The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has petitioned the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The "Sisters" are a San Francisco-based gay group that dress as nuns, mock Catholicism and make small donations to AIDS-related charities. The league’s position is that the "Sisters" have long been [...]
The gift shop in the Baltimore Museum of Art was selling souvenir postcards featuring a picture of the Andres Serrano "Piss Christ" artwork; it shows a crucifix submerged in a jar of the artist’s urine. A protest by the Catholic League led to considerable media attention, inspiring one local Catholic to buy all 13 remaining postcards. [...]
William A. Donohue This is the season of giving and give we should: to the surviving family members of the horror of 9-11; to the needy; to the disabled; to all those unable to provide for themselves. But let’s do it without the smugness that too often accompanies the giving. I say this because it’s been [...]
by Ronald J. Rychlak A couple of years ago, when critics charged that Pope Pius XII had shown a callous indifference to the plight of the Jews, the common refrain was that if only he had been more outspoken on behalf of the Jews, like his predecessors, thousands of more lives might have been saved. The [...]
On November 9, the Catholic League asked Nebraska lawmakers to censure one of its state senators, Ernie Chambers. Our request for censure made national headlines in an Associated Press article and was broadcast on Nebraska television. What provoked the league to act was a tirade Chambers launched against the Catholic Church on November 5. At issue [...]
This fall the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina, the Gamecock, included a very disturbing story about an event held off-campus in Columbia called “The Fetish Ball.” The story described in detail the sexual performances by the participants including those dressed as Catholic schoolgirls, nuns and priests. In reporting the general motivation of the event’s [...]
James Oberweis, a candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois, called William Donohue on November 6 to apologize for making an offensive remark. Donohue accepted the apology and the two men ended their conversation on a friendly note. Here’s what happened. On two occasions recently, Oberweis, who is Catholic, explained that [...]
In the last week before election day, November 6, there were several violations of constitutional law and IRS regulations committed by Protestant churches. For example, on October 31, New Jersey candidate for governor, James E. McGreevey, won the endorsement of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey. The group represents 600 churches. On November 4, New [...]
Following election day, Americans United for Separation of Church and State accused the bishops of New Jersey of interfering in the electoral process simply because they voiced an opinion on abortion that the radical group abhors. The bishops in the Garden State had urged Catholics to "use their voting privilege to reflect a choice of candidates [...]
Three major developments regarding the perennial issue of prayer in the schools recently occurred. On October 29, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to a state law in Virginia requiring a minute of silence in the schools. On the legislative front, Rep. Ernest Istook of Oklahoma announced on the same day that he [...]
