Executive Summary The most important Catholic event in the U.S. in 2008 was the papal visit that took place in April. Pope Benedict XVI not only brought joy and hope to the faithful, he swayed most of his skeptics. It was, by all accounts, a tremendous success, both in terms of publicity and evangelization. The goodwill [...]
Activist Organizations January Americans United for Separation of Church and State criticized a resolution introduced by Virginia Congressman, Randy Forbes. The resolution would support a designated week each May for “the appreciation of and education on America’s religious faith.” Americans United faulted the resolution for “meddling in religious issues.” January 15 Tuscaloosa, AL – The Tuscaloosa [...]
January – March Los Angeles, CA – The Annie Hendy play “The Catholic Girl’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity” was performed at the Pico Playhouse. The play is about a 24-year-old Catholic woman who is determined to lose her virginity by her 25th birthday after she finds out her priest is having better sex than she [...]
Business & Workplace January Daly City, CA – A man-turned-woman sued Seton Medical Center after being denied breast augmentation surgery following a transgender operation. The Catholic hospital, which is run by the Daughters of Charity, said that the surgery violated Catholic teaching and was outside the procedures of the hospital. Following the hospital’s denial, the transgender [...]
January 17 Madison, WI – A U.S. district judge ruled that the University of Wisconsin-Madison must stop denying funding to student organizations that engage in prayer, worship, or proselytizing. The school refused to fund the Roman Catholic Foundation because the university believed it would violate the separation of church and state. The judge ruled that denying [...]
January Denver, CO – Colorado state house member Gwyn Green introduced two separate bills—one for private institutions and one for public institutions—regarding lawsuits involving the sexual abuse of children. We addressed this legislation with two releases noting that Rep. Green’s bills made suing private institutions easy and essentially gave public institutions a pass. Her legislation reminded [...]
BOOKS June 3 Lewis Black released his book, Me of Little Faith. In his book, Black attacks the Church, Orthodox Jews and Mormons, but gives Islam a pass. Black’s chapter on Islam, titled “Islam. All I’m Saying Is, I Got Nothing to Say,” is the shortest chapter in the book (only three paragraphs). The chapter begins with [...]
January 4 La Grange, KY – A divorced-atheist father sued to keep his son from attending Catholic high school next year. Following the divorce, the child was ordered by a judge to remain in the Catholic school he was already attending. The father sued on the grounds that the Catholic high school would indoctrinate his son [...]
Rather than focusing on the positive message that Pope Benedict XVI conveyed at the World Youth Day celebration in Australia, cartoonist Simanca Osmani took a shot at the Holy Father for rejecting the culture of consumerism. (Simanca Osmani, Erie Times-News, July 24) This cartoon was in response to Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann’s request that Kansas [...]
