by William A. Donohue In some Catholic quarters, it has become commonplace to assert that Catholics are free to do what their conscience instructs. But if this were the case, then there is nothing particularly Catholic about this position. After all, are not agnostics and atheists also free to let their conscience decide moral questions? The [...]
by William A. Donohue My trip to Hollywood proved to be productive. First I met with Jeffrey Katzenberg of DreamWorks and then I participated in a conference sponsored by the American Cinema Foundation and the UCLA Center for Communication Policy. I liked Katzenberg. He is an extraordinary bright and affable person, the kind of no-nonsense, yet [...]
At the end of February, I will be going to Hollywood to score a few points for our side. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is a partner with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen in DreamWorks, has invited me to preview a new movie, Prince of Egypt. Scheduled for release in November 1998, it is an animated film whose story [...]
If a Martian were to descend on our shores in the month of December, he would no doubt conclude that Christmas is a fun time. What else he would conclude is uncertain, but it is not likely that he would identify the holiday season with the birth of Jesus Christ. Each year it gets worse. Department [...]
We spend much of our time at the Catholic League fighting double standards: there seems to be one set of rules for those who are not Catholic and another for those who are. Nowhere is this more true than in the old battleground of politics and religion. On September 22, Rev. Al Sharpton formally announced that [...]
Susan Fani, the editor of Catalyst, recently told me that in her first week of law school she heard a lot of students talking about how important it was to be caring and compassionate, especially toward the needy. No phony sentimentalist, Susan was not impressed. Neither was I. "To feel concern or interest" is how my dictionary [...]
Andrew Greeley, the priest and sociologist turned novelist, and Malachi Martin, the ex-Jesuit and non-fiction writer turned novelist, have both written angry books that assail the Catholic Church. Greeley is angry that the Church hasn’t adopted as many reforms as he would like and Martin is angry that the Church has adopted too many reforms. Both [...]
I have been told by those who know him that Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad is actually a nice person. Maybe he is. Maybe he’s not even anti-Catholic. But he sure isn’t too bright. How any District Attorney could think that he could get away with bugging a priest in the confessional is beyond me. [...]
There has always been humor and bad taste. Unfortunately, we not only have more bad taste than humor these days, we have a blurring of the lines between the two. To be exact, we have become so accustomed to bad taste that much of it frequently passes as humor. Lots of people don’t like Bill and [...]
I don't like lunch. I have no problem with lunch on weekends, but on weekdays, that is a different matter altogether. Here's why. The Catholic League, thank God, continues to grow by leaps and bounds. As a result, I am frequently asked to have lunch with people to discuss the secrets of our success. Sometimes the [...]
