When asked by TV host Paula Zahn when he thinks about President Clinton’s sexual behavior in the White House, Father Andrew Greeley rose to the president’s defense saying "we’ve done an appalling amount of harm to the American political structure by trying to criminalize his private behavior." When Zahn asked, "But it that his fault or [...]
Christmas 1999 will be remembered for the unusually high number of desecrations that took place around the country. Vandals and arsonists had a field day: hate crimes ranged from robbing baby Jesus from the manger to setting fire to the body of Christ on a crucifix. In many of these instances, the police declared the acts [...]
In December, an international team of Catholic and Jewish scholars met in New York to discuss how they will carry out their mandate to study 11 volumes of World War II-era material the Vatican published between 1965 and 1981. The panel was announced by Seymour D. Reich, chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, [...]
A new book that Catholic League members will not want to miss is now available from Our Sunday Visitor. Anti-Catholicism in American Culture is a series of essays which includes the Center for Media and Public Affairs’ newest report on media coverage of the Catholic Church. The book is edited by Robert Lockwood, former president of the publishing [...]
Had it not been for Pope John Paul II, the Cuban people would still be barred from publicly celebrating Christmas. Now he needs to bring his message of tolerance to Israel as well. This past Christmas all crucifixes and Christmas trees were banned from Israeli hotel lobbies because they were deemed offensive to Jews. It wasn’t [...]
We certainly get our share of hate mail at the Catholic League. Sometimes the author identifies himself, while others prefer to remain anonymous. One anonymous fanatic sent us 24 pages of e-mail on December 23. Over 6,000 times he simply wrote "F--- THE POPE!!!" Now that takes some work. Imagine the psychological gears this guy has [...]
In November, the FBI released its annual report on hate crimes. The media gave much attention to the fact that racial prejudice was the number-one motivating factor behind hate crimes in 1998. What was ignored almost entirely was the fact that prejudice over religion came in second, beating out hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation. Of [...]
The old battle between those who want crèches and menorahs on public property and those who don’t was fought again in December 1999. In Somerset, Massachusetts a coalition of residents got together to remove a nativity scene and a menorah from the grounds of the Town Office Building. The group was an assembly of Catholic, Protestant [...]
