Rabid Religionists Misfire on Lawmakers

I guess you shouldn't pronounce the acronym of Concerned Roman Catholics (not crock) of America. They are the winner of the latest Nemesis Award, the Chihuahua of Retribution.

Historical note: The first winner's post is here. The second is here.

Amusingly enough, they use America in their name. They are clearly as unamerican and anti-liberty as anyone. Perhaps that is just a geographic distinction or perhaps they differentiate themselves from apathetic Roman Catholics, or those who have developed with their church over the past 2,000 years.

This group has gone beyond trying to subvert democracy and institute theocracy. Their latest ploy (sadly for them, ineffectual) was to hie to this week's Knights of Columbus national gathering to demand the ouster of Massachusetts legislators who refused to help put marriage equality to a plebiscite.

Those of us who aren't Knights — and by KofC figures that would be 99.4% of us — may be a bit confused about the nature of the organization and why don't-call-them-crock folk think our legislators need to be tossed. Unfortunately for our chihuahuas, the Knights are about Jesus' work, charity, and not about punishing heretics.

As the KofC puts it (see the link above):

Thanks to the efforts of Father Michael J. McGivney, assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven and some of his parishioners, the Connecticut state legislature on March 29, 1882, officially chartered the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefit society. The Order is still true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity.

The Knights was formed to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.

Somehow, they left out the part about judging others, about taking the authority of their God and prelates for their own, and enforcing political compliance regardless of the effects on the public. No, those silly Knights are concerned with poor widows and others in need. How shortsighted they are, when the could be wielding the whip of righteousness.

You'd think that the knuckle-cracking disciplinarian Pope Benedict would help here. After all, for 25 years, he headed the doctrinal interpreter, the organization formerly known as the Roman Inquisition. Yet, he has not been about excommunicating or threatening our lawmakers.

Instead, like chihuahuas, the concerned sorts seem pretty yappy and excitable. A look at their website reveals a lack of subtlety as well as compassion. They lead with:

MORE ON GRAVE SCANDAL WITHIN THE "KNIGHTS" OF COLUMBUS- FOUR MORE ADDED TO LIST OF JUDAS KNIGHTS IN MASS.

I have just heard from John O’Gorman, the Fighting Knight of Columbus from Massachusetts, that the 170,000 signature Initiative Petition to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman was thwarted by the Legislature, meeting in joint Constitutional Convention, on Thursday, June 14 2007. The sad part is it would have passed to go on the ballot in 2008 had it not been for the votes of at least sixteen men who call themselves Knights of Columbus who voted against the Church they are supposed to be Knights of, and for the sodomites they support!

Massachusetts Speaker of the House Sal Dimasi, and House Majority Leader John Rogers.

State Reps: Garrett Bradley, Bob Deleo, Stephen Di Natale, Chris Donelan, Christopher Fallon, Kevin Honan, Charles Murphy, Angelo Puppolo and Bob Spellane, Bob Nyman, and Paul McMurtry.

State Senators: Tom McGee, Michael Knapik, and Michael Morrissey.

It only required 50 votes to bring this to the people of Massachusetts for a vote. The vote was 45 to do so. If the sixteen so called Knights had voted with the Church, and for the good of society, they would have had SIXTY ONE! God have mercy on their much compromised souls!

Seven of these Judases have PRO-CHOICE RATINGS FROM PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF MASS,, they are: The Speaker Dimasi, Bradley, Donelan, Honan, Murphy, Spellane, and McGee!

Unfortunately for the bile-filled protesters, no one seems to have noticed. The Tennessee and national papers didn't cover anything. However, our own Boston Herald did cover this today, apparently working straight off the group's sources. I have to wonder whether they had a minyan (no, that's Jewish) or a posse (no, that's frontier America) or whatever to have their anti-sodomite-supporter event. That would be unfortunate to show up in Nashville during the hottest time of the year without complaining to someone about something. Yap.

The Herald managed to get a response from the KofC, but not what the outraged ones would want to hear:

But Knights of Columbus spokesman Patrick Korten said the group has no plans to boot the Massachusetts lawmakers. Of the flap, he said: “The Knights of Columbus is a strongly pro-life organization. If there are a few members who don’t share those views, that’s unfortunate, but irrelevant.”

There's lots of "i" words for our Nemesis winner — irrelevant, irreverent, irrational, irresponsible, and irascible.

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Tags: massmarrier, Massachusetts, amendment, Knights of Columbus, Concerned Roman Catholics, Nemesis Award, Nashville, legislators