In a society where pushing the envelope has become sport, it is increasingly difficult to move audiences. But “The Stoning of Soraya M” is evidence enough that art can still be a provocative medium.

The movie is the dramatic story of an Iranian woman falsely accused of adultery by her husband. Her stoning by a mob, which includes her father, husband and two sons, would be sickening in a science fiction film. That it actually happened—and continues to happen—makes it all the more surreal.

The movie, which opens today, is a gripping statement about man’s capacity for injustice. It deserves a wide audience.
 
                                                                   -Bill Donohue

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June 24, 2009

A news report shows that when the infamous Roe v. Wade decision was granted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, President Richard M. Nixon worried that abortion would promote “permissiveness.” But he also thought that abortion would be justified in cases of interracial pregnancies. “When you have a black and a white,” he said, “abortion is necessary.”

No one in the pro-abortion camp has any principled reason to object to Nixon’s selective justification for abortion. Indeed, pro-abortion advocates cannot logically claim that abortion is morally neutral and then object to abortions for reasons they find objectionable.

Who are they to decide what is a good reason or a bad reason? Who are they to decide that a woman’s right to choose must accord with liberal rationales for abortion? Ultimately, if extracting a baby from a mother’s womb is the moral equivalent of a tooth extraction, then all abortions are morally equal.

Remember a while back when liberal gays learned that a “gay gene” may exist? They were scared to death that prospective parents might elect to abort such kids. Now we have the prospect of those who will condemn Nixon on this issue.

Ironically, the man who sits in the White House is just the kind of guy Nixon thought our society would be better off without. That the current occupant is also a pro-abortion extremist makes the story all the more bizarre, if not sickening.

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“Irena’s Vow,” the fantastic Broadway play about a Polish Catholic woman who hid 12 Jews in the house of a German major during the Holocaust, is scheduled to close on June 28. To get discounted tickets (some of the proceeds benefit the Midtown Pregnancy Center), click this link: http://www.insupportoflife.org/. 
 

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“Irena’s Vow” is an extraordinary Broadway play that has a special appeal to Catholics and Jews. It is the real-life story of a Polish Catholic housekeeper, Irena Gut Opdyke, who hid twelve Jewish refugees in the house of a German major during the Holocaust. There is no greater testimony to the faith than this heroic venture. It was Irena’s deep love for Catholicism that allowed her to demonstrate her love to these Jewish men and women in need.

Catholics who go to this play will not only be moved by this riveting account, they will help support the work of all those wonderful persons associated with this dramatic production.

                                                                       -Bill Donohue

“Irena’s Vow” is playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 West 48th Street, New York City. It is 90 minutes long with no intermissions.

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They did it again today. The gals at the ABC-TV show, “The View,” went off in a rambling, barely coherent discussion of Catholicism.

Always led by Barbara Walters (does she secretly pine to be Catholic?), Joy Behar told us what Confession used to mean to her back in the days when she was “brainwashed.” Unfortunately, her unwashed brain now shows all the signs of corrosion.

Then there is Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the ex-Catholic whose preoccupation with all matters Catholic suggests she is still not at home with her Evangelical status. She told us today that she used to say things in Confession just to “entertain” the priests. Just think how far she’s come—now she entertains unemployed women with her remarkable insights.

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Father Alberto Cutié, the Catholic priest who was having an affair with a Florida woman, has decided to jump ship and join the Episcopal Church; he plans on joining their clergy, as well.

The real story here is the subtext: the only reason this man is a media sensation is because those who have been agitating for women priests in the Catholic Church know that they must first get the Church to lift the mandatory celibacy rule if they are to have a realistic shot at winning. So that is why they are using Cutié as a useful prop to bash celibacy.

What they don’t get is that celibacy is a discipline that could be lifted, but the Church’s teaching on a male priesthood is a firmly grounded doctrinal matter that Pope John Paul II ruled was a closed issue.

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The New York Times' recent profile of Bill Donohue contained errors and the newspaper has issued the following correction:

An article on Friday about William A. Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, erroneously attributed a comment about the movie “Angels and Demons.” It was the Rev. James Martin, the culture editor of America, a liberal-leaning Jesuit magazine — not Mr. Donohue — who said: “They even have a scene where rats eat a bunch of cardinals. Can you imagine any other religion where this would not be viewed as rank religious bias?”

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There were a few lines in a news story in the May 16 edition of the New York Times on Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to Israel that caught our eye. Speaking of the Holy Father, the story said “he did not seek forgiveness for Germans or for the Roman Catholic Church during World War II. He laid the blame squarely on the Nazi regime….”

We have news for the New York Times: Nazis, not the Catholic Church, were responsible for the Holocaust. Ergo, the burden is not ours. Indeed, the mere suggestion that Catholics caused the Holocaust is obscene. Indeed, millions of Catholics were murdered in the Holocaust as well. So who is going to apologize to them?

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Admittedly, a sex story about a good-looking celebrity priest hitting on a divorcee is newsworthy, but it doesn’t explain the legs (of the story, that is). No, the reason why the media can’t get enough of this is due to Catholicism’s culturally incorrect vow of celibacy. How can it be, the media savants ask, that an otherwise normal man would volunteer to join an organization that proscribes sex? Can’t be the money. Could it be that he’s offering it up for a cause greater than sex? And what could that be?

Louis Armstrong was once asked, “How would you define jazz?” His answer was classic, and it applies like a glove to the question, “And what could that be?” Louis answered, “If you gotta ask, then you just don’t know.”

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Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt of the Diocese of Greensburg, PA, has issued a statement on the University of Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to deliver this year's commencement address. Please click here to read his statement.

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A Pew Research survey shows Catholics approve of the decision by Notre Dame to invite President Obama to give the Commencement address and receive an honorary degree by a decisive margin, 50-28. But the difference between practicing and non-practicing Catholics is profound. Practicing Catholics disapprove by a margin of 45-37 while non-practicing Catholics approve 56-23.

None of this is surprising. Practicing Catholics voted narrowly for McCain over Obama while non-practicing Catholics went big time for Obama. Those who don’t go to church too often tend to be pro-abortion and those who go to church on a regular basis tend to be pro-life.

Practicing Catholics, of course, are the ones who pay the bills. By definition, those who rarely go contribute little. Moreover, as Arthur C. Brooks has shown, the data clearly demonstrate that the most generous Americans are the most conservative and the most religious; the stingiest are the most liberal and the most secular. Meaning that even when non-practicing Catholics do go to church, they are not likely to give much.

Perhaps it’s time pollsters stopped counting non-practicing Catholics as Catholics. After all, those who rarely attend AA meetings aren’t a true reflection of the utility of AA programs. And vegetarians who regularly eat meat—save for occasions when they dine with practicing vegetarians—aren’t a true reflection of vegetarian sentiment on any given issue. In other words, non-practicing Catholics are not a true representation of Catholic opinion.

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Please click here to watch a video, which addresses the two bills that seek to amend the statute of limitations for civil cases involving child sexual abuse in New York State.

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In the April edition of Men’s Health, Allan from San Antonio asked  advice columnist Nicole Beland the following question: “My sexually repressed wife can’t even say ‘sex’ without whispering. How can I help her open up?”

Here’s how Beland started her response: “It’s not easy to undo damage caused by years of exposure to Catholic-school nuns or overly conservative parents.”

It would never occur to Beland that a woman who is sexually repressed might have been molested by her stepfather growing up. No, for Beland it is empirically obvious that Sister Mary Alice did it. Either that or the Fox News Network.

Imagine some poor soul asking about his sexually promiscuous wife. Imagine Beland answering, “It’s not easy to undo damage caused by years of exposure to Jewish school teachers or overly liberal parents.” Yeah, keep imagining.

This wouldn’t matter if the magazine had a low circulation. But it pulls in big numbers—over 1.8 million per issue. Contact the executive editor of Men’s Health, Bill Phillips at Bill.phillips@rodale.com

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April 22, 2009

Please click here to read the top story on Yahoo about the feud between Ron Howard and Bill Donohue over "Angels & Demons."

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Please click here to read what Page Six in the New York Post had to say about the Howard-Donohue feud over the upcoming film "Angels & Demons."

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Several people have contacted the league about the rumor that the anti-Catholic play "Corpus Christi" is being turned into a movie to be released this summer. Please be advised that this is a hoax.

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Please click here to read an article in the Washington Post on the impact of the closures of Catholic schools and their importance in serving disadvantaged students.

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At a gala event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of homosexuals who dress up as nuns, they were given a proclamation from the California state senate by State Sen. Mark Leno of San Francisco. The anti-Catholic group then participated in a block party where, of course, some of the men danced naked. As usual, there were no arrests.

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Please click here to read an article by Advisory Board member Deacon Keith Fournier on the work of the league as exemplifed by our Annual Report on Anti-Catholicism.

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Click here to read the insightful letter on the Chicago Tribune's anti-Catholic bias written by Rev. Thomas J. Paprocki, the auxiliary bishop of Chicago.

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Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who will be installed on Wednesday as the archbishop of New York, granted an exclusive interview to the Associated Press. Click here to read what he had to say about his priorities.

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Peter Singer is a Princeton professor who believes it is okay for parents to kill their kids until their offspring are 28 days old. He also believes in bestiality: dogs, he says, can convey to their master whether they consent to intercourse. Now he is pushing clam rights.

In today’s New York Times, Nicholas Kristof writes that because Singer is uncertain about the capacity of shellfish to suffer, he tends to avoid eating them. Which means that Singer apparently believes that newborn kids who are knifed to death don’t suffer, but clams on the half shell might. Whether clams can consent to sex, Singer does not say.

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Click here to read Bill Donohue's response to Tony Blair's comments on Pope Benedict's recent statements about condoms.

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Which state has less religious men and women than any other? Vermont.
Which is the only state to have a socialist senator? Vermont.
Which state has the second lowest birth rate in the nation? Vermont
Which state has the second highest proportion of whites? Vermont.
Which state legislature was the first to legalize gay marriage? Vermont.

In other words, Vermont is a lily-white state populated by left-wingers who are anti-traditional marriage and anti-family. Exactly what we would expect of a population where more people believe in nothing than anywhere else in the nation.

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Please click here to read Maggie Gallagher's excellent column on proposed legislation in New York State, which would treat private and public institutions unequally regarding child sexual abuse cases.

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Please click on this link to find out what Francis Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago, had to say about Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to speak at this year's graduation.

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After Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine approved “Choose Life” license plates on Monday, he said, “If Planned Parenthood...or another similar organization ever chooses to seek a specialty license plate in Virginia, I believe the constitution would require the state to approve that plate to protect against any viewpoint discrimination.”

We agree. And we await Planned Parenthood’s submission of a “Choose Death” license plate.

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Please click on the link to learn the latest on the flap surrounding President Obama's upcoming commencement speech at Notre Dame.

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Data collected on priestly sexual abuse have consistently shown that 81 percent of the victims are male. The data in the latest study, the 2008 Annual Report on this issue, show that 84 percent of the victims were male.

For years we have been told that homosexuals are over represented because priests only had access to boy altar servers. But there have been girl altar servers for many years now, yet straight priests are even less represented now than before. There is obviously a serious problem here, but cowardice and political correctness stand in the way of an honest discussion.

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March 12, 2009

On today's edition of "The View," Elizabeth Hasselbeck was at it again.  Contrary to what many Catholics believe, she is no friend of the Church. The hosts of the show were discussing a Vatican newspaper article about the washing machine being  what liberated women the most in the 20th century; Hasselbeck stated that the Church should not render an opinion on such matters because it does not ordain women. She figured the Church would have agreed "by now" to ordain women. Her latest sucker punch shows that she is ignorant of Catholic teachings. The Church has survived not by following conventional wisdom, but by following wisdom from a higher source. Although Hasselbeck left the Church, she cannot seem to stop sticking her nose in where it does not belong.

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The Associated Press covered the rally that Catholics held in Hartford, CT yesterday to protest the bill that would have led to the state's involvement in the Church's finances. Its first sentence said "hundreds" of Catholics protested; its next sentence said "about 3,500 people" rallied. 

It is not surprising that Catholics get undercounted by the media. That it would be exposed in one article is amazing.

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On its blog, Americans United for Separation of Church and State reluctantly offered a mild defense of the Catholic Church in its stand against the Connecticut bill that would have allowed state interference in Church finances. However, Americans United also took the opportunity to lecture the Church about the First Amendment, making absurd comparisons throughout the article. Americans United has once again exposed its phony agenda.

Click here to read the article.

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Below please find the email that Clark Hoyt, Public Editor of the New York Times, sent to Bill Donohue:

Dear Bill,
 
I read with interest the post headlined "Photo Politics" on the Web site of the Catholic League.  It complains about a photograph in The Times that was taken on Ash Wednesday at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton near Battery Park.  I've heard from a number of your members objecting to the picture.  It is clear to me that some of them did not see the picture but were reacting to your description of it.  Some complained that it was on the front page.  It was not, although I think it would have been perfectly appropriate for the front page.
 
Your main objection seems to be that the picture showed only Father Zogby and a single worshipper receiving ashes from him.  You said thousands received ashes at that church on that day and asked why The Times would choose a picture showing the priest, a lone parishioner and no one else in the church.  Then you said, "To be honest, we're really not wondering at all:  We know exactly what the newspaper is up to."
 
I won't try to read your mind to figure out what you believe the motivation was.  But I think you are taking offense where none was intended or given.  I asked Michele McNally, the editor in charge of photography at The Times, about the picture.  She said the paper ran it because it was "a gorgeous photograph of a profound religious experience."  I have to say that I saw the picture in exactly that way.  It was shot from high in the church as Father Zogby rubbed ashes on the forehead of a woman cloaked in black.  Because the figures are relatively small in a photograph composed to accentuate the cross formed by the marble floor, I think it speaks to the power and mystery of your faith.  It is a beautiful picture, not a disrespectful one.
 
I think you got caught up in headcount issues and failed to appreciate a photo that was a sensitive rendering of a religious moment.
 
I would appreciate it if you would post this, so that those you asked to write me can see my response.
 
Best wishes,
 
Clark Hoyt
Public Editor
The New York Times

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Bishop Richard Williamson of the St. Pius X Society has issued an apology for his remarks regarding the Holocaust.  Please click here to read his statement.

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In the “A” section of today’s New York Times, there is a huge photo—approximately a quarter page in size—of a priest giving ashes to a woman on Ash Wednesday. The photo, shot from above, shows no one in the church but the two of them. The caption below says, “The Rev. Ed Zogby marked a worshiper’s forehead with ashes at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton near Battery Park. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent.” There was no attendant story.

We checked to see approximately how many Catholics were at the church yesterday to receive ashes. Thousands showed up. Not bad for a shrine in lower Manhattan. We also learned that the photographer was there at the time thousands were in attendance (he stayed for quite a while).

So it makes us wonder, why did the New York Times deliberately choose this photo? And why did it give it such prominence? To be honest, we’re really not wondering at all: We know exactly what the newspaper is up to.

By the way, in today’s New York Post there is a story about Ash Wednesday. Referring to the crowds at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, it says it was “the largest Ash Wednesday congregation in recent memory.” That, of course, is not exactly the kind of message the New York Times wants to send.

Contact NYT Public Editor Clark Hoyt at public@nytimes.com

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We thought you'd like to know how progressives view penance.  Here is what Roger Ray had to say about the issue in today's edition of the News-Leader, a Springfield, Missouri newspaper:

"As a member of a progressive Christian church, I am more likely than most to encounter folks who angrily reject all penitence and prayers of confession as being associated with the neurotic guilt and neo-puritanical judgment of their past church experiences. One friend recently told me, 'I just don't believe in sin.'"

Thanks, Roger, for providing this insight.  It explains a lot.

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February 19, 2009

Amy Sullivan, a writer for Time magazine who shills for the Democrats, posted a piece today saying that the Catholic Church’s campaign against the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)—the most radical piece of pro-abortion legislation in history—is much ado about nothing. Following the talking points of her pro-abortion friends in the Catholic community who insist they are against abortion, she says “no such bill has been introduced.”

The fact is that Rep. Jerry Nadler and Sen. Barbara Boxer previously introduced FOCA, but they got nowhere. The fact is that they have publicly pledged to reintroduce the same bill this term. The fact is that the reason they haven’t done so yet is due to pro-life Catholics who are honestly pro-life.

What it comes down to is this: pro-abortion Catholics are angry that pro-life Catholics have succeeded so far in intimidating FOCA supporters from going forward.

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Catholic Democrats, a pro-abortion group, issued a statement yesterday on the “common concerns” that were discussed at the meeting between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Pope Benedict XVI. What they did not mention was the pope’s rebuke of Pelosi.

Catholics for Choice, an anti-Catholic group, said it was “encouraged that this important dialogue took place.” What they did not mention was the pope’s rebuke of Pelosi.

If we were on their side, we would advise them not to issue statements that embarrass their pro-abortion friends. Lying is one thing, but to look foolish doing so is quite another. The fact is the pope put Pelosi in her place.

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On the Feb. 16 episode of the Fox Network show “House,” negative stereotypes of Catholic priests were promoted: the featured priest is a big drinker; he is hospitalized for hallucinating about Jesus; he is accused of being a pedophile; he hates his “job”; he loses his faith; the Church refuses to believe his claims of innocence; he gets bounced from parish to parish; he is believed to have AIDS, etc.

Eventually, the doctors realize that the priest doesn’t have AIDS and doesn’t have a disease that causes hallucinations. Also, the priest is found innocent and his faith is restored.

But it is a little too little and a little too late: all along the stereotype of priests as child molesters was milked to the hilt. And that’s exactly the kind of impression that the writers and producers desired.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Pope Benedict XVI today.  Please click on the attached links to learn what His Holiness said to Pelosi and for Bill Donohue's take on the meeting:

Victor L. Simpson, "Pope to US Speaker Pelosi: Reject abortion support," AP, 2-18-09

Mike Soraghan, "Concerns, hopes as Pelosi meets pope at the Vatican," The Hill.com, 2-17-09

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Protestant author Ray Comfort recently said that “the Vatican has chosen to officially believe Darwin rather than Jesus.” He accuses the Catholic Church of failing to exercise “common sense” and of failing to think “too deeply” about evolution.

The best-selling author doesn’t mince words: “The Vatican, in essence, is saying ‘Don’t believe Jesus or Genesis. Believe Darwin instead.’” He even goes so far as to say that “In the name of diversity, the Vatican is encouraging atheism, and that’s a terrible betrayal of Christianity.”

Comfort is wrong. The fact is that in the 1950s, Pope Pius XII said there was no conflict between evolution and the doctrine of faith, as long as God was not excluded. Pope John Paul II affirmed this teaching in the mid-1990s.

In other words, the Catholic Church teaches that God is the author of all creation. How stages of human development have unfolded is a legitimate area of scientific inquiry, and it has nothing to do with rejecting God as the Creator.

Moreover, to say that one must believe in either Jesus or Darwin smacks of an inability to “think deeply” about the subject. Even more preposterous is the assertion that the Vatican is encouraging atheism. What’s next? The pope is the Anti-Christ?

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Last night’s episode of “30 Rock” threw a few jabs at Catholics. Many of the familiar stereotypes were there: a church full of pregnant women, the alleged silliness of the confessional, questions regarding priestly celibacy, judgmental authority figures, etc.

What was new was the decision to focus on Latino Catholics. We can probably expect more of this as Latinos account for about a third of all Catholics in the U.S. It remains to be seen how such fare will be received in their community.

We are so happy that viewers saw all those pregnant women in a Catholic church. Makes us proud.

You may want to contact NBC president Jeff Zucker and say hello. Contact him at Jeff.Zucker@nbcuni.com

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Charles Darwin was born 200 years ago yesterday, and from the noise coming from some quarters, one would believe that he was an atheist. Nonsense. To be sure, he was a self-described agnostic, but he had no use for militant atheists. Consider what he said to Edward Aveling in 1881, a dogmatic atheist: “Why should you be so aggressive? Is anything gained by trying to force these new ideas upon the mass of mankind?”

Also, Darwin and the Catholic Church were of the same mind in one very important matter: “It seems to me absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent Theist & an evolutionist.”

The next time some sage feeds you propaganda about Darwin, tell him to explain these two quotes.

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Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good issued a study about abortion data, which analyzed the effect of state welfare programs on the rate of abortion.  The conclusion was increased social spending decreased the amount of abortions.  Professor Michael J. New points out the study was flawed and that the data actually undermined the conclusions of Catholics in Alliance.  Click here to read his analysis.

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In one of the most crass examples of ripping off Christianity to make a cheap political point, Catholics United, a left-wing front group for the Democratic party, is running two radio commercials promoting President Obama’s stimulus package. What is despicable about the ads is not the content—which is inane—it’s the message it is sending on its website. To be specific, it titles its campaign, “The Economic Stimulus: What Would Jesus Do?”

Catholics United answers the question by clearly suggesting that Jesus would endorse Obama’s stimulus plan. And all along religious conservatives have been accused of saying God is a Republican. It doesn’t get much more shameless than this.

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February 2, 2009

Please click here to read Rabbi Irwin Kula's insightful response to the controversy surrounding the lifting of excommunication of the St. Pius X Society, which extends to Bishop Williamson. 

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Frances Kissling, who for decades headed Catholics for a Free Choice, has a piece in today’s Salon.com accusing the Catholic Church of promoting anti-Semitism for centuries. She begins her screed by saying, “OK, Bill Donohue, just get it over with and call me anti-Catholic.”

Donohue responded as follows: “Kissling is anti-Catholic.”

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Based on the Raymond Khoury novel, the NBC mini-series "The Last Templar" is a poor knock-off of "The DaVinci Code" that tries to fuse fast action with religious mystery.  According to the reviews, it fails miserably at both.  The story is about the hunt for a relic of the Knights Templar; the relic leads to their hidden treasure, the lost diary of Jesus.

The book apparently did not transfer well to the small screen.  The Los Angeles Times reviewer comments, "What begins as a more than slightly fantastic revision of the Templar legend takes an ill-advised turn toward theological theorizing and New Agey spiritual advice."  USA Today concurs:   "Soon, we're trodding the well-worn Da Vinci path of faith-bursting relics and Catholic conspiracies."  Even entertainment periodical Variety understood the limits of this production: "As for a thread regarding [the main character's] lack of faith, any serious contemplation of religion seems several notches above [its] pay grade." 

If it's this bad, Catholics have nothing to worry about.

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The image of Our Blessed Mother remains under attack.  In Chicago, an image believed to be the Virgin Mary on an expressway underpass has been repeatedly defaced.  Demonic graffiti is the latest assault on the image.  In Kansas, vandals smashed part of a statue of Mary, along with statues of Christ, St. John and St. Bernadette, which were arranged in the grotto at the Redemptorist Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Finally, in Chile, a well known fashion designer recently dressed his models up like Our Lady but with little covering for the models' breasts.  His show was condemned by the local Catholic diocese and others, but it proceeded.  Ricardo Oyarzun defended his religious-themed show as "artistic expression," per Reuters.

Oyarzun's statement about "artistic expression" is the same old tripe uttered when a Catholic symbol is attacked.  We do not see people like him defacing or demeaning images of Mohammad's daughter, Fatima.  That would take guts.

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To his credit, President Barack Obama did not shy away from mentioning God several times in his Inaugural Address. We couldn’t help but notice, however, that the very same pundits and organizations that branded President George W. Bush a “theocrat” for referencing God were noticeably silent in their reaction to Obama’s God-talk.

Maybe that’s because they think he is a closet secularist who is just going through the motions to please the faithful. At least that’s what the American Humanist Association seems to think: it took out a full-page ad in the Washington Post yesterday hailing Obama as “Living Proof that Family Values Without Religion Build Character.”

In other words, it’s not the religious message that atheists object to most of all—it’s who the messenger is. If he’s believable, he’s a threat. If he’s posturing, he’s okay. How that’s for character?

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On January 9, the game show “Jeopardy” featured the following comment: “He denounces materialism from balcony of marble, gold-doomed building…while wearing giant gold cross.” The question for the contestants was, “Who is the pope?”

We never knew that “Jeopardy” had a political side. But now that we know, we’d like to offer the following entry: “They denounce bigotry on every occasion while constantly serving up anti-Catholic fare.” The right answer, of course, is the entertainment industry.

Our submission is being forwarded to Harry Friedman, the executive producer of “Jeopardy.”

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Bernard Madoff, who allegedly fleeced countless numbers of persons and organizations, was also a generous supporter of the abortion rights industry, managing the assets of groups like the Picower Foundation.  This now-defunct foundation funded the organizations that handled the vast majority of abortion rights litigation in this country.  The good news  is that the losers are "the Center for Reproductive Rights [which] needs to make up a $600,000 shortage in 2009; Planned Parenthood [which] is out $484,000; the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project [which] is off $200,000," per Slate.com.  Their loss is a win for the unborn.

UPDATE: The shortfall for Planned Parenthood is even more significant than initially reported.  Between the loss of foundation funding and the downturn in the economy, Planned Parenthood is laying off approximately 20% of its staff.  This just goes to show that every cloud has a silver lining.

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The Catholic League notes with great sadness the passing away of Father Richard John Neuhaus. He was a brilliant and devoted son of the Church who will be sorely missed. Indeed, he is irreplaceable.

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The Catholic League notes with great sadness the passing away of Father Richard John Neuhaus. He was a brilliant and devoted son of the Church who will be sorely missed. Indeed, he is irreplaceable.

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We’ve gotten a number of inquires about the movie “Doubt.” The reason we said nothing about it is because the film, like the play, was focused on a particular miscreant priest, and at no time did it take liberties by making sweeping condemnations of all priests. That’s not an unimportant distinction: it’s the difference between being critical and being bigoted. Moreover, when Meryl Streep was interviewed, never did she take a cheap shot at the Catholic Church.

In short, there was nothing to complain about.

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The Catholic League notes with deep regret the passing of Paul Weyrich.  He was a principled and patriotic man whose contribution to social conservatism will never be forgotten.  He will be sorely missed.

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Don Feder sets Newsweek straight on its article claiming that the Bible favors gay marriage in GrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary:

IN ARGUING FOR GAY MARRIAGE, NEWSWEEK SHOULD FORGET THE BIBLE, STAY WHERE IT’S BETTER ACQUAINTED 

           

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Deborah Lauter, national civil rights director for the ADL, says there is a difference between vandals who steal Baby Jesus from a nativity scene and vandals who steal the menorah: “If Baby Jesus is removed, it tends to be seen as a prank. Vandalism or theft of a menorah is just more sensitive. You feel like you’re really being targeted for your religion.”

If Catholics turned this around—claiming the theft of a menorah was no big deal—they’d be accused of anti-Semitism. But no one from the Catholic League, at least, would ever say such nonsense.

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Jason Whitlock is a sports writer for the Kansas City Star.  On the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, he decided to mock the Blessed Virgin Mary for no reason in his article, "Pass rusher would be answer to a prayer."  In discussing the local football team's loss, he writes, "It's sort of like questioning Mary's virginity.  You mention the rumors you heard about her and Joseph at Noah's Party Cove bash, and you're likely to be escorted out of church by force."

This comment, which shows Whitlock's ignorance about the Virgin birth as well as about when Mary and Noah lived, was followed by another insinuation about Mary at the end of the article: "The Chiefs might need a savior after this season.  Let's hope Noah throws another party and Mary and Joseph disappear for a few minutes again."

Actually, let's hope Mr. Whitlock's obnoxious column disappears from the Kansas City Star.

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Gazette.net reports that the 26th annual "Christmas Revels," a French-Canadian style celebration, will be held this month at George Washington University.  The December 3 article on the website points out that the show focuses on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice.  "Despite 'Christmas' in the title, this is not a religious pageant, but rather an inclusive seasonal celebration that is meaningful to the community at large, regardless of background."

In recent years, "holiday" has been increasingly substituted for "Christmas" by the PC police.  Christians have fought back and are daring to say "Merry Christmas!" again.  However, in the case of "Christmas Revels," it is a sham. The use of the word Christmas in the title of a show about the winter solstice is false advertising.   

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December 1, 2008

Lee Corso, a commentator on ESPN, has a problem with Notre Dame.  On October 1, 2005, on the show "College GameDay," he made a mock sign of the cross and predicted that Purdue would "beat the Catholics."  On November 29, 2008, he struck again on the same show.  In discussing Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis' contract, he opined:

"[T]he Catholic Church, the first collection is for the parish and maybe the priest to go on vacation, the second collection is for the poor people in Michigan, the third collection is now gonna be for Charlie Weis and to try to buyout his contact....I have a better idea.  I think they ought to call the Vatican and have them sell one of their paintings and have them give the money to Notre Dame and if they want to pay off Charlie Weis, take the money from the Vatican's painting, give the money to Charlie and say goodbye." 

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Catholics for Choice is a pro-abortion group that has been twice condemned by the U.S. bishops for being a fraud.  They continue to mislead about the Church's teachings on abortion.  In a recent letter to the editor of the New York Times, president Jon O'Brien wrote:

"Catholic tradition requires Catholics to follow their own well-formed consciences even if it conflicts with church teaching.  As the Catechism notes, 'a human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience.'

Mr. O'Brien, in selectively quoting from the Catholic Catechism, ignores the statement that followed the section he quoted which undermines his assertion:

"Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one's passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church's authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be at the source of errors in judgment in moral conduct."

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Nordstrom's Palm Beach Gardens location was selling a tee shirt, which featured an image that resembled Madonna and Child; the problem was that Mary was shown as a skeleton. Shopper Judy Carbo complained that this shirt was offensive to Catholics and Nordstrom removed the shirt from its store.

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Rabbi Michael Lerner is asking his followers to write to the Vatican objecting to the pending excommunication of Father Roy Bourgeois, a priest who recently presided over the staged “ordination” of women who consider themselves to be priests. Lerner would do well to mind his own business.
 
This is not the first time that Lerner has had the chutzpah to lecture the Catholic Church and brand it authoritarian. Known as the religious guru of the Democratic Party, Lerner rejects the institution of marriage and shows little respect for the autonomy of religious organizations. The National Review got it just right when it recently said that “Lerner is to Judaism what Barney Fife is to law enforcement.”

In short, Rabbi Michael Lerner is an angry left-wing radical with a penchant for sticking his nose in where he doesn’t belong.

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November 7, 2008

On November 6, Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said that Jewish groups who recently depicted Pope Pius XII as being “indifferent to the fate of the victims of Nazism” were “outrageous.” They are also profoundly ignorant of history and guilty of scapegoating.

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Here’s a challenge to all those pro-abortion Catholics masquerading as pro-life by citing their allegiance to economic policies that may reduce the incidence of abortion: Check out the latest Rand Corporation study on teens who watch a lot of sexual content on TV and join with real pro-life Catholics in calling for a more responsible Hollywood.

We already knew that young people who are exposed to a lot of sexual content start having sex at an earlier age. Now we know that teens who watch the most sex on TV are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy as those who watch the least amount of sex. Dramatically, the amount of sexual content on TV has doubled since 2001. And while the study does not address abortion, it is obvious that abortion rates are higher among those who watch the most sex on TV.

In other words, it is not a spike in the minimum wage that will translate into lower abortion rates; it is things like a decrease in irresponsible TV content that will do so. However, to do this requires a willingness to stand up to the same Hollywood crowd that backs pro-abortion candidates. That’s not something that real pro-life Catholics have a problem with, but it is sure to be problematic for Catholics who feign pro-life. Do they really have it in them to challenge their ideological kin?

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October 28, 2008

The videos depicting various desecrations of the Eucharist by the person calling himself 'fsmdude' have been removed from YouTube.  Over forty videos were voluntarily taken down by 'fsmdude'.  He did this after YouTube responded to the Catholic League's demand for action by age-gating his videos and placing a warning on the website for those trying to access his videos.

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Two deceitful letters were published in the Washington Post on October 25. The first one, by Jon O’Brien of Catholics for Choice, said that “In Catholic theology there is room for the acceptance of policies that favor access to the full range of reproductive health options, including contraception and abortion.” This is a lie. The Catholic Church has always been opposed to both contraception and abortion. But lying is nothing new to this pro-abortion, anti-Catholic group.

Alexia Kelley at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good takes exception with the Washington Post for listing it as a group that contends “Catholic teachings do not forbid voting for a pro-choice politician.” But that is exactly what Kelley’s mission is—to confuse the laity, and the public, about the Church’s teaching on abortion.

It would be so nice if these groups just told the truth.

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Please click here to read Bill Donohue's letter to the New York Daily News about its double standard in reporting on clergy sex abuse.

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The FBI found him hiding in his bedroom. Rabbi Israel Weingarten, 58, was arrested in upstate New York on charges he sexually abused his own daughter. The abuse began when his daughter was 9 years old; it continued until she was 18. The former yeshiva schoolteacher molested his daughter on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis. He moved her around from Belgium, Israel and the U.S. to avoid prosecution.

If this had been a Catholic priest, it would have been front-page news. But because it was a rabbi, it merited stories on p. 18 in the Daily News and p. 21 in the New York Post; both were short pieces. The New York Times ignored the story altogether, even though it was picked up by AP.

The Jewish Forward and the Jewish Week have had several stories lately about the efforts of Assemblyman Dov Hikind to still this problem in his community. The New York politician says that an “avalanche of people” have come forward with reports of the sexual abuse of minors at the hands of Orthodox Jews. We commend him for his efforts. But we also take note that these stories are ignored by the same New York media outlets that were all over the same crimes when committed by priests.

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October 7, 2008

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Never before have there been as many pro-abortion apologists as there are now. These apologists maintain that it is entirely possible to be pro-life while supporting pro-abortion candidates, just so long as these candidates sponsor legislation that reduces the need for abortion. Yet the apologists would never support a candidate who said he opposes laws that criminalize wife beating but is nonetheless adamantly opposed to it.  Nor would they be persuaded that such persons deserve our support if they sponsor legislation that reduces the incidence of wife beating.

Only when it comes to abortion do the apologists scrap a legal remedy. To be specific, it is dishonest for Catholics United to say that “legal protections for the unborn are an important part of a pro-life strategy,” and then support candidates who are opposed to every legal protection ever proposed. Is it too much to demand that lying has no legitimate role to play in these discussions?

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The Internet site, Beliefnet, offers a wide variety of views on religion, and has done some fine work. However, sometimes its commitment to pluralism becomes corrupting. To wit: It has accepted an advertisement for Bill Maher’s “comedy” mocking Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam and other religions. Looks like greed affects more than those on Wall Street.

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office yesterday released the annual Mayor’s Management Report. It shows that the Health Department gave away 39,070,000 male condoms to community groups in fiscal year 2008, which ended June 30. News story are reporting that this figure is more than double the rate from the previous fiscal year.

What is not being discussed by the media, however, is what the data show regarding the incidence of syphilis: while the distribution of condoms increased by 120 percent in one year, the number of syphilis cases increased by 20 percent.

If condoms are the answer to STDs, then syphilis cases should have declined markedly. The fact that syphilis cases spiked should prove sobering. But, alas, New York City has learned absolutely nothing: next year it plans to distribute 51.6 million condoms. Watch for the rate of STDs to increase as well.

Do condoms increase STDs? It would be difficult to prove that they do, though it is entirely possible that the promiscuous distribution of condoms by government agencies fosters a climate of complacency, one ill-suited to inducing the virtue of self-restraint. One thing is for sure: condom distribution does not curb STDs. Indeed, Mayor Bloomberg is perpetuating a dangerous hoax on young people by ratcheting up condom distribution—even when it is crystal clear that this policy is backfiring.

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Abortion survivor Gianna Jessen addresses Sen. Barack Obama in an ad produced by BornAlivetruth.org concerning his four votes against medical assistance for babies who survive abortion. 

Please click here to see the ad.

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Four young persons, three women and a man, were butchered to death by Satanists in Russia. But that’s not all—they were then roasted and eaten; their private parts were cut off. The victims were stabbed 666 times—the number that symbolizes the Antichrist.

There is an outbreak of mutilations and killings in Russia by Satanists. They leave a cross upside-down to mark their work.

It has been reported that “Devil worshippers believe in putting themselves first and their core values include pride, indulgence, ambition and meeting sexual desires.”

Why is this significant? Because those who kill innocent persons in the name of Christ reject Christ’s teachings and that of the Catholic Church. Those who kill in the name of Satanism are being faithful to their creed. Indeed, what devil worshippers believe in, the Catholic Church rejects as sinful.

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The Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced that the full body of U.S. bishops will discuss the implications of political support of abortion during its annual assembly, which will be held November 10 - 13, 2008.  The decision to address this timely topic stems from recent controversial statements by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Joseph Biden regarding Catholic teaching on when life begins.

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Bill Donohue was asked by the celebrity page of the New York Post on September 10 to offer a comment on a new book, 101 Places To Have Sex Before You Die; one of the  recommended places is the confessional.

Here was Bill’s response to "Page Six": “The kind of people who would have sex in the confessional would also have sex in the graveyard. And I don’t mean with each other.”

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