Members Will Rightly Wonder

When Oz and Ends last took note of William Donohue, self-appointed leader of the Catholic League, he had discovered that Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series depicted an oppressive church. Rather than express thanks that his own church wasn’t so oppressive, Donohue decided that Pullman must have been attacking Catholicism. Curiously, Donohue chose not to take action until when there was a movie on the way and he could get more publicity.

Now he’s put himself back in the news complaining that the Empire State Building management isn’t putting up special lights for the centenary of Mother Theresa. Never mind that she herself wouldn’t want such foofaraw, as the New York Times reports:

“I concede the point that she would not want any attention drawn to her,” Mr. Donohue said in an e-mail in response to a question. But he added: “I have a mission, and it is that of an advocacy group, a pressure group, if you will. I do not run a pastoral institute.”

“If I allow a cultural elite like [the Empire State Building owner] to get away with this with just a shrug, my members would rightly wonder what has happened to me,” he said.

It would be hard to come up with clearer evidence that the Catholic League’s manufactured controversy isn’t about Mother Theresa. It’s about William Donohue, and his fundraising viability. Members might wish to wonder about that.