January 10
Detroit, MI—A decades-old tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament was ripped from the back altar of St. Augustine-St. Monica Church. After the parish posted a $1,750 reward, the tabernacle, along with a ciborium and a lunette inside, was returned by a man who claimed he was approached by the thieves who thought they were stealing a safe. The thieves maintained they broke the tabernacle’s lock and consumed the consecrated hosts in the ciborium because they were hungry.
February 4
San Francisco, CA—Ryan Donlan, a lawyer, sued the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals over an apparent image of the Ten Commandments on its official seal. Donlan’s suit called for a ban of the seal and charged that it violated his right not to be subjected to government endorsement of religion.
February 21
Duxbury, MS—An eight-foot-high wooden cross was doused with gasoline and set ablaze on the steps of Holy Family Church, damaging a concrete column and burning the church’s front door.
March 10
Seward, PA—Someone broke into the Holy Family Church, climbed onto the altar and unbolted the tabernacle box. Inside the tabernacle, which was stolen, were two ciboria containing the Eucharist.
March 11
New York, NY—The New York City Police Academy considered using some of the material by the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s New York Tolerance Center for a class called, “Building Community Trust in a Diverse Post 9/11 Environment.” The material is a highly critical interpretation of the Catholic Church’s role during the Holocaust, and is presented to police recruits as being historically accurate. After Bill Donohue complained to the police commissioner saying this was an inappropriate presentation, the Academy agreed the program was not a good choice.
March 17
New York, NY—The American Bible Society (ABS) bookstore in New York was carrying the notoriously anti-Catholic Chick publications. In response to a letter from William Donohue, the publications were removed and an apology was given by Eugene Habecker, ABS president.
March 26
South Sioux City, NE—Vandals painted red toenails on a 33-foot statue of Jesus Christ and painted anti-Catholic phrases and Nazi symbols on 12 other statues at Trinity Heights religious park. Statues of Jesus and Mother Teresa were pelted with eggs.
March 29
Burlington, VT—Thirty-one gold and silver chalices were stolen from the North Avenue headquarters of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. One of the chalices was a gift from Pope Pius IX. The items were recovered on April 22 from the woods behind the suspect’s parents’ home.
April 6
State College, PA—Graffiti referencing Pope John Paul II was painted on the walls of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.
May 11
San Francisco, CA—The City of San Francisco violated its newly passed speech code during the Bay to Breakers foot race. Several participants in the race were dressed like the pope, nuns and Catholic schoolgirls. One of the “popes” said that Catholic schoolgirls “put the Ho in Holy.” Even though that statement was a clear violation of the code that bars harassment of religious groups, nothing was done about the incident.
June 2
In its newsletter, the Amazing Facts ministries, a part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, accused the Catholic Church of doctrinal error and submission to papal authority. Of the funeral of Pope John Paul II, it said “It was very clear to anyone watching these events that all the world looks to the papacy as one of the planet’s most powerful political and spiritual forces.” The author claimed that he “kept hearing [an] echo of Revelation 13:3, ‘And all the world wondered after the beast.'”
June 24
Madison Heights, MI—A Muslim child became a temporary ward of the court after her parents failed to provide her with adequate medical help. The girl was reportedly beaten by her brother for talking to a “white Catholic boy.”
July
New York, NY—The Catholic League received a piece of hate mail from a group called Miles Exercitus Lux. The letter originated in McAllen, TX and showed a man and a woman praying in the mouth of a lion. Under the picture were the taglines, “GO! SCURRILOUS CHRISTIAN! AND TAKE YOUR SORRY FAMILY VALUES WITH YOU!”
July 18
Queens, NY—A man was arrested after attempting to use a 12-guage shotgun to decapitate a statue of St. Ann in front of the St. Joachim and Anne Catholic Church. He was charged with a hate crime.
July 22
Leesburgh, FL—Several members of the Catholic League received the booklet written by Bill Hughes titled “The Secret Terrorist.” The book is extremely anti-Catholic and full of conspiracy theories about the Jesuits attempting to overthrow the U.S. in a quest to make it loyal to the pope. Examples include, “The Jesuits function like the Papacy’s secret worldwide police.” The booklet also claims that the Jesuits were responsible for both World Wars and for the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
July 26
Anaheim, CA—Three suspicious fires at the Justin Martyr Roman Catholic Church caused $500,000 worth of damage. The fires were set inside the Church in a trash bin and in a pile of donated clothes left outside the Church.
July 26
Chicago, IL—Burglars ransacked and stole priceless relics from St. Joseph’s Church. Stolen were the partial remains of Saints Theresa the Little Flower and Mother Cabrini, along with numerous brass candle sticks, brass, onyx, marble and gold-plated candle holders, a bronze processional cross and a gold-plated jewel-adorned monstrance.
August 4
Cranford, NJ—Four men were arrested for spray painting “USA=KKK” on the window of the front door of St. Michael’s church; the name of rapper DMX was scrawled on the wall of St. Michael’s school.
August 9
Shoreline, WA—Someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the sanctuary window of St. Mark’s Catholic Church. The device failed to ignite and no damage was reported. Fire investigators treated the incident as arson.
August 15
Carey, OH—Four people were arrested after a group called “Minister of Annoyance” disrupted Mass at Our Lady of Consolation Shrine by telling parishioners not to believe in God and to disown their faith.
August 30
Syracuse, NY—The Cross Cultural Baptist Church distributed pamphlets titled “What Every Good Catholic Should Know” at its booth at the New York State fair. The pamphlets were written by ex-priest Richard Bennett and offers Protestant rebuttals to Catholic practices.
October 2
Decatur, AL—After Communion, a couple rushed the altar and flipped over a century-old marble altar at the Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church. The couple, along with three accomplices, was subdued by men from the congregation. When asked why they committed such an act, a woman said, “We are in the end of times. This is Armageddon, the end of all things. Basically, what we’re in right now is the appearance of the antichrist who we believe to be Pope Benedict [XVI].”
October 11
Beaverton, OR—Anti-Catholic pamphlets titled “The Enemy Unmasked” were dropped on doorsteps all over the Beaverton area. The pamphlets contend that “the Jesuits of the Vatican will lead America and the world to devastation and ruin.”
October 29
Santa Rosa Beach, FL—Vandals broke most of the windows, ransacked the fellowship hall, and tore apart the chapel of St. Rita Catholic Church. They also spray-painted satanic and anti-Catholic messages on the church.
November 15
Las Cruces, NM—A federal lawsuit was filed to have the city of Las Cruces remove three adjoining crosses from its seal. The claimants alleged that the seal amounts to religious persecution of non-Christians.
November 19
Parrish, FL—At St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Catholic Church, someone smashed a window and tried to steal the tabernacle. That same night someone broke the window of the church office’s kitchen, stole the priest’s paycheck, broke several doors with dead-bolt locks, and tried to break into a safe.
December 15
Rockville Centre, NY—A cross was reported stolen from the front lawn of Cure of Ars Catholic Church on Merrick Road.
December 25
East Northport, NY—A man was charged with stealing money from the poor box at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church.
