{"id":356,"date":"2012-06-21T10:05:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T10:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/"},"modified":"2012-06-21T10:05:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-21T10:05:00","slug":"leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Washington D.C., Jun 21, 2012 \/ 04:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- A leaked e-mail shows that the Democratic-leaning organization Faith in Public Life is running a behind-the-scenes media effort to undercut the U.S. bishops and the \u201cFortnight for Freedom\u201d events intended to rally opposition to the HHS mandate.<\/p>\n

\tBill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, released the e-mail detailing the campaign on June 18. He said a copy of the e-mail had been leaked to him.<\/p>\n

\tDonohue said \u201cfair minded persons\u201d may disagree with the religious freedom effort \u201cbut there is something unseemly going on when those who work for a George Soros-funded group are quietly providing talking points to the media.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe June 7 e-mail from John Gehring, Faith in Public Life\u2019s Catholic Program Director, is addressed to reporters, editors and columnists. It describes itself as a \u201cbackgrounder\u201d and contains talking points, adversarial questions for Catholic bishops and recommendations of experts to interview.<\/p>\n

\tIt appears aimed at shaping a narrative skeptical towards Catholic objections to a Department of Health and Human Services mandate that requires employers, including many Catholic institutions, to provide insurance coverage for sterilization and contraception, including some abortion-causing drugs.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAre you willing to sacrifice Catholic charities, colleges and hospitals if you don\u2019t get your way on the contraceptive mandate?\u201d reads one proposed question for a bishop.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAre you willing to drop all health insurance for your employees?\u201d reads another.<\/p>\n

\tThe e-mail encouraged journalists to \u201cask critical questions\u201d about the bishops\u2019 \u201csweeping claims\u201d in light of a \u201ccharged political backdrop\u201d ahead of the 2012 election.\u00a0 It noted that both the June 8 \u201cStand Up for Religious Freedom\u201d rallies and the June 21-July 4 \u201cFortnight for Freedom\u201d campaign include Catholic dioceses.<\/p>\n

\tCNA sought comment multiple times from Gehring and Faith in Public Life but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n

\tOn its website, Faith in Public Life describes itself as \u201ca strategy center for the faith community advancing faith in the public square as a powerful force for justice, compassion and the common good.\u201d It runs strategic communications and \u201cnarrative-setting\u201d campaigns. The organization says it can identify \u201cmoments of opportunity when a targeted event or campaign can effectively broaden or shift the values debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIt works to insert its perspective into political debates and to highlight \u201cprogressive and moderate people of faith at key moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tGehring\u2019s June 7 e-mail focused only on contraception and \u201cbirth control.\u201d It did not mention coverage of sterilization or contraceptive drugs that may cause abortion.<\/p>\n

\tHe wrote that several Catholic bishops have used \u201cinflammatory and irresponsible rhetoric\u201d that conflates \u201cworking through complex policy issues with a fundamental attack on the Catholic Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe leaked e-mail also suggested that reporters should reject as \u201cfiction\u201d any claim that there is a \u201cwar on religion\u201d and a \u201cwar on the Catholic Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIt classified as \u201cfiction\u201d U.S. bishops\u2019 conference president Cardinal Timothy Dolan\u2019s statement that the administration is \u201cstrangling\u201d the Catholic Church. Gehring also suggested news media ask whether bishops should be concerned about the religious freedom campaign \u201cbecoming politicized in an election year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tOver 40 Catholic institutions have filed lawsuits challenging the mandate, while Catholics and other faith leaders have organized religious freedom rallies around the country, including the upcoming \u201cFortnight for Freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tGehring encouraged reporters, columnists and journalists to ask who is funding the religious freedom effort.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cReporters should consider asking about the Knights of Columbus, an organization with deep pockets,\u201d the e-mail advised. Gehring tried to paint Supreme Knight of Columbus Carl Anderson as a political partisan, noting his work in the Reagan administration and his time as a legislative assistant to Republican Sen. Jesse Helms in the late 1970s and early 1980s.<\/p>\n

\tFaith in Public Life\u2019s recommended sources for interviews, as listed in Gehring\u2019s e-mail, are John Gehring, Duquesne University law professor Nicholas Cafardi, Fordham University theology department chair Terrence W. Tilley, Boston College theology professor Lisa Sowle Cahill, Note Dame Law School professor M. Cathleen Kaveny, Fairfield University religious studies professor Paul Lakeland, and Fr. Thomas Reese, S.J. of the Woodstock Theological Center.<\/p>\n

\tThe Catholic League\u2019s Bill Donohue was critical of the media effort, saying Gehring\u2019s e-mail encouraged the media to \u201cvictimize the victim\u201d and target those who refuse to compromise their principles.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Jun 21, 2012 \/ 04:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- A leaked e-mail shows that the Democratic-leaning organization Faith in Public Life is running a behind-the-scenes media effort to undercut the U.S. bishops and the “Fortnight for Freedom…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nLeaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Jun 21, 2012 \/ 04:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- A leaked e-mail shows that the Democratic-leaning organization Faith in Public Life is running a behind-the-scenes media effort to undercut the U.S. bishops and the “Fortnight for Freedom...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Jun 21, 2012 \/ 04:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- A leaked e-mail shows that the Democratic-leaning organization Faith in Public Life is running a behind-the-scenes media effort to undercut the U.S. bishops and the “Fortnight for Freedom...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-06-21T10:05:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/\",\"name\":\"Leaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-06-21T10:05:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-06-21T10:05:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Washington D.C., Jun 21, 2012 \/ 04:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- A leaked e-mail shows that the Democratic-leaning organization Faith in Public Life is running a behind-the-scenes media effort to undercut the U.S. bishops and the “Fortnight for Freedom...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Leaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Leaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops","description":"Washington D.C., Jun 21, 2012 \/ 04:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- A leaked e-mail shows that the Democratic-leaning organization Faith in Public Life is running a behind-the-scenes media effort to undercut the U.S. bishops and the “Fortnight for Freedom...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Leaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops","og_description":"Washington D.C., Jun 21, 2012 \/ 04:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- A leaked e-mail shows that the Democratic-leaning organization Faith in Public Life is running a behind-the-scenes media effort to undercut the U.S. bishops and the “Fortnight for Freedom...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2012-06-21T10:05:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/","name":"Leaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-06-21T10:05:00+00:00","dateModified":"2012-06-21T10:05:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Washington D.C., Jun 21, 2012 \/ 04:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- A leaked e-mail shows that the Democratic-leaning organization Faith in Public Life is running a behind-the-scenes media effort to undercut the U.S. bishops and the “Fortnight for Freedom...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/leaked-e-mail-shows-media-campaign-against-us-bishops\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Leaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}