Catholic League president Bill Donohue was discussing the burning of Notre Dame with Fox’s Neil Cavuto when Cavuto suddenly cut him off.
Donahue was dropped after speculating that the cathedral fire was connected to a pattern of vandalistic attacks targeting churches throughout France. On Tuesday, Donohue slammed Fox’s corporate leadership and said that free speech was getting “crushed” by Fox News.
“When I say it’s coming from the top, they did this all day on Fox…This is what Fox is doing. So this is coming from the corporate boys. This is not the same Fox News that is was under Roger Ailes. He would have never, ever have put up with this,” he said.
Bill Donohue slams Fox censorship
When Donohue began to air his “suspicions” during his appearance on Fox Monday, Cavuto at first attempted to steer the conversation.
“Well, Neil, if it is an accident, it’s a monumental tragedy. But forgive me for being suspicious. Just last month, a 17th-century church was set on fire in Paris. We’ve seen tabernacles knocked down, crosses have been torn down, statues, –” Donohue said.
Donohue was referring to vandal attacks on churches across France this year. Investigators say that a March fire at St. Sulpice church was caused by arson. Vandals have also reportedly smashed statues, destroyed tabernacles, desecrated the host and in one case, smeared human excrement on a cross.
But Cavuto quickly diverted the conversation, stating, “We don’t know that. So if we can avoid what your suspicions might be. I do want to look at what happened now. A very pricey rebuilding and renovation effort going on that involved a good deal of Catholic fundraising campaign I know in this country and abroad. This renovation was paid for up front. So, in other words, all the monies were there. Now I’m wondering how much more the Catholic Church commits to this or do you think they now first want to get to the bottom of it?”
“First, they have to get to the bottom of it and they will rebuild it. There’s no question about that. They certainly, the Catholic Church will come up for the money for it, that’s not even a question. I’m sorry. When I find out that the Eucharist is being destroyed and excrement is being smeared on crosses, —” Donohue pushed.
Finally, Cavuto dropped Donohue entirely: “I love you, Bill, but we cannot make conjectures about this. So, thank you. Bill, I’m sorry. Thanks very much. I do want to let people know, and again we’re not trying to be rude to our guests here. There’s so much here we don’t know about what happened here.”
Reasonable suspicion, or conspiracy?
Donohue was not the only one cut off for speculating about the cause of the fire. Fox’s Shepard Smith, noted for his vocal anti-Trump commentary, abruptly dropped deputy mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine Philippe Karsenty after he speculated that terrorism was involved and mentioned the vandalism.
“It’s like 9/11, a French 9/11. It’s a big shock,” Karsenty said. “This church was there for more than 850 years. Even the Nazis didn’t dare to destroy it. You need to know that for the past years, we’ve had churches desecrated each and every week all over France. Of course, you will hear the [politically correct] story, which will tell you it’s probably an accident.”
“No, sir, we’re not doing that here, not now, not on my watch,” Smith said, cutting him off, before telling viewers, “The man on the phone with us has absolutely no information of any kind about the origin of this fire and neither do I.”
Notre Dame fire
The fire destroyed the spire and roof of the more than 800-year old church, but the bell towers and precious relics like the Crown of Thorns were saved. Parisians and watchers across the world were aghast and bewildered that a cathedral that had survived the French Revolution and two world wars came so close to destruction because of a random fire.
While the cause is still not known, the fire quickly set off speculations of arson or terrorism amid the vandal attacks and France’s recent history of Islamic terror. In the mid to late 2010s, France fell victim to some of the worst terror attacks in Europe, like the 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Nice attack. A terror plot was foiled just outside Notre Dame in 2016, although the plotters were not targeting the church itself. While terrorism in France has dropped in the last few years, there have been knife attacks and mass shootings as recently as December, when an Islamic extremist killed five people in Strasbourg’s Christmas market.
Many also noted the timing, as the fire occurred in the middle of Holy Week, just days before Easter. An ISIS propaganda group celebrated the blaze, but no terror group has claimed involvement and French authorities have ruled the fire an accident, at least for now.
Of course, there is little solace to be found in the theory that the fire was caused by neglect, either, but many on the Left have pushed back against any suggestion of foul play, saying it will fuel prejudice against Muslims in France, which has the largest Muslim population of any European country.
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