Congressional candidate Keith Fimian is under attack for his association with Legatus, a group for Catholic business leaders.

Fimian, a Republican, is running for the Congressional seat vacated last year by Tom Davis. His Democratic opponent is Gerald Connolly, currently chairman of Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has sponsored a series of postcards delivered by mail to residents of Virginia’s 11th district. One DCCC-sponsored postcard proclaims, “Did you know Congressional candidate Keith Fimian is an officer of a group that promotes rolling back women’s rights?” The postcard says that Legatus, “promotes like-minded groups who are dedicated to outlawing constitutionally guaranteed rights of women.” That “guaranteed right” is abortion.

“One of the groups that Legatus promotes advocates the end of access to contraception for women,” the anti-Fimian postcard says. “Fimian’s group Legatus even promotes a group (e5men.org) so extreme that they encourage women to be more ‘submissive’ to their husbands.”

That language is based upon a reference to St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (5:21-33) in which he instructs husbands and wives to “be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

“The issue at hand is Gerry Connolly and the DCCC are inciting anti-Catholic bigotry,” said Zack Condry, Fimian’s campaign manager. “They are not attacking Keith Fimian on the issues. They are attacking him for being Catholic.”

Condry urged Connolly to condemn the attacks and publicly ask the DCCC to stay out of the race. In June, Connolly had welcomed DCCC’s involvement, stating that it would “give us the financial edge to win in November.”

“Yes, Keith Fimian is pro-life and Gerry Connolly is not,” Condry said. “We can discuss more issues, if Gerry Connolly will only come out of hiding.”

House Republican leader John Boehner (R-OH) Sept. 12 called on Democratic leaders to halt the attacks on Fimian.

"Trying to score cheap political points by purposely distorting the views of a religious organization supported by the late Pope John Paul II is cowardly and beyond the pale," Boehner said.

Some 11th district residents have received as many as four different versions of the postcard, all with similar themes and language.

“This postcard is an attack on the Catholic Faith,” said Patricia Alexander, a Catholic from Woodbridge who received one of the postcards in the mail. “I hope all Catholics in Virginia will express their opposition to this attack on our Church. Since when is being a Catholic businessman a disqualification for office?”

The Fimian case has garnered national attention. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, issued a statement last week that called on Fimian’s challenger, Gerald Connolly, to tell the DCCC “to cease and desist with the Catholic bashing immediately.

“That Connolly himself is Catholic is irrelevant,” Donohue said. “What matters is that he denounce anti-Catholic bigotry, especially when he stands to benefit from its dissemination.”

Donohue pointed out that Pope John Paul II supported Legatus’ work. The late Holy Father, in an address to Legatus members, said, “The world needs genuine witness to Christian ethics in the field of business and the Church asks you to fulfill this role publicly and with perseverance.”

“According to the DCCC, then, Pope John Paul II was extending his support to an organization that wants to rob women of their rights,” Donohue said. “I don’t think that the DCCC’s president, Nancy Pelosi, really wants to go there, especially coming on the heels of being slammed by the Catholic bishops’ conference for misrepresenting Catholic teaching on abortion.”

What is Legatus?

Legatus is the Latin word for “ambassador.” The organization (www.legatus.org) for Catholic business professionals was founded by Domini’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan. Fimian is a member of the group’s national board of directors.

According to the organization’s Web site, its mission is “to study, live and spread the Faith in our business, professional and personal lives.

“Our members don't typically wear their faith on their shirtsleeves,” the Web site says. “They spread the Faith through good example, good deeds and high ethical standards.”

Legatus currently provides service to over 1,800 businesses in 60 chapters across the United States, including one in Northern Virginia. This month the organization is sponsoring pilgrimages to Lourdes and Rome. Pope Benedict XVI reportedly recognized Legatus members at his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Sept. 10.

“Legatus is a family organization that encourages Catholic CEOs to practice their Faith in the workplace,” said Julian Heron, the immediate past president of the group’s Northern Virginia Chapter. “The chapters don’t get involved in politics.”

This attack on Fimian “shows how far some groups will go to oppose a pro-life candidate,” he said.

The Northern Virginia Chapter of Legatus was given its charter by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde in 2002, according to a statement released by the diocese last week. Since that time the bishop has met regularly with the group for Masses, retreats and other events. Father Robert J. Rippy, rector of the Cathedral of St. Thomas More, is chaplain of the local chapter.

“The positions taken by Legatus with regard to issues of faith and morals have, at all times, matched the positions of the Catholic Church,” said Mark Herrmann, diocesan chancellor. “The organization’s work in this diocese has been laudable in every respect.”

Fimian is chairman and founder of U.S. Inspect, the nation’s largest home and residential inspection company. His brother, Kevin, was ordained a priest of the Arlington Diocese in June 2006. Father Fimian currently serves as parochial vicar of St. Timothy Church in Chantilly.