Late last week it came to light that New Hampshire House Republican Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt had made outrageous and demeaning statements about Manchester's Catholic bishop, John McCormack. Apparently, Bettencourt had written on his Facebook page that McCormack was a "pedophile pimp" who should have been arrested and led away from the New Hampshire statehouse in handcuffs for his past involvement with the sex abuse scandal in Boston. Rep. Bettencourt issued these offensive comments only after Bishop McCormack had given a speech at the statehouse where he expressed the Catholic Church's strong support for trade unions and its opposition to proposed budget cuts that would severely hurt the poor.
In response to Bettencourt's behavior, Catholics United, the organization which I work for, issued a press release calling on elected leaders in New Hampshire to distance themselves from these offensive comments and for Bettencourt to publicly retract his statement. After receiving a torrent of criticism, Bettencourt recently announced that he has asked for a personal meeting with Bishop McCormack, presumably to apologize in private. Although this is a good step, it does not go far enough. Bettencourt should publicly apologize for his outrageous behavior. Until he does so, every elected leader who serves with Bettencourt in the New Hampshire legislature and every Presidential candidate who visits that state should be asked to publicly distance themselves from these embarrassing comments.
To be clear: The sex abuse scandal has been a long and tragic chapter in the history of the Catholic Church. And this sad chapter has caused untold harm to thousands of innocent victims while simultaneously driving many Catholics away from the faith. However, the saga surrounding Majority Leader Bettencourt's statements reveals a disturbing inconsistency regarding the selective moral outrage of some conservative leaders.
Let me offer one example of this moral hypocrisy. During Rep. Bettencourt's elected tenure in the New Hampshire House he has served on the Judiciary Committee. On multiple occasions Bishop McCormack has appeared before that committee and offered testimony in opposition to gay marriage and abortion. In response to this testimony, Rep. Bettencourt never once raised a question about the bishop's moral standing in the community. It was only after the bishop chose to speak out publicly in support of trade unions and against budget cuts in programs that aid the poor -- two key progressive legislative priorities -- that the bishop became an open target for Bettencourt.
Sadly, this inconsistency is not limited to New Hampshire. It also can be found in Washington DC. During last year's health care reform debate, conservatives made a great deal of noise about the Catholic bishops' opposition to the final passage of health care reform. (The bishops incorrectly believed that the final bill funded elective abortions.) The moral outrage exhibited by conservatives was so great that one member of Congress, Rep. Randy Neugebauer, had the temerity to call Congressman Bart Stupak a "baby killer" on the floor of the House of Representatives because Stupak supported final passage of the legislation. In short, the conservatives were quick to take advantage of the bishops' comments when they served their political interests.
Now, Washington DC is preparing for a budget showdown that threatens to shut down the federal government. In response to this, the Catholic bishops have issued an "action alert" that calls on Catholics across the country to oppose proposed Republican budget cuts "to programs that serve the poorest, most vulnerable people at home and abroad." The bishops further state that a "shutdown of government services will fall most heavily on those who have the fewest resources." To my knowledge, not a single conservative Catholic has joined the bishops in expressing moral concern about the proposed budget cuts and their adverse effect on the poor and marginalized.
The conservative movement has made a science out of using selective moral outrage to advance their political agenda. And as Republican Majority Leader Bettencourt has shown, they are willing to attack the church when it suits their partisan objectives. For the sake of the church, to say nothing of the future of our politics, I believe it's finally time to publicly call-out this moral hypocrisy.
