The Catholic League does not possess a theological micrometer that judges, with digital precision, how "good" a Catholic is. Furthermore, it is not our business anyway. But it is also true that we will not pretend disinterest in subjects that touch on the issue of Catholics in public life. We noted with some interest that the New [...]
In the wake of attacks against those bishops who have spoken with clarity on the subject of Catholic pro-abortion politicians, the Catholic League came rushing to their defense. Here is what we told the media: "Senator John Kerry is getting endorsed by Protestant ministers in African Methodist Episcopal churches and almost no one complains. But when [...]
This spring we learned that officials at Hyattsville Middle School in Hyattsville, Maryland prohibited students from wearing rosaries. In a memo to parents, it said, "In our training about gangs, we have been informed that wearing rosaries as jewelry often is a gang symbol." What bothered us was not a legitimate concern about gangs hijacking religious [...]
In a recent edition of Education Week, there was an article by Caroline Hendrie, "Sexual Abuse by Educators is Scrutinized," that suggested that the degree of sexual abuse in the public schools is at a crisis level. Hofstra University professor Charol Shakeshaft was commissioned by the Bush administration to do a literature search of existing studies on [...]
Urban Outfitters, a Philadelphia company that sells T-shirts and an array of merchandise targeted at young people, has decided not to carry its magnetized figure of Jesus on the cross anymore; the figure of Jesus wearing underwear could be altered by putting various clothing items on it (e.g., a devil's outfit and a hula skirt). Here [...]
On the March 3 edition of "The 700 Club," TV evangelist Pat Robertson ran a segment on celibacy in the Catholic Church. Invited to appear with Robertson was therapist A.W. Richard Sipe. Sipe used the occasion of the latest report on sexual abuse by priests to challenge the wisdom of celibacy. We let fly with the [...]
Several high-ranking Catholic clerics made a trip to Albany in March to lobby against same-sex marriage. Of all the bishops, it was Brooklyn's new Ordinary, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who spoke most bluntly about the Church's opposition to gay marriage. In a radio interview, Bishop DiMarzio noted the absurdity of permitting two people of the same sex [...]
