Syndicated columnist  Jamie Stiehm penned a highly offensive oped for US News and World report entitled, “The Catholic Supreme Court’s War on Women”, enraging scores of readers who are currently venting their disgust in the comment section.

Her screed is completely lacking in serious legal analysis but as Father Z notes, is amazing in the sheer viciousness of its anti-Catholic bigotry. He took the time to excerpt some of the “highlights” – I would say lowlights. I added a few more.

Et tu, Justice Sonia Sotomayor? Really, we can’t trust you on women’s health and human rights? The lady from the Bronx just dropped the ball on American women and girls as surely as she did the sparkling ball at midnight on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Or maybe she’s just a good Catholic girl.

The Supreme Court is now best understood as the Extreme Court. One big reason why is that six out of nine Justices are Catholic. Let’s be forthright about that. (The other three are Jewish.) Sotomayor, appointed by President Obama, is a Catholic who put her religion ahead of her jurisprudence. What a surprise, but that is no small thing.
[…]
Sotomayor’s blow brings us to confront an uncomfortable reality. More than WASPS, Methodists, Jews, Quakers or Baptists, Catholics often try to impose their beliefs on you, me, public discourse and institutions. Especially if “you” are female. This is not true of all Catholics – just look at House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
[…]

Catholics in high places of power have the most trouble, I’ve noticed, practicing the separation of church and state.

The pugnacious Catholic Justice, Antonin Scalia, is the most aggressive offender on the Court, but not the only one. Of course, we can’t know for sure what Sotomayor was thinking, but it seems she has joined the ranks of the five Republican Catholic men on the John Roberts Court in showing a clear religious bias when it comes to women’s rights and liberties. We can no longer be silent about this.

[…]
The seemingly innocent Little Sisters likely were likely not acting alone in their trouble-making. Their big brothers, the meddlesome American Roman Catholic Archbishops are bound to be involved. They seek and wield tremendous power and influence in the political sphere. Big city mayors know their penchant for control all too well. Their principal target for years on end has been squelching women and girls – even when they should have focused on their own men and boys.
In one stroke with ominous implications, there’s no such thing as Catholic justice or mercy for women on the Supreme Court, not even from a woman. The rock of Rome refuses to budge on women’s reproductive rights and the Supreme Court is getting good and ready to strike down Roe v. Wade, which became the law of the land 40 years ago.

Some readers, like Matt Blumenfeld thought – “surely this is satire?”

Reading it over again, I really hope this was satire. Because if it was, then that’s some good satirizing. If it’s not.. I think it’s pretty clear that Stiehm is not only an anti-Catholic Know Nothing bigot, but a complete idiot as well. Beyond the bigotry, there are so many gaps in logic and counter-factual statements that it really takes ones breath away. I’m usually proud to be a journalist and a writer, but today I’m ashamed to be in the same line of work as this clown.

Another commenter wrote, “this is the most anti-Catholic thing I’ve ever read in a major newspaper. I’m appalled that you would print such bigoted vitriol.” And yet another, “this piece is simply anti-Catholic bigotry. Shocking, actually, even for secular journalism.” A priest wrote, “this anti-Catholic screed has no place in a fine and venerable publication as U.S. News. As a subscriber of over 30 years, I am terribly disappointed that this garbage would be published by you. Shame!”

Comments are still open.

UPDATE:

For a complete fisking of Stiehm’s bigotry, see the Anchoress.