Man Who Attacks Pope as “Hurting People in the Name of Jesus” Gets Appointed to Oversee Faith-Based Initiatives

by Erick Erickson, RedState: This is really disturbing. Barack Obama has appointed Harry Knox to the White House’s Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. In March, Knox began an attack on the Catholic Church during a speech before the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign. Knox, attacking Pope Benedict XVI directly, said the Pope and, through him the Catholic Church, is “hurting people in the name of Jesus.”

After his appointment, Knox was confronted with his comment and reaffirmed that he hates the Pope. The Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships’ charter states that it “will work on behalf of Americans committed to improving their communities, no matter their religious or political beliefs.” Really? A man who is willing, even with such an appointment, to attack the head of a church with millions of active congregants , cannot be trusted to fairly work with Catholics. The Pope is called the Holy Father for a reason and attacking the Holy Father does little to prove a commitment to improving communities no matter their religious or political beliefs.

The St. Michael Society has a petition calling for this man to resign. I’m Presbyterian, but I signed it too. This man is an insult to the Christian faith when the basis for his attack on the Catholic Church is its position on homosexuality — a position shared across denominations of Christians.