Recently, Bill Donohue sent a letter to three top officials at Diageo-Guinness in Norwalk, Connecticut, and three others in London, England. In the letter, Donohue outlined how “The decision to withdraw sponsorship of New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is not being welcomed by Catholics, especially Irish Catholics; we are also impressed by the number of non-Catholics who have expressed their support for our boycott.” Donohue also placed an emphasis on how there were no new rules implemented this year that made the parade differ from parades that occurred in the past.
As a result, claims of discrimination are therefore bogus. Donohue urged each official to see the petition that was enclosed with the letter for further information on why he called for a boycott of Guinness.
Furthermore, Donohue reveal-ed that “In 2007, the Miller Brewing Company offended Catholics by sponsoring a vile, obscene, anti-Catholic gay event. When they refused to issue a complete apology, and balked on pledging not to sponsor the event the following year, I called for a boycott. Five-and-a-half weeks later, Miller changed its mind and the boycott ended. For more information, see pp.1, 5-7 of the November [2007] issue of Catalyst, and pp.1 and 4 of the December [2007] edition. We reach a wide audience, including all the nation’s bishops.”
Donohue concluded the letter by stating that he hopes the officials at Guinness will do what they can to reverse this situation and thanked them for their consideration.
In addition, the Catholic League mailed a letter to over 200 beer distributors across the U.S. In the letter, Donohue provided the beer distributors with a detailed description about the national boycott of Guinness that is currently under way.
Citing its support for gay rights, Guinness pulled its sponsorship of this year’s New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, on the eve of it taking place. The reason that Guinness used for why it pulled its sponsorship of the parade is deeply flawed: again, gays have never been barred from marching in the parade; they simply cannot march under their own banner. Neither can pro-life Catholics, nor can any group that seeks to promote its own cause. The letter also highlighted the fact that “The parade is a tribute to St. Patrick; it is not about anything else.”
Bar owners in New York are particularly angry at Guinness for its 11th hour gambit: it did not announce that it was pulling its sponsorship until the night before the parade. This was a real slap in the face: the owners had already stocked up on Guinness.
Finally, Donohue encouraged each one of the beer distributors to contact the Catholic League if they had any questions pertaining to the boycott. Not only was information provided about the petition, but each beer distributor was also encouraged to visit our website so they could sign it. Donohue also stated that if the beer distributors feel, as we do, that what Guinness did was unconscionable, they may want to send them a message as well.
