Executive Summary Anyone who seeks to have an impact on the culture is bound to be controversial: it comes with the territory. Moreover, this is not a job for wimps. Judging from the reactions that were garnered in 2010, it is safe to say we made our mark. To be exact, we ignited more than one [...]
Activist Organizations January 12 In an article posted on TheWeek.com, Democratic consultant Bob Shrum took a shot at Catholic bishops for their opposition to abortion in the proposed health care bill: “Having abetted thousands of priests in molesting children, they’re now set on abusing health reform.” We called for an apology. Shrum couldn’t fight the bishops [...]
February 11 – 28 Tampa, FL – The Shimberg Playhouse hosted “Agnes of God,” a play based on the notoriously anti-Catholic movie by the same name. In the play, a novice nun gives birth in a convent and claims that the baby, who is murdered, was the result of a virgin conception. August 14 Hammonton, NJ – The musical “Bare” [...]
January 4 Celebrity Cruises announced that it would no longer have priests on board to celebrate daily and Sunday Masses. We immediately followed up by questioning the cruise line about its new policy. Celebrity replied to our inquiry by saying, “Out of respect for our guests of all religious faiths, Celebrity has chosen to align the [...]
Education January 17 Colorado Springs, CO – A wooden cross was placed at a prayer circle for Wiccans and pagans at the United States Air Force Academy. The reaction of the Academy was boilerplate. Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michael Gould said, “We absolutely will not stand for this type of destructive behavior.” He continued, “I [...]
Government January-August San Francisco, CA – On January 20, a judge in a San Francisco court allowed attorneys David Boies and Theodore B. Olsen to submit e-mails they obtained between the director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the bishops regarding support of Proposition 8, the 2008 California proposition which affirmed marriage as a union [...]
Media Archbishop Dolan’s Critics Freak Out In November, following the election of Archbishop Timothy Dolan as the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, critics of the New York archbishop went ballistic. Here are a few examples: NPR was worried that Archbishop Dolan is “overtly conservative,” and Tim Rutten of the Los Angeles Times fretted about [...]
November We sent all 50 governors a manger scene to be displayed during the Christmas season, and most did not have the courtesy of even replying. As you can see from the list below, we received the best regional response from the South; the worst came from the West Coast. New York returned the crèche, though [...]
Miscellaneous January 5 Joliet, IL – A large painting depicting the history of Jesus Christ, displayed for the Christmas season, was stolen from a home. January 10 Wilkes-Barre, PA – A student of Kings College was found urinating on the Wilkes-Barre’s city nativity scene. January 13 Tuscaloosa, AL – A statue of Jesus was stolen from the Catholic Social [...]
PAPAL WITCH-HUNT In the spring of 2010, there was a concerted effort by the media, led by the New York Times, to blame Pope Benedict XVI for the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. What follows is a list of news releases that we issued on the role that the New York Times played in [...]
