When the Catholic League learned that bills were pending in Ohio that would require members of the clergy to report suspected cases of child abuse to the authorities, our concern was that the sanctity of the confessional not be compromised. At the end of the day there was nothing to worry about, but it didn't start [...]
June was a critical month for the Catholic Church. The bishops met in St. Louis for their semiannual meeting, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case of significant importance to the Church. On both counts, there was good news for the Church. At the bishops' meeting, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago spoke plainly when [...]
William A. Donohue Racial inequality will not be solved by rigging the educational system with affirmative action. But it may be solved if school vouchers were instituted nationwide. It is as unfortunate as it is ironic that what is retarding racial equality in this country is another form of prejudice, namely anti-Catholicism. For it is anti-Catholicism [...]
By Kenneth D. Whitehead Daniel Silva, The Confessor, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2003. HB; 401 pages. $29.95. What Notre Dame philosophy professor Ralph McInerny has aptly called "the defamation of Pius XII"—in his excellent book with that title—has unfortunately been so widely successful in the culture at large that many people simply take it for [...]
The week before the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops met in St. Louis to hold its semiannual meeting, the Catholic League prepared a news release challenging the conventional wisdom on the subject of the sex abuse scandal. A copy was sent to all the cardinals and many of the bishops. It is reprinted below: "The [...]
When the movie "Bruce Almighty" came out, the first thing we noticed was how many film critics were angry at the spiritual ending of this flick. So we decided to turn the tables on the critics and make them the issue. It worked. Our news release landed William Donohue on TV and it was discussed on [...]
On June 11, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the nomination of Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Catholic League's central concern was the likelihood that a quasi-religious test would be applied to Pryor. This explains why we acted with such vigor. "Bill Pryor's personal moral beliefs, rooted [...]
The July edition of the Marvel Comics series, "The X-Men," tells the tale of good and evil by using Catholicism as a backdrop to the story. Along the way, many teachings of the Catholic Church are ridiculed. Among them are the Church's pro-life position and its belief in the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of [...]
Princeton University showed that despite its public declarations against bigotry, it makes an exception when it comes to anti-Catholicism. This is one form of prejudice it has no problem tolerating. Indeed, it even sponsors it. "Ricanstructions" is an art exhibit by Juan Sanchez that was sponsored and hosted by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and [...]
Ever since actor Mel Gibson announced he was going to make a movie about the suffering of Jesus, Jewish groups have taken aim at him. They maintain they are worried that the film, "The Passion," will ignite anti-Semitism. Leading the charge has been the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in New York and the Simon Wiesenthal Center in [...]
