The Catholic League is asking over 100 organizations to drop their support for the American Red Cross. Specifically, we are requesting the leaders of allied organizations to alert their members to the decision by the Red Cross Orange County Chapter in Santa Ana, California, to stop students from Orange County High School of the Arts from singing “God Bless America” and “America the Beautiful” at a Red Cross luncheon yesterday.
The national headquarters of the American Red Cross supports the censorship. In a news release on this subject, it exclaims “our sensitivity to religious diversity” noting its “preference for a music program that would be inclusive and not offend different populations participating in this particular event.”
Catholic League president William Donohue commented as follows:
“If this were just a chapter of the Red Cross acting this way, we would be disturbed but would not call for drastic action. But since the headquarters of the American Red Cross is supporting the ban on ‘God Bless America’ and ‘America the Beautiful,’ we are left with little alternative. Sadly, it has become all too common for the high priests of ‘religious diversity’ and ‘inclusiveness’ to resort to gag rules.
“The American Red Cross has every right to adopt the platform of political correctness by censoring the free speech of young men and women who want to honor God and country. And we have every right to ask our friends to send the Red Cross an unmistakable message by refusing to donate one more dime to the organization. Our request is being sent to our allies in virtually every faith community. The time to put an end to this anti-religious madness is now.”
