This cartoon by Pat Oliphant (syndicated, 2/22/03) equates the charge of pedophilia against Michael Jackson with abuse by priests. Besides accusing all priests of being molesters, it continued the false perception that the abuse crisis in the Church involved pre-pubescent boys. Most of the abuse was homosexual, occurring with post-pubescent teenagers. This cartoon by Allan Innman [...]
January Westfield, MA—Students at Westfield High School who were suspended in December 2002 for distributing candy canes with messages attached filed suit in federal court claiming school administrators violated their constitutional rights to free speech and expression. The message with the candy canes explained the candy canes' shape and colors, and included Bible verses and a [...]
January Hightstown, NJ—Town Councilman Eugene Sarafin, known for his atheism and inflammatory remarks about religion, twice used obscene terms to describe his Catholic critics. He labels them "Catholic s---." After a complaint by the Catholic League, Sarafin was censored by the town council on March 3 by a vote of 5-1. January New Hampshire—Lawmakers began debating [...]
Movies | Newspapers | Periodicals | Radio | Television |Internet | Books | Video Games MOVIES January 16 The Irish movie "Song for a Raggy Boy" made its United States premiere. Although billed sometimes as a true story, it is a fictionalized account of an Irishman who fights against Franco in Spain and returns to Ireland in 1939, where he teaches at a Catholic reform school. The boys there [...]
January 4 Philadelphia, PA—The 2003 New Year's Day Mummers Parade was to include a "parody" of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. To be performed by the Slick Duck Comic Brigade, it was to feature men dressed as priests and young men dressed as altar boys; cops were to be shown chasing after the [...]
The following is a list of some of the more incendiary remarks made in 2003 about the Mel Gibson movie, "The Passion of the Christ." We do not maintain that it is anti-Catholic to criticize a film, even before it has been released, but we do contend that the hostility to Gibson and to his work [...]
Reactions to the sexual abuse scandal in 2002 ranged from legitimate criticism to wildly unfair generalizations; we have no interest in addressing the former. Most Catholics were understandably angry, hurt and dismayed by the news, which provoked some activists to speak and act irresponsibly. Regarding the media, newspaper and television reporting on this subject was mostly [...]
February 5 Chicago, IL - Americans United for the Separation of Church and State executive director Barry Lynn objected to the slogan on the side of the new "Patriot USA" coach launched by the suburban Chicago bus transit system called PACE. The full sized, red, white and blue bus was wrapped in a decal that featured the [...]
January Napa, CA - The exhibition "Active Ingredients" was held at Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts. One part of the exhibition shows the work of Antonio Miralda, a Catalonian artist. In a display that features figurines of famous people, Miralda chose to depict the pope and nuns defecating. January 10 New York, NY - [...]
Hoboken, NJ - The greeting card company Noble Works publishes a series of cards under the title "Extra." Some include a choir boy saying, "See Father; I've been practicing like you said I should, and I can get my mouth open really wide." The punch line is, "Ready for your surprise?" Another is a picture of Jesus [...]
