Two days ago I noted how Hardball host Chris Matthews slandered Catholic nuns in Indiana as bigots who want to deprive gay Americans of their rights. Tonight, the evening of Holy Thursday, Matthews was not as explicit or as strident in his language, but he did hint that the nuns who appeared with Gov. Mike Pence at his signing ceremony for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act were not really interested in safeguarding religious liberty.
Matthews's attack came in the midst of an exchange with the Becket Fund's Kristina Arriaga who was explaining how Religious Freedom Restoration Act defenses have helped protect the rights of religious minorities, such as Native Americans conducting traditional tribal religious ceremonies. Matthews sensed an opening for attack, wondering why, if that were the case, Pence was surrounded by Catholic nuns and one or two Orthodox Jews:
MSNBC
Hardball
April 2, 2015KRISTINA ARRIAGA, executive director, Becket Fund: What RFRA protects is members of minority religions. Like my client--
CHRIS MATTHEWS: From what?!
ARRIAGA: Like my client Pastor Robert Sota (sp?), who was a Native American, who wanted eagle feathers for his religious ceremonies, the federal government came, confiscated all his feathers, threatening him with arrest and fines and it's thanks to a RFRA claim that he's able to obtain all those eagle feathers back from the government.
MATTHEWS: This is passed for Americans Indians?
ARRIAGA: This was passed largely to protect minority religions. This was not some sort of magic wand that said the religious person wins and the other people have no rights. What this meant is you get your day in court. If you cannot do something that--
MATTHEWS: OK, I saw an ultra-Conservative rabbi there with a black hat and I saw and I saw religious nuns. What was the Catholic Church and the conservative Jewish people, what were they interested in? Cuz they're the ones standing with the governor when he signed this. What do they want?
ARRIAGA: Um, they wanted their religious liberty.
MATTHEWS: But why?! From what?!
ARRIAGA: Well, right now the Obama administration is trying to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide contraceptive and abortion-causing drugs to all their employees. For some reason the government has decided they cannot give out these drugs through the exchanges or through any place else and they're trying to force an order of Catholic nuns to do so.
MATTHEWS: I thought that was Hobby Lobby. Anyway...
As I noted on Tuesday, Matthews sneered on the March 31 program that the nuns in the Pence bill-signing ceremony were opposed to "gay rights" and that's why they were in attendance in the governor's office:
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Did you see who was standing there with him?
MICHAEL STEELE: Nuns!
MATTHEWS: Yeah, and, and, and --
STEELE: So all the sudden if you stand with nuns, you're being cynical? C'mon!
MATTHEWS: No, because they're opposed to gay rights.
Gov. DANNEL MALLOY (D-Connecticut): There you go.
MATTHEWS: Because that's why they're there. Thank you. If they're not, let me know, I'll have you on.
STEELE: I don't think that's wise to cast aspersions on nuns, that they're opposed to gay rights.
MATTHEWS: Well, let me know. All those people there, you're in that picture, let me know. If you're up for public access to public accommodations on the part of gay people, let me know. If you're a Hoosier.... Not everybody, just Hoosiers.
Matthews has yet to apologize for his slander of those women religious.
Aside from his uncharitable attitude towards his sisters in Christ, Matthews committed a sin of omission on tonight's program by failing to bring to his viewers' attention a recent AP poll which shows, surprise, surprise, most Americans AGREE with the idea that religious objections are a valid ground to refuse service to a gay couple at least in terms of involvement in a gay marriage ceremony:
WASHINGTON – Most Americans support allowing businesses to refuse wedding-related services to same-sex couples on religious grounds, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll conducted earlier this year. But another recent poll suggests Americans' sympathy for religious objectors may be limited to just that — wedding-related businesses.
The issue has become a topic for heated debate after critics of Indiana's recently adopted Religious Freedom Restoration Act charged that the law was intended to permit discrimination against gays and lesbians.
[...]
According to the recent AP-GfK poll, 57 percent of Americans think wedding-related businesses should be allowed to refuse services to gay and lesbian couples because of religious objections, while 39 percent think that should not be allowed.
