Bishop Who Compared Obama To Hitler Urged To Resign From Notre Dame Board By Members Of Faculty

Catholic Bishop Daniel Jenky is continuing to feel the heat for a sermon in which he preached that President Obama's policies were following a 'similar path' to that of Hitler and Stalin.

A spokeswoman for the diocese attempted to explain that the comments were taken out of context, according to the Chicago Tribune:

“Based upon the current government’s threatened infringement upon the Church’s religious exercise of its ministry, Bishop Jenky offered historical context and comparisons as a means to prevent a repetition of historical attacks upon the Catholic Church and other religions,” said Patricia Gibson, chancellor of the Peoria Diocese.

The explaination hasn't stopped Americans United for Separation of Church and State from filing a formal complaint, asking the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the diocese and claiming that the sermon was poltical at its core. As the group's executive director, Barry Lynn explained: "No rational person could believe the bishop was doing anything but saying vote against Obama."

And now members of the Notre Dame faculty have drawn up a petition asking for the resignation of Bishop Jenky from the University's Board of Fellows if he is unwilling to "renounce loudly and publicly' this destructive analogy."

The letter, addressed to the University President and the Chair of Board of Trustees is below:

Dear Father Jenkins and Mr Notebaert,

As you will be aware, the Most Reverend Daniel Jenky, a member of Notre Dame’s Board of Fellows, has been widely quoted for a homily in which he described President Obama as “seem[ing] intent on following a similar path” to Hitler and Stalin. Bishop Jenky’s comments demonstrate ignorance of history, insensitivity to victims of genocide, and absence of judgment. We accept that Bishop Jenky’s comments are protected by the First Amendment, but we find it profoundly offensive that a member of our beloved university’s highest authority, the Board of Fellows, should compare the President’s actions with those whose genocidal policies murdered tens of millions of people, including the specific targeting of Catholics, Jews, and other minorities for their faith. We request that you issue a statement on behalf of the University that will definitively distance Notre Dame from Bishop Jenky's incendiary statement. Further, we feel that it would be in the best interest of Notre Dame if Bishop Jenky resigned from the University's Board of Fellows if he is unwilling to renounce loudly and publicly this destructive analogy.

Sincerely,
Katrina Barron, Mathematics
Laura Bayard, Library
Patricia Blanchette, Philosophy
Kevin Burke, IEI
Joseph Buttigieg, English
Robert Coleman, Art, Art History, and Design
Suzanne M. Coshow, Management
Mary Rose D’Angelo, Theology
Margaret Doody, English
Julia Douthwaite, Romance Languages and Literature
Kevin Dreyer, Film, Television, and Theater
John Duffy, English
Stephen M Fallon, Program of Liberal Studies & English
Carolina Arroyo, Political Science
Barbara J. Fick, Law School
Christopher Fox, English & Irish Studies
Stephen Fredman, English
Laura Fuderer, Library
Agustin Fuentes, Anthropology
Patrick Gaffney, Anthropology
Jill Godmilow, Film, Television, and Theater
Daniel Graff, History
Stuart Greene, English
David Hachen, Sociology
Richard Herbst, Law School
Peter Holland, Film, Television, and Theater
Raúl Jara, Institute for Latino Studies
Felicia Johnson-O’Brien, Center for Social Concerns
Janet A. Kourany, Philosophy
Sean T. O’Brien, Irish Studies
Julia Marvin, Program of Liberal Studies
Maria McKenna, Africana Studies
Mark McKenna, Law School
Sarah McKibben, Irish Studies
Dianne Pinderhughes, Africana Studies & Political Science
Ann Marie R. Power, Sociology
F. Clark Power, Program of Liberal Studies & IEI
Ava Preacher, College of Arts and Letters
David Ruccio, Economics
Valerie Sayers, English
Kristen Shrader-Frechette, Philosophy & Biological Sciences
Anne Simons, Psychology
John Sitter, English
Cheri Smith, Library
Donald Sniegowski, Emeritus-English
Laura Walls, English
Robert E. Walls, American Studies & Anthropology
Andrew Weigert, Sociology
Richard Williams, Sociology

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Comments

[Joe Funaro]

02:02 PM on 04/16/2013

I thought the left's highest virtue was "speaking truth to power". I guess it depends on what truth and what power.

[HoodNews365]

11:29 PM on 05/01/2012

i love how christians feel that they are superior to everyone. gtf outta here.

[joedupont]

12:01 AM on 04/28/2012

Through good fortune I came across a recent homily by the Most Reverend Daniel R. Jenky, Bishop of Peoria . In it Bishop Jenky reminded me of the miracle of Christianity and how it's fabric is now under attack by Barack Hussein Obama II and his radical appointees. Obama's assault on Christian places of warship, healing and learning are unconscionable. But the truth is that this same president has also placed the homeland of the Jewish people in a desperate situation. It matters not what Obama's motivation is. Regardless of whether his actions are from ignorance, arrogance or part of a sinister agenda, we can't afford 4 more years of this. If America is going to survive economically, or culturally, we must vote with our God given Constitutional rights in mind. We must vote for someone whose parents loved this country.
Too many people have died protecting our inalienably , God given rights to let Obama or anyone else ignore them. Despite Obama's statements to the contrary, America is a Judeo-Christian society.

[Tj Schwinn]

10:49 AM on 04/28/2012

Right on!!! I couldn't agree with you more. I pray those that voted for him will have a CHANGE of heart and realize what this person is all about!! I believe many thought he would be their savior. He isn't.

[Carl Miller]

07:30 PM on 07/04/2012

I would rather place my hope in the President than the worldwide pedophile ring that you call the Catholic church!

[HoodNews365]

11:29 PM on 05/01/2012

this is supposed to be satirical right?

[Mister H]

03:09 PM on 04/27/2012

Notre Dame history professor, William Miscamble, argues his colleagues have taken Bishop Jenky's words out of context and distorted what he was saying. Fr. Miscamble also stands by the historical accuracy of the bishop's words.

An interesting read:

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/bishop-jenkys-assessment-of-religious-liberty-battle-raises-question-about/

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/bishop-jenkys-assessment-of-religious-liberty-battle-raises-question-about/

[Carl Miller]

07:32 PM on 07/04/2012

They always have an excuse whether it's in regard to this kind of vile rhetoric or buggering young boys in the sacristies of the churches. This vile cult needs to be closed down. Enough is enough!

[Mister H]

07:48 PM on 07/04/2012

Sexual abuse is a horrible thing, but it is a societal problem not a Catholic problem.

Details:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/04/07/mean-men.html

Excerpt:

The
Catholic sex-abuse stories emerging every day suggest that Catholics
have a much bigger problem with child molestation than other
denominations and the general population. Many point to peculiarities of
the Catholic Church (its celibacy rules for priests, its insular
hierarchy, its exclusion of women) to infer that there's something
particularly pernicious about Catholic clerics that predisposes them to
these horrific acts. It's no wonder that, back in 2002—when the last
Catholic sex-abuse scandal was making headlines—a Wall Street
Journal-NBC News poll found that 64 percent of those queried thought
Catholic
priests "frequently'' abused children.

Yet experts say there's
simply no data to support the claim at all. No formal comparative study
has ever broken down child sexual abuse by denomination, and only the
Catholic Church has released detailed data about its own. But based on
the surveys and studies conducted by different denominations over the
past 30 years, experts who study child abuse say they see little reason
to conclude that sexual abuse is mostly a Catholic issue. "We don't see
the Catholic Church as a hotbed of this or a place that has a bigger
problem than anyone else," said Ernie Allen, president of the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

[Carl Miller]

09:05 PM on 07/04/2012

Jenky obviously has no shame. He belongs to a cult that has run a worldwide pedophile ring for decades, perhaps much longer, and he want to denigrate the President of the United States. Why doesn't he go live in Rome with the other bishops who have covered up the crimes of the Roman church for so many years. This vile cult needs to be closed down before anymore children are molested and bishops are allowed to cover up the crimes. This holy roller needs to be investigated himself!

[addisonsteele]

05:41 PM on 04/26/2012

Of course, the Bishop reference to H*tler was ahistorical. The Vatican entered into a concordat with Germany, under which the church agreed not to publicly criticize the German government and the government agreed to leave the Roman Catholic church alone. The only Roman Catholic clergy persecuted by the Germans were those who rejected the Vatican's policies and spoke out.

[okbyme]

02:04 PM on 04/26/2012

Take away the tax exempt status of the Church. And, btw, if you think that Notre Dame's football team is a non-profit, educational organization worthy of tax exemption, there is a bridge in Brooklyn......

[Pct3200]

01:41 AM on 04/26/2012

I initially thought this parody website was tasteless until I realized it is nothing more than fair play - Sort of like Jerry Falwell in the outhouse. http://bishopjenky.wordpress.com

[SueEll]

05:59 PM on 04/25/2012

The church seems to be working very hard to make the world think that THEY're the ones who've been unfairly prosecuted. They're trying to play the victim card to garner sympathy in the hopes that we'll all forget those other victims--the ones at the hands of their church. It's a PR stunt and Rome is using our President as the fall guy.

[dblanehart]

05:00 PM on 04/25/2012

these bishops dress up in these costumes and is worst than anyone if you don't believe me check out their track record for yourself

[leyvadaniel]

04:09 PM on 04/25/2012

A man like him can not be a Bishop. A bishop is supposed to be an example of Christian behavior. This bishop is the kind of bad apple that give all Christians a bad name.

[Carl Miller]

07:36 PM on 07/04/2012

I don't think he is any different than the rest of them.

[thunk]

02:33 PM on 04/25/2012

"including the specific targeting of Catholics, Jews, and other minorities for their faith."

Catholics were not targeted for their faith. Some priests, like everyone else, were targeted for openly opposing the Nazi party. The church hierarchy had made a deal with Hitler to stay out of politics. Hitler endorsed Christianity including Catholicism. In fact it's hard to argue that Catholics represented a marginalized "minority" of Germans, since in some parts of the country it was the predominant faith at the time.

Neither was the holocaust based on Jewish faith, so much as on race.

[RhymesWithRight]

01:42 PM on 04/25/2012

More appropriate would be the removal of the following from the faculty of this Catholic university for their failure to uphold the Catholic faith.
Katrina Barron, Mathematics
Laura Bayard, Library
Patricia Blanchette, Philosophy
Kevin Burke, IEI
Joseph Buttigieg, English
Robert Coleman, Art, Art History, and Design
Suzanne M. Coshow, Management
Mary Rose D’Angelo, Theology
Margaret Doody, English
Julia Douthwaite, Romance Languages and Literature
Kevin Dreyer, Film, Television, and Theater
John Duffy, English
Stephen M Fallon, Program of Liberal Studies & English
Carolina Arroyo, Political Science
Barbara J. Fick, Law School
Christopher Fox, English & Irish Studies
Stephen Fredman, English
Laura Fuderer, Library
Agustin Fuentes, Anthropology
Patrick Gaffney, Anthropology
Jill Godmilow, Film, Television, and Theater
Daniel Graff, History
Stuart Greene, English
David Hachen, Sociology
Richard Herbst, Law School
Peter Holland, Film, Television, and Theater
Raúl Jara, Institute for Latino Studies
Felicia Johnson-O’Brien, Center for Social Concerns
Janet A. Kourany, Philosophy
Sean T. O’Brien, Irish Studies
Julia Marvin, Program of Liberal Studies
Maria McKenna, Africana Studies
Mark McKenna, Law School
Sarah McKibben, Irish Studies
Dianne Pinderhughes, Africana Studies & Political Science
Ann Marie R. Power, Sociology
F. Clark Power, Program of Liberal Studies & IEI
Ava Preacher, College of Arts and Letters
David Ruccio, Economics
Valerie Sayers, English
Kristen Shrader-Frechette, Philosophy & Biological Sciences
Anne Simons, Psychology
John Sitter, English
Cheri Smith, Library
Donald Sniegowski, Emeritus-English
Laura Walls, English
Robert E. Walls, American Studies & Anthropology
Andrew Weigert, Sociology
Richard Williams, Sociology

[WebSloth]

02:41 PM on 04/25/2012

you have shown yourself to have excellent cut and paste skills, now show us your critical thinking skills

[Jerry3]

04:12 PM on 05/20/2012

I think the cut and paste showed alot of critical thinking skills. Those names pasted in don't seem to have much Catholic conviction, their will over God's.

[Jeffin90019]

04:51 PM on 04/25/2012

Please don't reproduce.

[Steve Bailey 1047]

01:32 PM on 04/25/2012

These Roman Catholic hierarchy buffoons are so out of touch with Christianity in general and their own Roman Catholic constituency in particular that they have become irrelevant voices. I hope the media continue to report their appalling gaffs and that Roman Catholics react as strongly as the Notre Dame faculty has. The sooner Roman Catholic Christians free themselves from the yoke of oppression represented by some of their "leaders", the more effective Catholics will become as "salt and light" in the world.

[Jerry3]

04:14 PM on 05/20/2012

Unless you're Catholic you wouldn't know. The yoke of oppression is what types like you want Catholics to become, but it is God's Will, not our own.

[endlessacctstokeeptracko]

11:55 PM on 04/24/2012

I'm amazed at how there are people who will post in favor of Jenky with his outlandish over the top rhetoric. I agree that if you are employed by the Catholic church, it can deny insurance coverage that would allow for contraceptives under separation of church and state however, the slippery slope is this, the church is a corporation in some respects and other non-religious corporations can then begin doing the same. It concerns me that private corporations can find loopholes from such exceptions, and overextend boundaries taking away the rights of citizens based on the decisions of a few non-democraitc corporate feudal oligarchs. There is something wrong when an american citizen goes to work for a corporation and loses their rights because of the non-democratic nature of corporations.

[Pct3200]

11:27 AM on 04/26/2012

Exactly. We're talking about requiring hospitals, adoption agencies and other businesses operated by the Roman Catholic Church with the assistance of taxpayer funds to obey applicable law and regulations. This has nothing to do with their theology. If the Roman Catholic Church doesn't want to obey the law, they can find other "charitable" works which can be done with their own funds.

[tomonthebay]

10:15 PM on 04/24/2012

Did these poor faculty members have a sad? Don't resign, Bishop Jenky. The board at Notre Dame could use a little spine.