Dissidents Prepare for the Pope

"These groups are dying out fast. Staffed by senior citizens who are angry that the Church didn't turn left, they have almost no members under the age of 90" says Bill Donohue.

NEW YORK, NY (Catholic League) - Here is how Catholic dissidents are responding to the pope's visit:

· The National Coalition of American Nuns, a pro-abortion group, says the pope is not welcome

· The Women's Ordination Conference played a game of make-believe by having women dress up like priests to say Mass

· Dignity, a group which once appointed gay rapist Paul Shanley its chaplain, is staging a protest of the pope's visit

· New Ways Ministry, a pro-sodomy group, held a press conference on gay sex that no one attended

· Catholics for a Free Choice, an anti-Catholic front group, is hawking condoms and wants no one to leave home without one

· SNAP, a gang of professional victims greased by lawyers who have exploited the church, wants the U.N. to investigate the Vatican

· Voice of the Faithful, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, is lecturing the pope about Church finances

· Rainbow Sash, a gay happy group, says it will throw ashes at the pope instead of confetti

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:

"These groups are dying out fast. Staffed by senior citizens who are angry that the Church didn't turn left, they have almost no members under the age of 90 (okay, maybe 85).

"They will be joined by the American Atheists and the Westboro Baptist Church: the former is protesting what it calls the 'Vatican/Ratzinger agenda' (sounds great to me) and the latter is protesting what it calls the 'Great Whore' (wasn't that in the news recently?).

"There was a time when such groups were taken seriously. But that time has long past. Instead, most Catholics will agree with our op-ed page tribute to the pope in today's New York Times, and not with these unhappy campers. Indeed, they'll likely be so gay as to break out the confetti."

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The Catholic League is the nation's largest Catholic civil rights organization. Founded in 1973 by the late Father Virgil C. Blum, S.J., the Catholic League defends the right of Catholics – lay and clergy alike – to participate in American public life without defamation or discrimination. It is led by its' President, William A. Donohue, Ph.D.