February 24 New York, NY – Rep. Michael Grimm requested that the Empire State Building shine red in honor of the elevation of New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan to cardinal. Grimm’s request was denied by the owner of the Empire State Building, Anthony Malkin. Similarly, in 2010, the Catholic League petitioned to have the tower of the Empire State... [Read more...]
MEDIA RESPONSE TO VATICAN INQUIRY OF LCWR Once again, an internal matter of the Catholic Church became fodder for media voyeurs, pundits and talking heads when a number of dissident nuns became the subject of an apostolic visit, announced in April 2012. It was disturbing to read the way some of the Vatican’s critics were trying to defend the indefensible.... [Read more...]
November 20 Alsip, IL – The Freedom From Religion Foundation used the threat of a lawsuit to force the Village of Alsip to cancel the display of a cross on its water tower, which had been a tradition going back decades. November 27 Madison, WI – The Freedom From Religion Foundation placed its “Natural Nativity Scene” in the Wisconsin State Capitol... [Read more...]
Ian Buruma is not exactly a household name, but he is a hero to readers of the New York Review of Books. His fan base was obviously warm to his piece in the Beirut newspaper, The Daily Star, taking a shot at Pope Benedict XVI in the most ridiculous fashion. Buruma began by recounting the brutal rape of a young woman by six men on a New Delhi bus in... [Read more...]
Newsweek recently did an article on the annual Christmas controversies that included comments by Bill Donohue. It maintained that “The War on Christmas Is Over” and “Christmas Won.” We are happy to report our role in achieving a victory in California this past Christmas season. On December 6, we learned that a Christmas tree was removed from... [Read more...]
A few weeks before Christmas, residents at a Newhall, California senior citizens’ apartment complex were told to remove their Christmas tree. The company in charge of the complex, JB Partners Group Inc., told staff at The Willows residence that the Christmas tree was a religious symbol and must be taken down. Because this is a private venue, there... [Read more...]
The celebration of Hanukkah began on December 8, but fortunately for Jews they were not attacked by David Silverman. No, like other haters in the atheist community, the president of American Atheists saved his vitriol for Christians. Silverman’s latest assault was a huge billboard in New York’s Times Square erected only three days after the start... [Read more...]
One of the most famous atheists in American history, Paul Kurtz, died late last year at age 86. While not religion-friendly, he was by no means a hater. Indeed, he hated what he called “angry atheists,” the kind we see with increasing frequency these days. It is hardly a stretch to say that today’s breed of atheists more closely resemble fascists... [Read more...]
Every year, the Catholic League comes across stories of atheist groups and their attempts to neuter or eliminate Christmas. The following is a partial list of campaigns orchestrated by such organizations during Christmas 2012. In Niles, Illinois, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) placed a Winter Solstice sign in the Village of Niles Plaza... [Read more...]
An editorial in the Duluth News Tribune recently questioned, “There’s Still a ‘War on Christmas’?” Atheist Jeff Sorensen flatly said on Huffington Post that “There is no war on Christmas.” Statesman Journal columnist Dick Hughes wrote a piece about the “phony and irrelevant War on Christmas.” MSNBC madman Lawrence O’Donnell said... [Read more...]