In a skit which aired on the April 9 episode of ABC’s Dana Carvey Show, Mr. Carvey performed different roles in "Rich Little’s Story of Jesus." Presented as a show to be presented on HBO by Mr. Little, the skit showed Carvey as various celebrities portraying Biblical figures. Nixon was the Archangel Gabriel, Johnny Carson was vulgar [...]
Toward the end of Lent, religious controversy swirled around decisions made by the Los Angeles Times about which cartoons it chose to run. The controversy involved the Times’publishing on March 28 a cartoon in its "Commentary" section. It showed Bob Dole crucified with the words "Christian Coalition" around his head similar to the crown of thorns. Instead of "INRI" [...]
Chabad House, a Jewish educational institute in Columbus, Ohio, advertised in its Spring catalog a May 17 lecture on anti-Semitism. The ad stated, WHEN IT COMES TO ANTI-SEMITES, IT’S SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO DISCERN A PATTERN. Shaped in the figure of the Star of David, the ad listed several prominent historical figures and groups as anti-Semites. Among those [...]
The following article by William Donohue appeared in the New York Daily News on April 21, and is reprinted with permission. Imagine someone putting a needle into the brain of a baby and sucking out his brains. It’s legal, as President Clinton affirmed last week when he vetoed a bill that would have barred this barbaric procedure. That’s [...]
Home Box Office (HBO) featured the notorious George Carlin on its Comedy Hour as part of its Original Programming for the month of April. His special, George Carlin: Back in Town, was not only vulgar from beginning to end, but it also took aim at Cardinal O’Connor, Catholics, pro-lifers and Jesus Himself. He said he was Catholic [...]
There appears to be a growing trend to secularize Easter. More and more greeting cards and gifts are centered around bunnies, not Christ. And when it comes to Christ, attempts to debunk his divinity are given broad coverage. The three major weeklies, Time,Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report, all featured cover stories at Easter that questioned the historical [...]
Polish American Congress 177 Kent Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. - (718) 383-8131 Frank Milewski, Chair Michael Preisler, Co-Chair Auschwitz No.22213 Dear Dr. Donohue: As a Polish Catholic who spent 3½ years in Auschwitz as a prisoner of Hitler’s SS, I fell compelled to express my objections to the April 17th telecast of Frontline’s SHTETL. It is fraud [...]
On March 31, the Associated Press ran a story about a suburban Chicago man suspected of assassinating a Philadelphia policeman a quarter-century ago. The story, which was distributed to newspapers all over the country, mentioned that the accused was "23, a Catholic school-educated telephone repairman, when the shooting occurred." The Catholic League sent a letter to [...]
The newly formed New England Chapter of the Catholic League got off to a fast start by challenging a local cable TV operator on plans to drop the Eternal Word Television Network. Continental Cablevision had done a survey 32,000 subscribers and found that viewers preferred to drop EWTN in favor of accessing the QVC shopping network. [...]
In a novel so weird that it almost redefines what "weird" means, 15 authors have teamed up together to write The Fifth Column. The book, a hodgepodge of contributions by Jonathan Franzen, Rick Moody, A.M. Homes, Randall Kenan, Jim Lewis, Susan Daitch, Matthew Stadler, Claire Messud, Dale Peck, Iva Pekarkova, David Foster Wallace, Carol Anshaw, Irvine Welsh, [...]
