The nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization is demanding an apology from Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson for a tweet in which she openly mocked the Catholic Church. Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League, said that he also wants Donald Trump to give assurances that he will not tolerate anti-Catholicism in his campaign.
“No one makes a comment like this without harboring an animus against Catholicism. It would be instructive to learn more about Pierson’s thoughts on the subject. Perhaps she can share them with us,” Donohue said in a press release on Monday. “In the meantime, Pierson needs to apologize to Catholics for making such a snide remark. We would also like to hear assurances from Donald Trump that he will not tolerate anti-Catholicism in his campaign.”
Just saw a commercial from Catholic Church stating that Catholic Church was started by Jesus. I bet they believe that too. #sad
— Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) December 18, 2011
Donohue was responding to a tweet in which Pierson mocked the Church, writing: “Just saw a commercial from Catholic Church stating that Catholic Church was started by Jesus. I bet they believe that too. #sad.”
This is the spokesperson of Trump campaign, going all anti-Catholic. https://t.co/21nnXCq2nO
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) January 23, 2016
Katrina Pierson is a 100% Catholic bashing idiot. If Trump doesn't can her it's proof he can't even be trusted to hire people.
— Chris Barron (@ChrisRBarron) January 24, 2016
The tweet was just one of several anti-religious tweets uncovered by The Daily Caller in a story published Friday. Pierson also made the remarkable claim that “There are no such things as Christians. Just people who call themselves Christians.”
Pierson also alleged that Christians are the “First to name call and First to judge.” She later criticized not just Christians but religious believers as a whole, dismissing the majority of “religious types” as unable to “handle the truth.” She also criticized “most religious people” as hypocrites who follow a practice of “Do as I say not as I do,” and complained that it’s “always the Christians that are married or too old to party that tell you how [you] should be living your life. As if they were [saints].”
No one should doubt that the nativism Trump is resurrecting will also include an anti-Catholic element https://t.co/tnxWC5oRKU
— Brandon McGinley (@brandonmcg) January 23, 2016
The Catholic League, whose stated mission is to defend against slanderous assaults against the Catholic Church, isn’t the only one to take issue with Pierson’s tweets, which some in the media have called a “goldmine of embarrassment.” Radio host Glenn Beck called Pierson “dangerous” in a Facebook post and said, “If people don’t wake up after reading who trumps [sic] press spokesperson is they will never wake up.”
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling took issue with a tweet in which Pierson complained that there weren’t any “pure breeds” left in the 2012 election. Rowling linked to Pierson’s tweet and called her a “Death Eater,” a reference to the villains of the Harry Potter series.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to TheDC’s request for comment.
Donohue: Trump spokeswoman must apologize, Trump must assure that campaign will not tolerate anti-Catholic remarks. https://t.co/buxO85cfqa
— Catholic League (@CatholicLeague) January 25, 2016
Follow Peter Hasson on Twitter @PeterJHasson
