On May 22, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, a Florida newspaper, did a story on a man running for a seat on the Sarasota County Commission. It mentioned that the candidate, Walter Sheil, was once associated with former Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague, whom the paper described as “an iron-fisted Roman Catholic.”
Catholic League member Father Vincent J. Sheehy, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Venice, Florida, noted that the Sarasota Herald-Tribune is owned by the New York Times and no doubt entertains similar views. As Father Sheehy said, if Mayor Hague had been a Jew or a Methodist, the descriptive would never have seen the light of day. The league wrote a letter to the paper expressing its concerns. An apology was quickly forthcoming from the Executive Editor and Director of Broadcasting, Diane H. McFarlin.
