Senate candidate Al Franken accused of anti-Catholicism

St. Paul, Minn., Oct 28, 2008 / 08:00 am

Al Franken, comedian and U.S. Senate candidate for Minnesota, has been criticized for his “diatribes” against Catholics.

Katherine Kersten, writing last Wednesday in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, described Franken’s several attempts at comic references to Christian and Catholic belief, such as a “Dog Confessional” skit depicting dogs confessing to priests and derisive comments about “Jesus’ skeleton.”

Citing one of his books, Kersten claimed Franken has described greeting a New York audience with the words, "Isn't Cardinal O'Connor an a**hole?"

Franken is running for the U.S. Senate as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party.

Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, added to the criticism.

A Monday press release from the Catholic League accused Franken of “virulent anti-Catholicism,” citing his mockery of the Eucharist, his ridicule of the Crucifixion, and his belittlement of practicing Catholics such as the Knights of Columbus.

The Catholic League also charged that Franken has “slandered” all priests as child molesters.

“Franken has a long and ugly history of Catholic bashing,” Donohue claimed.

“Franken’s diatribes against Catholics are not in jest,” he continued. “As Hillary Clinton said about him last week, he tells ‘truth through jokes.’ And the truth is that when Franken mocks the Body and Blood of Jesus, and jokes about the discovery of ‘the complete skeleton of Jesus Christ still nailed to the cross,’ his mean-spirited digs are designed to be injurious.”