Full-Page Ad Calls for Cardinal's Resignation

The LGBT rights group Truth Wins Out is taking out a full-page ad in Sunday's Chicago Tribune calling on the city's Catholic archbishop, Cardinal Francis George, to resign because of his comments comparing a gay pride parade to a Ku Klux Klan march.

The ad is headlined, "Hey, Cardinal Francis George, Gay is not like the KKK," and it calls his remarks "offensive" and "unconscionable." George made the comparison in an interview last week with a Chicago TV station regarding a controversy over the schedule for next year's parade, which would have gone by a Catholic church during Sunday services. The parade's start time was then moved from 10 a.m. to noon so as not to inconvenience worshippers, and George made conciliatory comments but then reiterated the comparison in an official statement on the archdiocesan website this week.

"This is not a legitimate fight over religious liberty as George wrongly implies, but a vivid example of religious bigotry fueled by a mean-spirited analogy that linked innocent, law-abiding families with the KKK," said Truth Wins Out executive director Wayne Besen in a press release. "We will stand up against such lies and speak out when LGBT people are unfairly maligned."

Truth Wins Out has also gathered more than 4,000 signatures on its Change.org petition calling for George's resignation.