Could Austin Ruse's Violent Rhetoric Endanger C-FAM's Status with the UN?
Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), an anti-LGBT hate group that lobbies at the United Nations, has had a bad week.
First, Ruse garnered outrage last Wednesday when he that the 鈥渉ard left, human-hating people that run modern universities鈥hould all be taken out and shot.鈥� He was speaking about a female student at Duke University who works as an actress in the pornography industry. Ruse blamed Duke鈥檚 women鈥檚 studies department, claiming that the student 鈥渓earned this鈥� there.
In the wake of his remarks, Ruse and engaged in Twitter flame wars with detractors and lambasted the blog Right Wing Watch (RWW), which had posted audio and a transcript from the show. Ruse railed against RWW, saying that 鈥淭he pajama boys over at Right Wing Watch have their panties all in a twist about what I said.鈥� He also called liberals 鈥渄umb,鈥� 鈥渟tupid鈥� and 鈥渋diotic鈥� and claimed that his remarks about shooting leftists shouldn鈥檛 be taken seriously.
On Thursday, Ruse deactivated his Twitter account, grousing that it was overrun by a 鈥渓eftist swarm鈥� and on Friday, (AFR), which is run by the extreme anti-LGBT group American Family Association (AFA), which allows all manner of bigotry on its airwaves, particularly from . Apparently, calling for the shooting of university officials was a little too extreme even for them.
In a Facebook statement, AFR announced that 鈥淭he fill-in host on AFR who made those comments is no longer on the air with us and will not be filling in on AFR in the future鈥� and that the views were 鈥渦n-Christian.鈥� AFR also scrubbed Ruse鈥檚 shows from their archives (the Facebook announcement appears to have been removed, as well). Ruse , sort of, on Friday, telling Talking Points Memo that he regretted using the expression 鈥渢aken out and shot鈥� and that it wasn鈥檛 meant to be taken literally.
Yesterday, the fallout continued. One of the four board members of C-FAM (Ruse is one) . On Monday, the group Faithful America asking the board member, , a prominent Catholic priest of St. Joseph Cathedral in Manchester, New Hampshire, to resign. Yesterday, Frontiero informed Faithful America via email that he had.
Frontiero on the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican and from 1999-2002, and he as diplomatic attach茅 of the . He represented the Vatican on issues such as women鈥檚 rights and sustainable and social development. During that time, he was also director of special projects at the and officially represented the Holy See at human rights, democracy and criminal justice meetings of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the UN. He was appointed to rector of St. Joseph鈥檚 in 2011.
This isn鈥檛 the first time Ruse has made statements about potential violence. Catholics for Choice released (PDF; may not load in some browsers) documenting Ruse鈥檚 and C-FAM鈥檚 efforts at the United Nations to undermine efforts to stop discrimination against women.
In 2000, the report notes, Ruse addressed the conspiracist, anti-communist and anti-Obama whose current president is Eleanor Schlafly, a sister-in law of Eagle Forum president Phyllis Schlafly. When Ruse addressed the Foundation, he reportedly told a story about talking to a Catholic priest about killing Hillary Clinton. 鈥淗illary [Clinton] is the 鈥榗onquering queen鈥� at the United Nations,鈥� Ruse said. 鈥淚 was standing on the floor of the UN a couple of months ago, when she was thinking about running, and I was talking to a priest from the Holy See delegation and 鈥� I shouldn鈥檛 tell you this but he offered me guaranteed absolution if I just took her out 鈥� and not on a date.鈥�
Ruse and C-FAM have been lobbying against sexual and reproductive rights, abortion, and LGBT people at the UN and for years. In 2012, Ruse and C-FAM even helped because, the groups claimed, it was 鈥減ro-abortion.鈥� The wording of the document stated that people with disabilities should have access to healthcare, including 鈥渋n the area of sexual and reproductive health and population-based public health programmes.鈥�
C-FAM is an offshoot of the hardline anti-abortion group (HLI, founded in 1981), whose ties to violent anti-abortionists and extreme tactics made it too controversial for the UN. Its founder, Paul Marx, a DC-based Catholic priest, also had a of claiming that the pro-choice movement was full of Jews, who in his words, were perpetrating another Holocaust. HLI was denied consultative status in 1993, so it set up C-FAM in 1997 as its UN lobbying arm, and the organization to include vague terminology like 鈥渢raditional values鈥� and 鈥渞espect for sovereignty鈥� (useful for countries that employ repressive policies and wish to avoid scrutiny for human rights violations).
This year C-FAM was for at the UN鈥檚 Economic and Social Council (), which is concerned with the world鈥檚 social, economic, and environmental issues. ECOSOC will review the organizations in July and in most cases, will approve consultative status. Non-governmental organizations that are granted this status then have access to ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies and the various human rights mechanisms of the UN and various special events organized by the President of the General Assembly.
If C-FAM is approved, expect even more international outreach and anti-LGBT propagandizing from Ruse. Over the years, he has railed against abortion and for laws criminalizing homosexuality. Last year, he voiced support for Russia鈥檚 anti-gay propaganda law (which criminalizes free speech with regard to homosexuality). Ruse called the law a noble quest for 鈥渉uman rights鈥� and a joint statement (along with other anti-LGBT groups) in support of it.
On C-FAM blog鈥檚, Turtle Bay and Beyond, blogger Stefano Gennarini nothing more than a 鈥渢ax on homosexual PDA鈥� (public displays of affection) and argued that discouraging homosexuality among children 鈥渟imply codifies that Russia truly is interested in protecting its children.鈥� Following the passage of that law, violence against Russian LGBT people has .
It鈥檚 clear that Ruse鈥檚 definition of 鈥渉uman rights鈥� does not include LGBT people. He has making sexual orientation and gender identity new categories for non-discrimination in international law and homosexuality 鈥渉armful to public health and morals.鈥� When talking about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), he why gay people put up with transgender people and allow them to 鈥渓ead鈥� on ENDA. 鈥淢ost Americans,鈥� Ruse said, 鈥渁re rightly put off by such displays of psychological disturbances.鈥�
We鈥檒l find out in July whether the UN鈥檚 ECOSOC will be 鈥減ut off鈥� by Ruse鈥檚 calls for violence and inflammatory rhetoric.
