Catholic League president Bill Donohue told Newsmax TV Wednesday that Hillary Clinton must fire her campaign chairman for advocating a "Catholic Spring" and using "faux" Catholic groups for political purposes.
In an interview with "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth, the outspoken, conservative Catholic activist charged that new emails released by WikiLeaks not only bashes Catholics, but it shows that Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta was trying to foment a "revolution" within the Catholic Church to "manipulate public opinion."
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"She has to get rid of this man and if she doesn't there will be severe consequences," Donohue told Newsmax TV.
Citing an email exchange involving Podesta in 2012 titled "Opening for a Catholic Spring? just musing…" Donohue said Podesta is "now admitting … that he has been working to create a 'revolution' in the Catholic Church."
"He's involved with several people, planning, setting up in these faux Catholic groups which I've known about for some time… he now admits that these were dummy Catholic organizations set up like termites to create mutiny within the Catholic Church."
"What's gone on now is that this is [Clinton's] campaign chairman involved in planning a revolution within the Catholic Church to change the Catholic Church to manipulate public opinion," he added.
Donohue also charged one Catholic organization "created" by Podesta and "funded by George Soros" went so far as to "contact the IRS to try to get Bill Donohue stripped of his Catholic exempt status" in 2008.
"It didn't work … They're not going to stop me but Podesta has to go and he has to go now," Donohue said.
Donohue also was critical of emails between Clinton's now-communications director in 2011 and a fellow at liberal think tank Center for America Progress that were mocking and dismissive of Catholics.
"These are anti-Catholic remarks," he said. "They're disparaging of Catholics, they're disdainful of evangelicals, they express the kind of hostility toward my religion which would never be tolerated if these kinds of statements were exhibited against Muslims."
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