FAQ about Pius XII and the Holocaust

by Robert P. Lockwood April, 2000 The general charge against Pope Pius XII is that he maintained a “continued attitude of silence” in the face of Nazism and the horror of the Holocaust. Was the Pope silent? Pope Pius XII was not silent in the face of Nazism, either before he was elected pope in 1939 or during the war years. As Golda Meir, future... [Read more...]

ANOTHER IRREVERENT CARTOON

For sheer coarseness, it would be hard for any cartoon to top TV’s “South Park.” That is why we don’t think that the new NBC cartoon, “God, the Devil and Bob” will reach that level. But it certainly doesn’t promise to be the cartoon analogue of “Touched by an Angel,” either. Before the show debuted on March... [Read more...]

THE BARBARIANS ARE IN THE GATE

Last fall when the Catholic League protested the “Sensation” exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, we were accused of censorship. Leading the way was Joan E. Bertin, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship. In the fall of 1998, Bertin got so uptight with us for protesting the Terrence McNally play, “Corpus... [Read more...]

BUT BETTER NEVER LATE

In the pages of the New York Times magazine (March 12), Andrew Sullivan made a fine contribution discussing the current wave of anti-Catholicism. But he was wrong to say that the Catholic League “essentially” gave George W. Bush “a pass” for his Bob Jones University visit. In fact, we lambasted the Texas governor several times... [Read more...]

BOB JONES JUST CAN’T GIVE IT UP

On March 14, it was reported that Bob Jones University had dropped from its website the charge that Catholicism is a cult. The next day president Bob Jones III explained it was “totally misleading” to conclude that this was done “for suspect reasons or because of embarrassment or cowardice.” He added that “In order to leave... [Read more...]

ANTI-CATHOLICISM BECOMES AN ELECTION ISSUE

The recent flap over the Bob Jones University appearance by Governor George W. Bush has been the source of much controversy. The Catholic League’s position on this important issue needs to be understood by all our members. The Catholic League criticized Bush for his appearance at the school, defended him against the charge of anti-Catholicism, accepted... [Read more...]

ANTI-CATHOLICISM IN AMERICAN CULTURE

“Anti-Catholicism arrived in America with the Pilgrims in 1620. While it is a prejudice that has existed in every decade of the American experience, anti-Catholicism is in many ways stronger now than it has ever been. It is a powerful force in art, business, academics, entertainment, politics, commentary and news reporting. It is not only America’s... [Read more...]

DONOHUE ROASTED IN ESQUIRE

On the last page of the March edition of Esquire magazine, Larry Doyle roasted Bill Donohue in his piece, “An Open Letter to All Academy Members, Creative Artists, and Anyone Else Who Still Believes in Freedom of Expression.” Doyle took some literary liberties by charging that Donohue was vehemently complaining about a new movie, “christblood.”... [Read more...]

“EARLY SHOW” GETS TOO CUTE WITH CATHOLICISM

On the March 7 edition of the CBS program, the “Early Show,” co-hosts Bryant Gumbel and Jane Clayson joined meteorologist Mark McEwen in an extended ridicule of Catholicism. The subject was Lent. During the course of the conversation, Gumbel and McEwen admitted they were raised Catholic but were no longer practicing. “I was born Catholic... [Read more...]

FLAWED SURVEY

In March, the Wall Street Journal ran an excellent series on the 2000 electorate that compiled some of the best data we’ve seen. In particular, we would like to cite the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll that was done on Catholics and Fundamentalists by the polling organization Peter D. Hart and Robert M. Teeter; it appeared on March 9. There was... [Read more...]

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