People often ask me what’s hopping at the Catholic League, and what issue we will be tackling next. After I bring them up to date, they’re usually perplexed to learn that I really don’t know what’s sitting in the dock. That’s because we typically react to events—we don’t generate them—and this means we often have no [...]
Anti-Catholicism is as ugly as any other form of bigotry, though many do not agree. That is why some bigots are condemned while others are tolerated, if not commended. Generally speaking, it’s the elites who are the problem, not ordinary Americans. Many have an authority problem, and often their issues revolve around sexuality. In their eyes, [...]
January – February Cranston, RI – The Cranston School Committee voted not to appeal a decision by U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lagueux mandating the removal of a prayer mural from the wall of an auditorium at Cranston High School West because the process could be prohibitively expensive. In January, the judge had sided with the [...]
February 29 – March 4 Fort Lauderdale, FL – Parker Playhouse featured a five-day run of Matthew Lombardo’s play, “High,” with Kathleen Turner starring as a recovering alcoholic, gutter-mouth nun. Convinced of his special claim to victim status because of his own penchant for drug addiction and homosexuality, the playwright narcissistically invented a self-denigrating nun character [...]
February 24 New York, NY – Rep. Michael Grimm requested that the Empire State Building shine red in honor of the elevation of New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan to cardinal. Grimm’s request was denied by the owner of the Empire State Building, Anthony Malkin. Similarly, in 2010, the Catholic League petitioned to have the tower of [...]
January 21 – September 21 Nashville, TN – On January 21, Vanderbilt University administrators announced the new “nondiscrimination” policy that stipulated that religious student groups could no longer require their leaders to agree with the respective group’s religious beliefs. Furthermore, religious student groups could also no longer expect their leaders to lead prayer, worship, or Bible [...]
January 11 Washington, D.C. – In a unanimous decision (Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that churches are entitled to make employment decisions without interference by the government. In doing so, the high court affirmed what is known as the doctrine of “ministerial exception,” the long-standing right of churches [...]
MEDIA RESPONSE TO VATICAN INQUIRY OF LCWR Once again, an internal matter of the Catholic Church became fodder for media voyeurs, pundits and talking heads when a number of dissident nuns became the subject of an apostolic visit, announced in April 2012. It was disturbing to read the way some of the Vatican’s critics were trying [...]
This year, for the first time in American history, the federal government waged war on the First Amendment rights of Roman Catholics. When the healthcare bill was being considered, the Obama administration said it would respect conscience rights and would not mandate abortion coverage. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was encouraged, but very [...]
November 20 Alsip, IL – The Freedom From Religion Foundation used the threat of a lawsuit to force the Village of Alsip to cancel the display of a cross on its water tower, which had been a tradition going back decades. November 27 Madison, WI – The Freedom From Religion Foundation placed its “Natural Nativity Scene” [...]
