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 the Foundation money would be an infringement on its right to free speech.
On September 24, a federal judge ruled that while the school could give money to religious student organizations, it was constitutionally permissible to deny the same organizations funding for activities such as prayer and worship.
January 22
Albany, NY – The State University of New York at Albany’s Division of Finance and Business held a presentation by a motivational speaker. During the presentation the speaker made snide references to his Catholic childhood and even ridiculed the Eucharist. Bill Donohue wrote a letter to a school official requesting that this speaker never be invited back to the campus.
February 2
State College, PA – A Penn State University alumnus was denied a request to inscribe “Joshua 24:15” on a brick on Alumni Walk. The university then reversed its decision and allowed him to have the inscription on the brick. The university called the original rejection a mistake and unintentional.
February 17 & 18
The Oregonian ran a two-part series on the problem of child sexual abuse in the Oregon public schools; it made us wonder, where was the public outcry? The series demonstrated that it’s not the children that matter; rather, it’s the identity of the alleged abuser.
The series brought to light many disturbing trends that are not specific to Oregon, but exist nationwide. Among them:
· Instead of punishing child molesters, they’re simply moved from place to place without anyone getting a heads up
· It takes almost a year-and-a-half to investigate claims of abuse
· If the accused is guilty of touching a minor or accessing porn on a computer, he can continue working provided he sees a shrink
· Even molesters who admit to their crimes are given a second chance
· Those empowered to do the investigation are mandated to seek rehabilitation for the offender
· The investigators are not commissioned from the outside; rather they are all staffed from the inside
· Deals are routinely cut for accused molesters in secret, protecting the identity of the molester from the community
· The accused molesters not only walk, they walk away with cash settlements, health insurance, and letters of recommendation—just so long as they agree to get lost
February 27
Marysville, CA – A student at Yuba College was warned that he faced expulsion for handing out gospel tracts without a permit. Attorneys for the student challenged the school’s policy saying that permits restrict free speech to one hour each on Tuesdays and Thursdays and to a site in front of the school’s theater. Along with being threatened with expulsion, the student was threatened with arrest by campus police because he didn’t comply with the free speech zone.
March 6
Kentucky – A judge ruled that the Kentucky General Assembly violated the state Constitution by appropriating $11 million to the University of the Cumberlands, a Christian institution, for a pharmacy building and scholarships.
The representative of the Interfaith Alliance, a plaintiff in the case, called the ruling “a repudiation of doctrinal ideology intruding on state funds.” The representative also called the ruling a “validation” for the separation of church and state.
March 6
Deerfield, IL – Deerfield High School assigned the book, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, as required reading. Following a formal complaint by outraged parents, the book was changed to “optional.” The book is filled with racist remarks, depictions of anal sex and an explicit description of a sexual act with Mother Teresa.
Bill Donohue wrote to the superintendent regarding the obscene reference to Mother Teresa. He said: “While we condemn the negative stereotypes of gays offered in the play, as well as the abundant profanity and racism, we take particular exception to the line, ‘Suck my d***, Mother Teresa.’ Such an obscene and slanderous assault on a woman who has been beatified by the Catholic Church is intolerable.”
March 13 & 14
Charlottesville, VA – The University of Virginia’s student newspaper, the Cavalier Daily, ran two cartoons that mocked Christianity. We blasted the newspaper for its bigotry and hypocrisy, which led to an apology the next day.
The first of the offensive cartoons depicted a crucified Jesus doing stand-up comedy as He hung from the cross. The second cartoon took aim at the Blessed Virgin. It depicted her standing bedside in her underwear, buttoning up her shirt, as a man lay in the bed smoking a cigarette. She asks the man, “Come on God, be honest—Did you really get a vasectomy? I can’t let Joseph find out about this.” The man replies, “Well, Mary, you’re F***ed.”
We noted that this wasn’t the first time we have had problems with the Cavalier Daily. In the Fall of 2006, we requested an apology for cartoons that mocked the crucifixion and indicated that the Virgin Mary had an “Immaculately Transmitted” venereal disease. (The apology was originally denied, though eventually the cartoons were removed from the paper’s website and a statement of regret was posted.)
We also called attention to the newspaper’s hypocrisy. Along with the Blessed Mother cartoon on March 14, the paper ran a cartoon acknowledging that any depictions of the Muslim prophet Muhammed are banned. We also noted that in 2007 a cartoonist was forced to resign because the campus chapter of the NAACP objected to a cartoon mocking Ethiopians. And in 2005 the paper apologized to homosexuals for commenting that the crane is the “gayest-looking of all birds.”
On March 15, the Cavalier Daily removed the cartoons from its website and issued a statement of regret. The newspaper also pledged to review its cartoon policy.
March 17
Charlottesville, VA – The Cavalier Daily ran a crude cartoon of St. Patrick. In the cartoon the saint is sitting between two young women and says, “Hey ladies, you know, there’s one big snake I didn’t banish from Ireland…Boom! Talking about my penis.”
March 20
Charlottesville, VA – A University of Virginia (UVA) graduate wrote several posts on UVA’s HoosOnline Network about his distaste for Catholicism, linking the Church to the Holocaust, Lincoln’s assassination, the election of George W. Bush and the attacks of 9-11. Over the previous months, UVA officials failed to ban the alumnus for his screeds, but did delete a few of the posts. Following inquiries from The Daily Progress, the local newspaper, UVA officials asked the alumnus to find another online venue to post his views.
April
Hutchinson, MN – A sixth-grade student was publicly singled out and ridiculed by teachers and his principal for wearing a t-shirt that expressed his pro-life beliefs. On more than twelve occasions, the student was ridiculed in front of class, removed from class, sent to the principal’s office, forced to turn the shirts inside out or threatened with suspension for wearing the t-shirts.
On June 3, the Thomas More Law Center filed a federal lawsuit in defense of the student. According to the lawsuit the school officials violated the U.S. Constitution and its own dress policy “which specifically states it is not intended to abridge the rights of students to express political or religious messages.”
April 1
Madison, WI – A student at Tomah High School filed a lawsuit that alleged his teacher censored his drawing because it contained a cross and a biblical reference. The student’s class was assigned to draw landscapes, which he did and he added a cross and the words “John 3:16 A sign of love.” The teacher asked the student to remove the reference, saying that the other students were making remarks about it. When he refused to remove the biblical reference, the teacher gave him a zero for the project.
Later in the semester the student’s metals teacher rejected his idea to build a chain mail cross, because of fears that the religious nature of the cross might offend someone.
In May, the Alliance Defense Fund and the Tomah Area School District reached a settlement that removed the school’s ban on religious expression in class assignments.
April-May
East Brunswick, NJ – On April 14, The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the East Brunswick public school system did not violate the constitutional rights of their head football coach when they prohibited him from “taking a knee” during the team prayer. The ruling follows an appeal by the school district, filed in 2007, after a 2006 ruling by the U.S. District Court for New Jersey that allowed the coach to bow his head and “take a knee” during team prayer.
On May 15, the same court panel denied the coach’s appeal of the April 14 decision. After his appeal was denied, the coach said he planned on taking his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
April 16
Mount Vernon, OH – A public school science teacher refused to remove his personal Bible from his desk after school officials told him to do so. The teacher had previously removed a copy of the Ten Commandments from a collage in his classroom at the school’s request but stated that asking him to remove his Bible infringed on his First Amendment rights.
May
Sumter, SC – The University of South Carolina – Sumter published its annual student literary magazine The Sandhill. According to the school’s handbook the magazine contains manuscripts, artwork and photographs from the student body that have been judged anonymously by student editors. The winner of the Sandhill Award for Poetry was George C. Floyd who had three poems published, one of which attacked the Catholic Church. In “Counterfeit Christians,” Floyd railed on Christians as being intolerant of Muslims and disrespecting Buddha but held his anti-Catholicism for his last stanza:
A good atheist sleeping good at night
Has more insight than a believer stealing spotlight.
Keys to resting in peace have many versions,
And it’s not necessarily urging virgins to be alone.
Especially when a Catholic priest manipulates
A small boy to get his freak on.
We made note that the university is publicly funded by the state of South Carolina and has received millions of dollars in federal aid.
May 8
Shippensburg, PA – The Christian Fellowship of Shippensburg University filed a lawsuit against the university after the school threatened to shut it down. The school’s Student Senate threatened expulsion to the Christian Fellowship due to its membership requirements; every member is required to be Christian. By threatening to expel them, the Fellowship claimed that the university violated a 2004 agreement with the Foundation of Individual Rights in Education when it “reinserted unconstitutional provisions into current university policy.”
May 15
Phoenix, AZ – An Arizona court of appeals ruled two school voucher programs violated the state constitution by using public money to help private and religious schools. The two voucher programs were used to assist foster and disabled children who attended private schools. According to the court, the article that was violated, know as the “Blaine Amendment,” forbids any appropriation of public funds to any church, or private or sectarian school. The “Blaine Amendment” was born from religious bigotry in the late 19th century.
May 27 – June 10
New York, NY – The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art hosted an exhibition of student art on their campus. The school’s website stated that the exhibit featured “major pieces by students representing ‘the best of’ each discipline.” One example of the “best” art took a shot at Catholicism. A series of paintings by Felipe Baeza was selected to be displayed at the event. In one of his paintings, Baeza showed a man with his pants pulled down with a crucifix extended from his rectum. Under the painting was the phrase, “el dia que me converti catolico,” or “The day I became a Catholic.” Baeza had other similar paintings. One substituted a Rosary for the crucifix that extended from his rectum; another showed a man with his pants down and an angel holding two Rosaries with a penis attached to each of them; and there was a painting of a naked man with an erection and a halo hovering his head.
We stated that these works being deemed “major” by Cooper Union did not speak well for the institution. We said that this is an example of the junk that passes for art these days.
June
Portland, OR – The principal of Capitol Hill Elementary replaced the Pledge of Allegiance with a singing version of the preamble of the Constitution during the fifth-grade promotion ceremony. The principal removed the pledge from the event “out of respect for the diversity of religious faiths.”
June 6
Oklahoma City, OK – Gov. Brad Henry vetoed the “Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act” that would have allowed students to “express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions.” Gov. Henry claimed that the bill was well-intended but vague and “may trigger a number of unintended consequences that actually impede rather than enhance such expression.”
June 8
Holland, MI – A West Ottawa High School co-valedictorian was forced to remove a Bible passage from his graduation speech. The verses he removed, Corinthians 10:1-13, are about what happens when people put their wishes before God. The Superintendent said that the student was “giving a religious speech” and that it violated the separation of church and state.
June 29
Orlando, FL – As an act to protest student fees for religious services at the University of Central Florida (UCF), a student walked out of a campus Mass with the Eucharist. Webster Cook, a student senator, returned the Host a week later.
On July 7 we issued a statement: “For a student to disrupt Mass by taking the Body of Christ hostage—regardless of the alleged nature of his grievance—is beyond hate speech. That is why the UCF administration needs to act swiftly and decisively in seeing that justice is done. All options should be on the table including expulsion.”
We also encouraged our members to contact UCF’s President John C. Hitt and voice their opinions on this matter. After our members inundated his mailbox, Hitt issued a statement:
“UCF takes this situation seriously and we are glad to know the student has returned the Eucharist and written a letter of apology. We encourage students to express their views respectfully, and we expect them to comply with university codes of conduct.
“Any disciplinary action will be handled through the university’s student judicial system, per our published procedure.”
On July 17, Cook was impeached by the student government in a 33-2 vote; the impeachment had no effect on his status as a student. Before the vote, UCF’s senate speaker said, “The situation involving Senator Cook and the Catholic Campus Ministry is an isolated event and one that has interfered with our true purpose.”
In August, a panel of students and administrators convened to determine whether or not Cook violated the code of student discipline, unanimously voted to dismiss all charges against him despite the range of options available to punish this act. At the very least, a disciplinary warning was warranted to send a message that the concerns of Catholics are taken seriously at UCF.
When classes resumed in the fall, Cook’s fellow student government officials voted to remove him from the student senate.
July 8 – September 9
Morris, MN – Paul Z. Myers, a biology professor at the Morris campus of the University of Minnesota (UMN), desecrated the Eucharist in response to the outcry following the events at UCF. Myers was angry with us for criticizing the student and voiced his objections on his blog; there was a link from the university’s website to his blog. Despite a strong protest by the Catholic League, no penalties were measured against Myers.
See the end of this article for a chronological account of how this issue unfolded.
October 6
Alameda, CA – Two students filed a federal lawsuit against the College of Alameda after being threatened with expulsion for praying. A faculty member found one of the students praying with her instructor and followed the student and her friend outside of the office to rebuke them. The students were informed a few days later that the school intended to suspend them for violation of school policy.
October 29 – November 2
Cape Girardeau, MO – The anti-Catholic play “Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You” was performed at the Wendy Kurka Rust Flexible Theater at Southeast Missouri State University. The play by Christopher Durang features a vicious nun who rails against her dysfunctional students, derides the teachings of the Catholic Church, attacks Jesus and disparages the Virgin Mary.
December 18
Hattiesburg, MS – An 11-year-old student received a grade deduction from his teacher for mentioning Jesus in a poem. The assigned project was for the student to write about what Christmas meant to him; after the student wrote that it was about the birth of Christ, the teacher circled the word “Jesus” and deducted a point from his grade.
CHRONOLOGY OF A DESECRATION
July 8: In a blog post titled “It’s a Frackin’ Cracker!,” Myers wrote: “Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers?” Myers continued by saying, “if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I’ll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won’t be tempted to hold it hostage (no, not even if I have a choice between returning the Eucharist and watching Bill Donohue kick the pope in the b—-, which would apparently be a more humane act than desecrating a goddamned cracker), but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web.”
We followed this with a news release stating, “It is hard to think of anything more vile than to intentionally desecrate the Body of Christ.”
July 10: Myers pledged to desecrate the Eucharist; he asked the public to give him some consecrated Hosts. Donohue accused Myers of violating UMN’s policy governing the school’s electronic pages (there was a link on the university’s website to Myers’ personal blog) and violating UMN’s Code of Conduct regarding uncivil behavior. UMN’s President, Board of Regents and Minnesota’s public officials were contacted.
Myers went on a Houston radio station (KPFT) charging that Donohue “declared a fatwa” against him. Donohue responded by saying of Myers, “He should know better—I don’t need others to do the fighting for me. I’m quite good at it myself. But he’d better be careful what he says, because if I get any death threats, it won’t be hard to connect the dots.”
July 11: Donohue received a letter from UMN President Robert Bruininks thanking him for bringing this issue to his attention. “Let me assure you that the views expressed by biology professor Paul Myers on his personal blog do not reflect those of the University of Minnesota, Morris or the University of Minnesota system,” he said. “Per the University’s Web policy, the link to Myers’ personal blog from the University’s Web site has been deactivated.”
We issued a news release, “Hysteria Marks Myers and His Ilk,” drawing attention to all the hate mail we received from around the world. “Myers, who claims expertise in studying zebrafish,” Donohue said, “has quite a following among the King Kong Theory of Creation gang.” In another development, Thomas E. Foley, a Virginia activist and delegate to the Republican National Convention, made a public statement about the need for additional security at the upcoming convention in Minnesota’s Twin Cities; he cited the hatred drummed up by Myers against Catholics.
July 14: Myers said, “I have to do something. I’m not going to just let this disappear.” He stated that he acquired a Host on July 11: “Something will be done. It won’t be gross. It won’t be totally tasteless, but yeah, I’ll do something that shows this cracker has no power.”
July 15: Donohue accused Myers of previously showing deference to Islam and asked him to treat Catholicism the same way.
July 17: Myers granted an interview to Catholic Radio International. He said that his planned desecration was “an issue of civil liberties.” He reasoned that because he is not Catholic or a believer of any kind, he was free to do what he wanted to the Eucharist. In fact, he went so far as to say that there was “an orchestrated campaign by Bill Donohue to demand that secular people…have the same reverence for this object.” Myers then attacked Donohue: “I would make a deal here to return these wafers to the nearest Catholic church if the Church could come out and disavow the tactics of Bill Donohue and the people who have threatened my job and who have threatened my life.” [Note: No one from the Catholic League ever threatened his job, never mind his life.]
July 21: Myers responded to Donohue by saying, “Thanks to all those who have demanded that I treat that silly book [the Koran] with disrespect, I’ll have to treat both equally.”
July 22: Donohue states in a news release, “The latest threat by Myers only makes matters worse….This is his idea of equal treatment.”
July 24: Myers desecrated the Eucharist, posting a picture of it on his personal blog. He explained: “I pierced it [the Host] with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus’s tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash.” He also tore pages from the Koran, and, in a failed attempt to show impartiality, he included a few pages from Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion and nailed them to the Host. He then said, “They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. (His emphasis.) Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your lord, you are not disciples of any charismatic prophet.”
The Catholic League contacted UMN’s president, Board of Regents and the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office at the school, as well as Minnesota’s governor and both houses of the state legislature. Also contacted were Minnesota’s Catholic community and Muslim groups nationwide. We stated, “Just as African Americans would not tolerate the burning of a cross, and Jews would not tolerate the display of swastikas, Catholics will not tolerate the desecration of the Eucharist.”
July 25: UMN Chancellor Jacqueline Johnson issued a statement condemning religious intolerance. She cited UMN’s Code of Conduct that “prohibits such behavior in the workplace—of course this includes the classroom—and I expect those who work and study here to comply with that policy.” But she hastened to add that UMN “affirms the freedom of a faculty member to speak or write as a public citizen without institutional discipline or restraint….” She ended by saying that Myers’ views were his own and the “The University deactivated the link between this blog and the University of Minnesota, Morris website….” The Catholic League appealed to UMN’s Board of Regents citing a previous incident wherein a faculty member was brought up on charges of violating the Tenure Code for possessing images of child porn on his computer.
July 31: Chancellor Johnson faxed a letter to Donohue saying she needed to clarify his “misunderstanding” of her July 25 statement. She said it was not her intention to say that Myers had violated UMN’s Code of Conduct. Indeed, she claimed that since Myers posted his comments on his personal blog, he did not violate the Code.
“I am sorry for my generosity,” Donohue answered, “ I took it that the reason you began your statement of July 25 with a citation of UMN’s Code of Conduct as it applies to religious intolerance was your way of acknowledging Myers’ delinquency. I now stand corrected: Your comment was simply a ploy—a cute way of acknowledging that something was wrong, but certainly not anything that would demand your attention. And just so you don’t misunderstand me: You could have issued a statement saying that while UMN has no authority over what Myers says in his blog, it is morally indefensible for anyone to intentionally desecrate the Eucharist. But, no, you couldn’t even say that. Instead, you hide behind legalisms. We will let the Catholic community know of your decision.”
September 2: Myers comments on the removal of UCF student Webster Cook from the student government. In his post, “The Catholic League Gets One Petty, Cheap Victory,” he predicts that Donohue would be “gloating” over the news. He was half-right: Donohue wanted Myers punished as well.
September 9: Myers posts a statement, “That Explains Something,” in which he complained, “I’ve recently seen a significant surge of howling mad Catholics shrieking at me.” He attributed the surge to Catalyst.
We were deluged with nasty phone calls and e-mails after we called attention to Paul Z. Myers’ pledge to desecrate the Holy Eucharist. The following is just a small sample of the hate-filled messages we received. All comments appear as we received them:
· “You bunch of death worshipping, closed minded, gay hating, poverty causing, child abusing bigots.”
· “You silly fools. F*** the pope and the body of christ.”
· “ “It is hard to think of anything more vile than to intentionally desecrate the Body of Christ.” Well, priests f***ing altar boys seems a lot more vile to me.”
· “I guess wanking over your Eucharist wafer is a no no then?! Get a life – you’re a waste of space- go do something useful. “Ooh someone called the pope a bad name…”. Wake up-the POPE is the greatest enemy you people have.”
· “Uh oh, better increase security! A biology professor in Minnesota said he would do bad things to a cracker.”
· “What’s so sacred about a flavorless wafer? Apparently it’s supposed to turn into a piece of “the body of Christ” when a priest blesses it…The whole “body of Christ” bull**** is symbolic?”
· “I stuck the cracker in my mouth but I didn’t try to walk out of the church with it, I went to their public bathroom, took it out of my mouth, and ejaculated all over the cracker, and flushed it down the toilet.”
· “Do you really need to start acting like the American Taliban and exhibiting the same thinness of skin we saw in the Danish Carton/Muslim fiasco? Can we expect future generations of Catholics in the US to be incited to riot and even commit assault because someone disrespected the sacraments? Is this Iran? Is the Catholic League ready to start issuing fatwas?”
· “Please recall to your mind the long history of such intolerance and the egregious acts committed against individuals and groups who spoke against it or were simply on the sidelines and caught up in the insanity of those who cannot or will not tolerate any form of criticism of their beliefs, rituals, or actions. Such criticism could lead to torture and death.”
· “In the past, the Catholic Church has also been accused (with a great deal of historical evidence) of doing violence against those that disagree with them…Please note that this is not a hate letter or one that could even remotely be classified as one.”
· “Mr. Bill Donohue stated “It is hard to think of anything more vile than to intentionally desecrate the Body of Christ.” Really? Perhaps he is forgetful of the sexual abuse of thousands of children worldwide by ordained Catholic priests, and the consequent exercise in covering-up this abuse?”
· “You people are loony for “christs” sake whining about a cracker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
· “You people disgust me with your puerile magical beliefs. It’s obvious that all religions were made up by people.”
· “With all due respect, sir, it is not against any law that I know of to laugh at another person’s silly beliefs nor to “abuse” a cracker–whatever that means. If your magic cookie is REALLY the body and blood of Jesus Christ, then submit one to DNA testing for the absence before “Hocuc Pocus” and the presence afterward of Jesus” DNA. He was both god and MAN, wasn’t he?
· “STOP THE BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT”S A FKG PIECE OF FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WANT TO DO RELIGION, ;MOVE TO THE FKD, CROOKED, LYING VATICAN!!!!!!!!”
· “You are utter morons. I previously had little or no desire to insult Catholics in particular but following “Crackergate” I will do so if I get the chance. You and your imaginary friend are beneath contempt.”
· “Is the Catholic Church trying to cash in on the “respect-our-religion-of-peace-or-we-will-kill-you” scheme that radical Islam is using? If so, can we expect the acts of terrorism required to back it up? Are we going to see internet videos of nuns beheading people?”
· “Crackers are not people and people who believe that they are, or who believe that the crackers in question are the actual body of God, are themselves a bit crackers. In the past it has always been polite to accept and afford a modicum of respect for these silly beliefs, all in the spirit of live and let live. However in this post 9-11 world, it has become obvious that these harmless delusions are not so harmless. It’s time that we called a cracker a cracker and face reality…After watching Bill Donohue’s choleric diatribes, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Catholic League is no better than Al-Qaeda and the world will know now peace until self-righteous ideologs like Bill Donohue are recognized as the lunatics they are…You should worry less about people insulting crackers and more about pedophile Priests.”
· “A cracker is stolen and you go ballistic. Perhaps you would be better served directing your disgusting venom at your child-f***ing priests.”
· “Crackers are crackers both before and after the Catholic wizard casts his magic spell on them. It doesn’t matter what anyone does to them because they are crackers. They don’t feel anything. They don’t scream when you them. They are little no very good tasting-crackers.”
· “You are delusional. Do you really think that some invisible man in the sky exists, and that by consuming some little cracker that you’re eating his flesh? That is not only pathetic, it’s disgusting.”
· “You’re the same thing, if not worse then. Those nutty Islamist bastards you always talk about. F U, F— jesus and his slut mother.”
· “It’s hard to think of anything more vile than to intentionally desecrate the Body of Christ” How about having priests like that to f*** little boys up the a**??? That was pretty f***ing easy to think of and it certainly is more vile than intentionally desecrating a f***ing cracker.”
· “Perhaps the long history of psychological abuse practiced by the church in how they have used fear to keep their adherents in place. And let’s not forget all of the condemnation of homosexuals and others that the Catholic Church has issued (often from the mouth of the Pope).”
· “This kind of retaliation makes both religion and the Catholic League very foolish and no less fanatical then the Muslim fundamentalists who bombed Danish embassys after Salman Rushdie’s cartoon containing the profit Muhammed. These such actions only breed the kind of atheists who would rudely steal your holy cracker.”
· “I have, in the past, had no real animus toward the catholic church in spite of their history of oppressing non-believers, child rape, support of politicians, qualifications and beliefs on a multitude of other important matters, and medieval rejection of science and all that it has done for us…I am now of the belief that any restraints pit on catholithism are to be supported. Indeed, catholithism is reminding those of us who are rational that it deserves a place amongst those religions, like fundamental christianity and islam that needs to be resisted and constrained for the good of society.”
· “You’re as insane as the muslims who want to kill Danish cartoonists over some cartoons in which the prophet Mohammed appears…You’re delusional. It’s a cracker. It’s bad enough that you are engaged in an act of ritual cannibalism, but to give someone this level of grief over it; get serious.”
· “You want to know why there is so much so called bias against you? Because you have to be loopy or a crook to believe what you believe. I dont mean any disrespect. It’s just a fact…Then there is the killings and all sorts of suffering you cause.”
· “Are you people insane? You are calling the non-eating of a CRACKER a HATE CRIME? You people ARE crazy. A hate crime is what happened to Matthew Shephard/ NOT WHAT HAPPENED TO A F***ING CRACKER you think is “JESUS.”…Your church is crazy. You are crazy…YOU ARE THE HATE THAT RUINS THE WORLD.”
· “I would suggest you read and try to understand the writings of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. These scholars follow simple logic and not the entirely unfounded (head in sand) beliefs in religious myth and fanatism…I am certain (or at least hopeful) that the day will come when Catholic (and all other religious) fanatism will disappear, using simple logic rather than blind belief and “fairy tales” crated and repeated by the various religions.”
· “You are a bunch of bigoted, intolerant throwbacks to the Inquisition.”
· “How can I sign up to desecrate a piece of food. If it makes your heads explode I will pay double for the privilege.”
· “I’m going to call out Donohue and his merry band of haters for what they are – heretics and blasphemers…It’s time to be bold and say that Bill Donohue and the “Catholic” League are, in fact, acting against Christ, and need to repent of their hatefulness.”
· “Apparently conspiracy to wound a biscuit is a cardinal sin if you’re an insane Catholic.”
· “Personally, I’ve always thought Gingerbread Jesus would get the point across much more efficiently. But then you get into sticky area if you bite off Jesus’ head.”
· “Several crackers met an untimely death in my bowl of vegetable soup today.”
· “The irony of all this is that the agenda is basically to turn America into a theocracy where the rights of atheists are threatened.”
· “Catholics are f***ing nuts. Religious f***ing idiots.”
· “You guys started the inquisition and murdered Giordano Bruno for believing there might be planets around other stars and you have the audacity to worry about anti catholic bias.”
· “Are you completely nuts? It’s a cracker! Your god doesn’t even exist. Get over it and grow up.”
