Catholic league: Bill Maher, Anti-Catholic, Strikes Again

Maher has a long and ugly history of bashing Catholicism, and he typically goes for the jugular.

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Catholic League) - On the November 14 episode of the HBO show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," the comedian said the following:

"A Catholic priest in South Carolina has told his congregation: If you voted for Obama you can't receive Communion. That's right. The cracker won't let you get the cracker. He said supporting Obama constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil. Then he proceeds to pass around the plate so everyone could chip in to payoff the child f------ lawsuits."

Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke to this issue today:

"Maher has a long and ugly history of bashing Catholicism, and he typically goes for the jugular. In his season finale, he managed to mock the Eucharist, paint priests as molesters, call a priest he knows nothing about a racist and seriously misrepresent what this South Carolina priest said about voting for Obama (note: Father Jay Scott Newman did not say what Maher attributed to him).

"HBO would never allow a comedian to continually disparage any one of a series of highly protected classes of persons (persons protected by the politically correct police, that is). But when it comes to Catholics, it's a different story--they're fair game. Ironically, on the exact day Maher struck again, a survey was released showing that 61 percent of Americans believe that 'Religious values are under attack in this country.' It could also be said that no religious values are under more attack than those espoused by Roman Catholicism. And for that we can thank bigots like Bill Maher, and his executive friends at HBO."

Contact Bill Nelson, HBO's CEO: Bill.nelson@hbo.com

Contact Sue Naegle, HBO's President: Sue.naegle@hbo.com

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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.