to gay people. Pope Francis said that gay people can be denounced for behaviors that are “a bit offensive for others.”
But he added, “I think the church must not only apologize … to a gay person it offended, but we must apologize to the poor, to women who have been exploited, to children forced into labor, apologize for having blessed so many weapons.”
Donohue noted that Pope Francis also said, “The church must say it is sorry for not having behaved as it should many times, many times — when I say ‘the church,’ I mean we Christians, because the church is holy; we are the sinners.”
Donohue argued that the Pope did not call on the Catholic church to apologize, but individual Christians who have offended gay people.
“If a Catholic or Protestant or Jew or Muslim has offended a gay person, or anybody, of course they should apologize,” Donohue said Monday morning. “But the idea of a blanket apology because you are a member of some demographic group, I mean, I don’t know what church teaching is it that you have a problem with that maybe the church should apologize for?”
Later, CNN’s Chris Cuomo asked Donohue, “Why did you spend so much energy on this? Why is so important to you to denounce gays?”
In response, Donohue lamented that CNN producers only wanted to bring him on to talk about the LGBT community.
“I don’t care what gay people do,” he said. “I don’t want to have a lifestyle thrusted in my face, though. That’s a different kind of thing altogether.”
“What do you mean thrusted?” Cuomo asked in response.
Donohue noted cases of wedding vendors coming under criticism for refusing to serve gay couples.
Later in the interview, Cuomo again asked Donohue about his attitude toward LGBT people.
“Can you show me where Jesus said we should spend time saying we should not let people be who they are and what they’re about?” Cuomo asked.
“There are mobster lifestyles,” Donohue replied, noting that he would condemn violent lifestyles.
“A mobster is not a gay person,” Cuomo hit back.
Watch the interview via Raw Story:
