October 30 Olympia, WA – The director of the Department of General Administration signed rules that dictated no religious or other nongovernmental displays would be allowed inside any building on the State Capitol campus. But the new rules did allow for a state sponsored “Holiday Tree” to be displayed in the Capitol rotunda. Although the new rules [...]
Internet May 13 The Washington Post/Newsweek blog “On Faith” ran a panel discussion on priestly celibacy. About half of the panelists disagreed with the Church’s position on this matter but were not vicious in their criticism. Four of the panelists showed their vitriol: Pamela Taylor, co-founder of Muslims for Progressive Values; Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, former president of Chicago [...]
Pope Bashing January 30 – February 4Following Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to reach out to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a controversy erupted due to the media’sdistortion of the story. After it was announced that the pope was seeking reconciliation with SSPX, news reports surfaced that the pope had welcomed back a Holocaust-denying bishop, [...]
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 [...]
