President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500-0003

Dear Mr. President,

      On April 6, you named Harry Knox to your Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.  You claim to have created this Council, among other things, to “bring everyone together – from both the secular and faith-based communities.”  

      Harry Knox is the hate-filled antithesis of this noble objective.  Knox is a virulent anti-Catholic bigot, and has made numerous vile and dishonest attacks against the Church and the Holy Father.  He has no business on any Council having to do with faith or religion. 

      We do not know if you or members of your Administration were aware of Knox’s deplorable, abusive attitude towards the Church and Pope Benedict XVI when you named him to the Council.  We assume you were not. But since then, there have been numerous press reports on Knox’s loathsome, and clearly bigoted rhetoric, so there no longer is any excuse for your failure to act. We can remain silent no longer.

      As Catholics, we call on you to remove Mr. Knox from his position and to formally disassociate yourself from his militant anti-Catholicism. Failure to do so will result in the tainting of your Faith-Based Council—and indeed, your entire administration—as anti-Catholic.  We urge you to give this matter your immediate consideration.

                                                            Sincerely,

John Boehner House Republican Leader Member of Congress L. Brent Bozell, III Founder and President Media Research Center Judie Brown, President, American Life League, Inc. Stafford, VA Larry Cirignano Catholic Activist Eileen Cubanski Executive Director National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools (NAPCIS) Bill Donohue President Catholic League Chuck Donovan Executive Vice President Family Research Council Deacon Keith A. Fournier Editor in Chief, Catholic Online Founder, Common Good Deal W. Hudson Director InsideCatholic.com Philip F. Lawler Editor Catholic World News Leonard Leo President National Catholic Prayer Breakfast (Mr. Leo’s affiliation is listed for identification purposes only)

Tom McClusky Vice President of Government Affairs Family Research Council Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) Kate O’Beirne President National Review Institute Thomas Peters American Papist Blog Al Regnery Publisher The American Spectator Patrick J. Reilly President The Cardinal Newman Society Charles Rice Professor, Emeritus Notre Dame Law School Austin Ruse President Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) Phyllis Schlafly Founder and President Eagle Forum Fr. Robert Sirico President The Acton Institute Richard Viguerie Chairman American Target Advertising

Instances of Harry Knox’s Bigotry