In the last edition of Catalyst, we published a letter from William Donohue to the president of the Millcreek Township School District in Erie, Pennsylvania stating the league’s objections to a school district ruling that barred students from drawing a nativity scene in the “Holiday” card contest. The league threatened a lawsuit unless immediate action were [...]
On January 27, a federal appeals court ruled that the District Attorney who authorized the bugging of a confessional last year in Oregon violated the constitutional rights of the priest and penitent involved in the case. The Associated Press story on this issue correctly said that the court decision “represents a victory for the Catholic Church [...]
Not too long ago, when we registered a complaint with someone for making an anti-Catholic remark, he defended himself by saying that he had run the remark in question by some of his Catholic friends and they weren’t offended. Swell, we told him, but that didn’t matter—what mattered is that we were offended. Nonetheless, he was [...]
BBC Sitcom Series Satirizes Catholic Priests...by Kenneth D. Whitehead In December, William Donohue was contacted by the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) to preview the TV show, “Father Ted.” Popular in Britain, this comedy program has recently attracted the interest of several American broadcasters. However, the BBC was somewhat concerned whether the show had “cultural transferability,” meaning [...]
On January 22, the 24th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Vice President Al Gore spoke before the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) delivering a decidedly pro-choice speech. Labeling the pro-life side “anti-choice,” Gore insinuated that the Catholic Church was responsible for the large volume of abortions in the U.S.. Gore claimed that those [...]
On January 27, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott received a letter from the Judicial Selection Monitoring Project of the Free Congress Foundation protesting the appointment of activist judges. The Catholic League signed the letter, along with hundreds of other national organizations. It was an activist court that gave us Roe v. Wade and other decisions which [...]
Irwin Stelzer, director of regulatory policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, contributed an essay to a symposium in the publication Commentary wherein he took some cheap shots at Catholics. Published in the February edition of the magazine, Stelzer, along with 14 other writers, was asked to comment on a previously published symposium in First [...]
Lynn Cullen, a radio talk show host in Pittsburgh, seemingly won’t let go of a story about the length of skirts worn by Catholic schoolgirls. Cullen, who airs on WTAE, spent two hours on January 31 and another three hours on February 3, discussing the subject. Naturally, she had to fill her time with other issues [...]
The Cader Company’s 1997 “That’s Funny” calendar includes a statement that is anything but funny to Catholics. To be specific, the listing for March 31, Easter Monday, is offensive. It reads, “The Vatican came down with a new ruling: No surrogate mothers. It’s a good thing they didn’t make this rule before Jesus was born.” This [...]
The Packer Collegiate Institute, a prep school in Brooklyn, revised its “Holiday” program after a protest by the Catholic League. In December, the school held a holiday celebration that recognized Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, but not Christmas. Students in the middle-school grades sang songs celebrating the Jewish and African-American holidays, but when it came to Christmas, they [...]
