"In 2005, Sarah Palin went to church and found that a visiting minister from Kenya, Bishop Thomas Muthee, was doing the service. He offered a prayer asking Jesus to keep her free from 'every form of witchcraft.' Palin said nothing-she simply kept her head bowed throughout the blessing. Why this is newsworthy is one issue, but why it has quickly become the subject of scorn is another.

But here's where Bloviating Bill goes really goofy:

"Witchcraft is a sad reality in many parts of Africa, resulting in scores of deaths in Kenya over the past two decades. Bishop Muthee's blessing, then, was simply a reflection of his cultural understanding of evil. While others are not obliged to accept his interpretation, all can be expected to respect it. More than that-Muthee should be hailed for asking God to shield Palin from harmful forces, however they may be manifested. And for this he is mocked and Palin ridiculed? (italics added)

It is one thing to claim that part of Bishop Murthee believes in witchcraft; it is an entirely different thing to call witchcraft "a sad reality." Can the Catholic League president identify a single death caused by witchcraft? Perhaps Bill has been watching too many reruns of "Bewitched" on basic cable.

Folks, this is the man who takes it upon himself to speak for Catholics everywhere (although he mostly speaks for a reactionary slice of the Church's hierarchy). He is welcomed as a guest on The Today Show and cable news shows. And yet, as I pointed out above, in speaking out he is prone to talking positions contrary to Catholic beliefs and actions - all while demanding that others show total obedience to the Vatican.

Is this a man who should in any way represent American Catholicism in our national discourse?

And by the way, if witchcraft is a problem in Africa, I guess it must have been a problem in Europe and colonial America as well and that the witch hunters of another era got a bad rap.

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