CHICAGO – Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George is defending his comparison of an annual gay rights parade to the Ku Klux Klan.
George says parade organizers “invited” the comparison by choosing a route and time that would have interfered with services at a church on Chicago’s North Side. In a statement Wednesday, he said it resembled anti-Catholic marches once staged by the Klan.
George says he’s glad the parade’s time has now been changed.
George first made the comparison to the KKK in a television interview earlier this month.
Gay rights groups are condemning his latest comments. Equality Illinois accuses him of “incendiary rhetoric” meant to undermine progress by gays and lesbians.
The Civil Rights Agenda says George should apologize and resign.
