Bret Baier: Why I Pulled Out Of Legatus

"I pulled out of the speech at Fox’s request - because of the controversy surrounding some of these articles and editorials that have been published in the Legatus magazine. I am a lifelong mass attending Catholic - I’m a lector at my parish. I consider myself to be in line with my Church on most things. This isn’t about me.. but, describing homosexuality as a ‘disorder’ and talking about ways to ‘cure’ people from it – does not seem to line up with the loving, accepting Church that I know. Nor does it match up with how Pope Francis has talked about the issue recently. I couldn’t speak because of that - I don’t wish the group any harm, but after Gary Sinise pulled out.. as a newsman, Fox agreed that I could not be surrounded by that controversy… as much as I would have loved to have talked about my book, my faith, and my son’s battle with congenital heart disease. That is the truth." - Fox News anchor Bret Baier, from an email published today by Porno Pete, who is ever so pissed at Fox. (Via Good As You)

Robert Oscar Lopez Has The Legatus Sadz

"Brett Baier and Gary Sinise were scheduled to deliver talks at a conference of Legatus. This is an association of Roman Catholic businessmen. Upon the provocation of 'Good as You,' a blog run by a catty gossip-hound and character assassin named Jeremy Hooper, Baier and Sinise withdrew from the conference.

"Despite all the drama-queenery, their pretext for pulling out of the event is laughable. Neither of them was expected to speak about homosexuality or endorse a view on the 'born gay' controversy. Legatus does many things other than argue with the gay lobby. The crux of the faux outrage rested on one other speaker, who is same-sex-attracted but Catholic and chooses not to have gay sex. Honestly, who cares?

"Does everyone who is same-sex-attracted have to engage in gay sex and announce as much at any gathering where one such person might be present? It seems pretty obvious that men who have sex with men are targeting a man who is attracted to men because the latter doesn’t do what the former tells him to do. Who appointed Jeremy Hooper the Grand Master of Gay? What about staying out of gay people’s bedrooms, including people who choose not to have gay sex in their bedrooms?" - Robert Oscar Lopez, in an American Thinker column tweeted out today by the editor of Legatus Magazine.

NOTE: As Jeremy Hooper observed on his site last week, he merely reported on the Legatus conference and its roster of speakers. He did not call for any cancellations or even ask his readers to contact the event's speakers.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: In September 2014 Lopez petitioned the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to stop gay marriage in Texas because he used to be a prostitute. In April 2014 Lopez filed an anti-gay amicus brief in support of Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage. Last March 2014 Lopez declared that gay men are turning surrogate mothers into breeding slaves. Last year, in addition to appearing on stage at an anti-gay Manif Pour Tous rally in France that was supported by neo-Nazis, Lopez testified against LGBT equality before several state legislatures and he co-signed an anti-gay homocon brief to the Supreme Court in support of DOMA. You really must read the Media Matters take on Lopez' trilogy of gay erotica.

Huckabee Joins Legatus Speakers Roster

Following the cancellations by Gary Sinese, Pete Coors, and Bret Baier, anti-gay Catholic group Legatus has announced three replacement speakers: Mike Huckabee, Austin Ruse, and the former CEO of medical equipment supplier Baxter International. Ruse, you may recall, is the head of the anti-gay Catholic group C-FAM and was recently fired by the American Family Association after declaring on their national radio show that the "hard-left human hating people" who run universities "should all be taken out and shot."

Legatus has also issued a separate statement about the cancellations.

We have great respect for Bret Baier, Peter Coors, and Gary Sinise and regret that our members will not have the opportunity to hear about all the good work they are doing. As an organization, we try to assist our members in understanding the issues currently facing our society, and the Church’s teachings on these relevant matters. As a result, our members can grow in their understanding of their faith, which then benefits them in every area of their lives. LGBT groups should not feel threatened by our organization, whose mission is to study, live and spread our faith according to the teachings of the Catholic Church. At its core, this issue is about the freedom of Legatus members — in fact all Catholics, and by extension people of any religion — to have the freedom to exercise their religious beliefs, which includes the ability to gather together and discuss their faith.

(Tipped by JMG reader Tom)

Cliff Kincaid Has The Legatus Sadz

"Even while our media pay lip service to freedom of expression in France, the pressure to conform to the left-wing homosexual agenda continues in the U.S. and has now scored a direct hit on the Fox News Channel. Fox News personality Bret Baier has been forced to pull out of a Catholic Christian conference because of homosexual pressure. Once again, for all the world to see, we have a stark example of how the freedom to object to the homosexual agenda is being denied to those in the news business. The 'Good as You' militant gay lobby group had attacked Legatus as 'a very anti-gay organization of Catholics' because of passages in some of its material opposing the practice of homosexuality and saying that homosexuals can change. The only possible explanation is that the homosexual lobby is so powerful that even the mighty Fox News cannot stand up to the pressure it can generate." - Cliff Kincaid, head of Accuracy In Media (snork!), in a column that also accuses Fox News of paying "hush money" to the National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Association.

Once again we must congratulate Jeremy Hooper on becoming a militant gay lobby group.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Cliff Kincaid demands that Fox anchor Shepard Smith come out of the closet, refuses to comment on Matt Drudge. Kincaid says that marijuana use causes terrorism.  Kincaid says gay people live a "disease-ridden lifestyle." Kincaid lectures at Porno Pete's hate academy. Kincaid says gay people want to give Americans AIDS by donating blood. Kincaid endorses Uganda's "kill the gays" bill.

Thomas Peters Has The Legatus Sadz

Christian Site Has The Legatus Sadz

Published today by LifeSiteNews:

Fox News Channel's chief political anchor, Bret Baier, has shown himself to have a thinner skin than might be guessed from his on-air persona. Baier has caved in to pressure from the homosexual activist group ‘Good as You’ to back out of a speaking engagement at a mainstream Catholic conference. Also backing out for the same reason was Hollywood actor Gary Sinise of Forrest Gump and CSI: NY fame. The gay activist complaint is a repeat of last year when actor Bob Newhart was successfully bullied into backing out of his speaking engagement at the Legatus Summit.

Legatus, which was begun by Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan in 1987 to network Catholic business leaders, is faithful to the Church’s Magisterium and therefore upholds the Church’s teachings on all moral matters including homosexuality. The Catechism of the Catholic Church sees all people regardless of their sexual desires as children of God and deserving of respect. The Church however teaches that the sexuality is reserved for marriage, which is by definition the free, faithful, and fruitful lifelong union of a man and woman.

Jeremy Hooper will be thrilled to learn that he's now a group.

RELATED: LifeSiteNews is published by the Ontario-based Campaign Life Coalition, the main backer of Canada's Family Coalition Party, which has fielded dozens of candidates but has yet to win a seat at any level of government.

Pete Coors Drops Out Of Anti-Gay Summit

MillerCoors chairman and 2004 Senate candidate Pete Coors has withdrawn from his speaking gig at the annual convention of Legatus, the anti-gay Catholic group that supports NARTH and "ex-gay" torture. Today's news follows the withdrawal of actor Gary Sinese and Fox News anchor Bret Baier. As always, major props to our own relentless Str8Grandmother for her social media campaign against the event. I'll update this post if MillerCoors issued a more formal statement.

Fox Anchor Bails On Anti-Gay Convention

Yesterday actor Gary Sinese canceled his speaking gig at the Florida convention of Catholic anti-gay activists. Today AdWeek reports that Fox News anchor Bret Baier has done the same.

Baier had been among the confirmed speakers at the 2015 Legatus Summit later this month in Naples, FL. But he’s canceled the appearance following recent revelations that the group’s publication insisted that LGBT people could be cured. “Bret Baier has withdrawn his participation as a speaker at the upcoming Legatus Summit due to the controversy surrounding some editorial stances in the organization’s magazine,” a Fox News spokesperson tells us. “Bret accepted the invitation to speak about his book, his faith, and his son’s congenital heart disease. He was unaware of these articles or the controversy surrounding them.”

Both of these cancellations are likely due to the work of Jeremy Hooper, who first publicized the list of attendees yesterday at Good As You. Still attending at this writing: Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and MillerCoors Brewing chairman Pete Coors. (Tipped by JMG reader DM)

FLORIDA: Pete Coors, Head Of MillerCoors, To Speak At Anti-Gay Catholic Convention

The virulently anti-gay Catholic group Legatus, which counts Brian Brown among its members, will hold its annual convention in Naples, Florida at the end of the month. Among the speakers are Fox News anchor Bret Baier and failed 2004 US Senate candidate Pete Coors, the chairman of brewing giant MillerCoors. Over at Good As You, Jeremy Hooper points us to some of the group's positions on homosexuality. An example:

There are many reasons why people suffer from SSA disorder. Some “discover” this tendency within them. Others grow into it through pursuits of pleasure or experimentation. Some use it to punish themselves or others. Whether the disorder has some deep, unknown roots over which one has virtually no control, or whether it’s a developed disorder resulting from bad choices, it leaves an individual disposed toward activities and a lifestyle that are dangerous — physically, emotionally and spiritually. Fortunately there is hope for those who suffer from the disorder. The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality [NARTH] reports that significant numbers of homosexual persons have undergone treatment and had their sexual drives properly ordered. These findings are a beacon of hope to those suffering from SSA, as well as for their family and friends who desire their happiness and good health.

In an update to the above-linked post, Hooper notes that the publicist for actor Gary Sinise has already emailed him with Sinese's statement of withdrawal:

For me, faith has been a catalyst for my mission to honor the men and women who serve in our nation’s military. When I accepted the invitation to speak at the Legatus conference on Veterans issues and share my story, I was unaware of the controversy surrounding some of the participants, and their views on personal matters. I don’t want my mission—which is designed to be unifying—to be disrupted by these, or any controversies, and therefore have decided to withdraw.

As for Pete Coors, some of you will recall that Coors Brewing was the target of a nationwide boycott in the late 70s due to their support of anti-gay groups. In the early 90s Coors Brewing encouraged the formation of an LGBT employees support group and hired Mary Cheney as its liaison to the community, effectively ending the boycott. During his 2004 Senate bid, Pete Coors was attacked by his GOP primary opponent over the company's LGBT-inclusive benefits policy. Coors defended himself by pointing out his support for Colorado's ban on same-sex marriage.

Coors Brewing merged with Miller Brewing in 2008. MillerCoors brands include Molson, Mickey's, Keystone, Miller Lite, Miller High Life, Coors, Coors Lite, Grolsch, and Blue Moon.

CORRECTION: An earlier draft of the this post misstated the location of the event. The Indianapolis chapter of Legatus is the host of the event, which will be held at the Naples Ritz Carlton in Florida.