CompuServe, one of the nation’s leading computer companies, withdrew a disputed forum from its website after a protest by the Catholic League. Thanks to league member Lisa Bastian of Cincinnati, Ohio, we got a tip that the CompuServe website featured a "Transgender Forum" that was laced with anti-Catholic commentary. All it took to find these remarks [...]
In the last edition of Catalyst, we ran a story on an episode of the Fox animated TV show, "The Simpsons," that raised our eyebrows. Our objection centered on an exchange between the character, Bart, and his mom. On the November 22 show, Bart said to his mother, "I’m starving. Mom, can we go Catholic so we [...]
William A. Donohue A Catholic priest speaks against abortion from the pulpit. At a neighboring church, a Catholic priest speaks against capital punishment. Both priests address the subject of life and death, and both issues involve public policy concerns, yet only one priest will be criticized for violating the wall of separation between church and state. [...]
William A. Donohue In a new book, NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw argues that those Americans who came of age during the Depression and the Second World War constitute our "greatest generation." Though I was not of that generation (I am one of those "baby boomers"), I would agree: there was something very special about that generation, [...]
On January 10, the world lost one of the most courageous and brilliant Catholic civil rights champions of the 20th century, William Bentley Ball. Bill died at the age of 82 at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, Florida. He was a member of the Catholic League’s board of advisors and was chairman of the league’s legal [...]
Media treatment of the pope’s visit to St. Louis was overwhelmingly fair. Indeed, so few problems were spotted by the Catholic League, or brought to our attention, that it can safely be said that never before has Pope John Paul II been treated so fairly by journalists and broadcasters alike. There were, however, some interesting things [...]
We don’t complain about criticism of the Catholic Church, but we do complain about cheap shots. Here are a few recent examples. Newsday columnist Cheryl McCarthy doesn’t like the way Republicans have conducted the impeachment proceedings against the president. Fine. But why was it necessary for her to repeat what her friend told her about this? "It [...]
More than anyone else these days, Steve Allen is leading the fight to clean up TV. Allen, the famous comedian and accomplished jazz piano player, has had it with the whole entertainment industry, and he is doing something about it. He’s become the spokesman for the Parents Television Council, a group that is seeking to nudge [...]
Madalyn Murray O’Hair, who succeeded in censoring prayer in the schools, but who failed in her attempt to get "In God We Trust" removed from coins, may be dead or alive—no one seems to know. But if she’s alive, she probably is wearing that mink coat she always wanted, and is no doubt driving that Cadillac [...]
Catholic League members know that one of our pet-peeves is the selective identification of Catholic miscreants in the press. Here are some more gratuitous comments, all designed to wave red flags at readers. Four Northwestern football players are implicated in a point-shaving scandal. An article about this appears in the Chicago Sun-Times; it is noted that one [...]
