Dear Connecticut Legislator:

I have no doubt that all of you share my contempt for state officials who ask patently illegitimate questions of expert witnesses who testify before them. Unfortunately, two members of the state legislature, Representative Michael Lawlor and Senator Edwin Gomes, did just that on March 26.

To be specific, both men asked a series of questions of Brian Brown, executive director of the Connecticut Family Institute, that probed his religious convictions as they pertained to same-sex marriage. If you think I’m exaggerating, listen to the audio at http://ctnv1.ctn.state.ct.us/J/jud_3-26-07.wmv.  or read our transcription of the relevant portions of the discussion by visiting http://catholicleague.org/3-26-07_transcript.htm. 

It is entirely legitimate to ask witnesses about the source of their convictions, religious or otherwise. But when the questions become personal, intrusive and persistent, a line is crossed. Mr. Brown was not called to testify about his personal religious beliefs, but to explain why he takes the side he does on a public policy matter. Separation of church and state, it needs to be stressed, cuts both ways: Just as it would be illegitimate of me to ask Rep. Lawlor and Sen. Gomes to go on record explaining their personal convictions about the wisdom of Catholic teachings, it is equally illegitimate of them to pepper expert witnesses about their private beliefs.

Senator Joseph Lieberman is an Orthodox Jew who cares deeply about Israel. As well he should. It would be obvious—even to Lawlor and Gomes—that a line would be crossed if Senator Lieberman were subjected the kind of probing questions regarding his religious convictions that Mr. Brown was.

I hope this is the last time I have to address this issue. Rep. Lawlor and Sen. Gomes should rest assured that if this continues, my response next time will not be in the form of a letter.

Sincerely,

William A. Donohue, Ph.D.

President
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

NB:  To view a video on AirMaria.com showing highlights of the relevant portions of Mr. Brown's testimony, click here. 

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March 28, 2007:

Secularists See Silence as Sneaky

In a March 27 column, the Chicago Tribune’s Eric Zorn had this to say about the Illinois Senate passing a bill that makes it mandatory for public schools to begin each day with a moment of silence: “The proposal is rotten—sneaky, unnecessary and intrusive.”

Pretty strong words about a quiet minute.   

Read Zorn’s full column here. 

March 20, 2007:

Dems and Religion—Tricky Business

A new survey by the Barna Group shows that one-third of Americans are unchurched, meaning they have not attended a religious service in the past six months. Who are they? Liberals, mostly. 47 percent of liberals are unchurched, more than twice the percentage of conservatives (19 percent). This being true, attempts by Democrats to appeal to the faithful is tricky business—it may alienate their base.

Click here for survey results. 

March 14, 2007:

97-year-old Catholic Woman Honored for Saving 2,500 Jewish Children from Holocaust

From the Associated Press:

Irena Sendler saved nearly 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis, organizing a ring of 20 Poles to smuggle them out of the Warsaw Ghetto in baskets and ambulances.

The Nazis arrested her, but she didn't talk under torture. After she survived the war, she expressed regret for doing too little.

Lawmakers in Poland's Senate disagreed Wednesday, unanimously passing a resolution honoring her and the Polish underground's Council for Assisting Jews, of which her ring of mostly Roman Catholics was a part.

Poland's goverment-in-exile set up the secret organization in 1942 to help save Jews from the Nazi-established ghettoes and labor camps.

Anyone caught helping Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland risked being summarily shot, along with family members…

After smuggling the children out of the ghetto and placing them with non-Jewish families, Sendler wrote their names on slips of paper and buried them in jars in a neighbor's yard as a record that could help locate the children's parents after the war. The Nazis arrested her in 1943, but she refused despite repeated torture to reveal their names.

In 1965, Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial awarded Sendler one of its first medals given to people who saved Jews, the so-called "Righteous Among the Nations.

A Window into the Mind of the Left

According to the Washington Post’s Philip Kennicott, when Robert MacNeil addressed a recent gathering of American for the Arts, the journalist "lamented the influence of fundamentalism on science education, individual freedoms and the larger public dialogue about the hot-button moral and political issues of the day….And so, no surprise, he leapt to the defense of artists, in particular, from the influence of fundamentalism and the perils of the culture wars."

Kennicott reports that MacNeil

Quickly turned his attention to what he called "the swing to Puritanism" that "gained energy when political consultants and lobbying organizations discovered the catnip (and the fundraising power) of pandering to those who could be persuaded that art is decadent, or immoral, or homosexual, and destructive of finer values."

And he argued that the importance of real creative freedom in the arts has never been more important, given this country's ideological battle with violent, fundamentalist Islam. He even went so far as to compare Islamic fundamentalism with Jewish and Christian fundamentalism.

"I am not for a moment suggesting that our fundamentalists harbor any violent intentions," he [MacNeil] said, "but the initial psychology is similar to that which inspires Islamic reformers."

What is more interesting than MacNeil’s speech is Kennicott’s observation that “It was, perhaps, courageous of MacNeil to speak so bluntly, to an essentially liberal audience, about the threat he sees in fundamentalist Islam.”  Yet the writer makes no comment on it being courageous to link Christians and Jews in this country with militant Islamic fundamentalists.  That’s because such claims aren't alien to many on the left. 

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March 7, 2007:

Kissling Loathes Both Catholic League and Catholic Left

We wouldn't expect Frances Kissling, recently retired president of the anti-Catholic front group Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), to have any kind words to say about the likes of the Catholic League.  Indeed, we would be concerned if she did.  So we weren't surprised to read an interview in the March 9 National Catholic Reporter in which Kissling whined, "The viciousness of the Donohues, the Deal Hudsons, the George Weigels and the [Father] Richard John Neuhauses is soul-numbing." 

What was interesting, however, was to see Kissling lash out at the those so-called "Catholic" groups that, like CFFC, often work against the teachings of the Church.  According to the National Catholic Reporter:

She dismisses the 30,000-plus Catholics Voice of the Faithful claims as members, calling it a "paltry number" driven by those "who have clicked on their Web site."

"And then," she continued, "you look at all the rest of us, Call to Action, ARCC [the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church], Dignity, the Women's Ordination Conference."  So small in number and influence, Kissling said, that "the movement doesn't exist...."

Meanwhile, Kissling said, the progressive religious community's efforts to ingratiate itself with the Democratic party works against the efforts of church reformers, especially feminists.  "It is threatening because what the Democratic Party wants from religion is respectability and credibility.  They want a rabbi with a yarmulke on his head, a minister who wears a collar or some religious garb.  They want a mainstream respectable image of religion....

The result, Kissling said, is "two patriarchal forces, politics and religion, converging on the progressive side, in which women and so-called marginal issues are excluded."

Now if only Frances would tell us what she really thinks...

The article in National Catholic Reporter, titled "Kissling leaves, with barbs for the left,"  is available only to subscribers.  Click here to read some excerpts provided by Catholic World News.

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March 6, 2007:

John Edwards: Americans are Selfish

Presidential hopeful John Edwards recently told the website Beliefnet.com: "I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs. I think he would be appalled, actually."

This is interesting coming from a millionaire who is so loathe to fork over his taxes. 

From the July 31, 2003 issue of The Washington Times:

Sen. John Edwards, North Carolina Democrat and 2004 presidential hopeful, is four months delinquent in paying the property taxes on his Georgetown mansion and owes the cash-strapped District more than $11,000, city records show....

In at least eight instances during the past decade, the Edwardses have been so late paying property taxes on their Raleigh home and various automobiles that bill collectors assessed them penalties, according to records kept by Wake County in North Carolina.

In 1995, for example, they were more than two months late paying their taxes on a 1989 Mitsubishi and a 1991 Acura. That same year, they were nearly a month late paying taxes on their Raleigh home.
 

Last year, they were late paying their taxes on a 1998 Volvo and a 1998 Buick.

That did not include the dozens of times the Edwardses paid months past the due dates on their Raleigh tax bills but were not assessed late penalties.

Regarding the outstanding bill in Washington, Mrs. Daisley said that even in cases where a tax bill is in dispute, the city requires owners to pay by March 31.

"You can protest the bill, but you must still pay your taxes on time, and we'll reimburse you," she said. "It's the owner's responsibility."

If Mr. Edwards fails to pay his taxes, the city could sell his Georgetown mansion at auction in July 2004.
 

From the July 10, 2004 issue of  The New York Times:

The Kerry-Edwards Democratic presidential campaign released Mr. Edwards's income figures in a statement yesterday in response to questions about the taxes he paid after he created a tax shelter in 1995.

Mr. Edwards paid $9,353,448 in federal taxes on his income of $26,869,496, but the shelter allowed him to avoid paying $591,112 in Medicare tax, the figures provided by the campaign show....

The campaign said Mr. Edwards created the tax shelter, a so-called S Corporation, on the advice of his accountant, who cited its legal liability protections as well as its tax advantages, about two years after he left a larger firm to start his own practice with a partner.

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Where's the ACLU?

From the San Francisco Chronicle:  "In response to the formation of the Gay and Lesbian Employees Association in 2002, Regina Regerford and Robin Christy put up a flyer on a bulletin board in January 2003 announcing formation of a 'forum for people of faith' to express their views 'with respect for the natural family, marriage and family values.'

"A supervisor in the city's Community and Economic Development Department removed the flyer six weeks later in response to an employee's complaint, saying it contained 'statements of a homophobic nature' in violation of Oakland's ban on anti-gay harassment in city employment.

Yesterday "...a federal appeals court ruled [that]...the city of Oakland did not violate two employees' freedom of speech when it removed" the flyer.

Click here for full article. 

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Edwards Discovers Hate Speech 

On a scale of 1 to 10, what the two women bloggers who worked for John Edwards said about Jesus and Our Blessed Mother was a 10 in terms of hate speech. What Ann Coulter said about homosexuals was a lot lower on the scale. Yet Edwards branded Coulter’s remark “hateful” and labeled the comments of Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan merely “intolerant.” Moreover, he forgave Marcotte and McEwan immediately.  

Nice to know what passes as hate speech for John Edwards, and that which doesn’t.

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March 5, 2007:

“Cold Case” on the Church

Catholic nuns in the 1960s who listened to Church teaching were cruel and showed little compassion for girls who got pregnant out of wedlock.  Or so “The Good-Bye Room,” the March 4 episode of the CBS drama “Cold Case,” would lead viewers to believe.

In the show, a young pregnant girl named Hillary is sent to St. Mary’s Home for Unwed  Mothers in 1964.  Hillary is killed the day after she gives birth, and an investigation is launched into the home and the religious sisters who run it.  Though not responsible for Hillary’s murder, the head of the home, Sister Margaret, sells illegitimate babies on the black market.  She tells the pregnant girls they are not good people, and that they got pregnant because bad things happen to bad people. 

When Sister Margaret is questioned in the present day about selling babies years ago, she blames her crimes on the Catholic Church.  She claims, “The Church told us they were unfit mothers and would do it again if we did not reform them.  I had to believe that to do what I did.”

The Catholic League wouldn’t object to the portrayal of a criminal nun, but when she is shown to turn to crime because she is motivated by what she is told by “the Church,” it’s a little too much.  Add to that the fact that the show digs up the tired cliché about nuns hitting kids with rulers, and we have to ask CBS, is this what your network thinks of Catholicism? 

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"Christian" Bothers Edwards

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards had this to say about America being a Christian nation: "There's a lot of America that's Christian. I would not describe us, though, on the whole, as a Christian nation...I guess the word 'Christian' is what bothers me, even though I'm a Christian."

March 2, 2007:

When Dialogue Means Death

From Catholic News Agency: "Bishop Joseph Coutts, the Bishop of Faisalabad says that he is in the sites of Muslim extremists due to his continued efforts to establish inter-religious dialogue in his country. The bishop said that the increase in Muslim radical groups, coupled with his attempts to improve relations between Catholics and Muslims in Pakistan, have brought about numerous death threats since December...."  Click here to read article.

Vocations Draw Orthodox Youth

According to data collected from the website VocationMatch.com,'s Report on Trends in Religious Life, the past three years have seen the number of candidates preparing for the religious life increase by 19 percent.  Young Catholics make up the bulk of those considering religious vocations, with over 50 percent being under 30 years of age.

66 percent of those considering religious life say they are drawn by a "desire to live a life of faithfulness to the church and its teachings."  50 percent report that dressing in a habit is either "very important" or "essential" to their vocations.  85 percent desire to be involved in an active ministry such as parish work, healthcare, teaching, or prison ministry.

Click here to read the full report. 

February 22, 2007:

Hip-hop and Homophobia

Guess who’s responsible for the homophobia in hip-hop culture?

On last night’s “Paula Zahn Now,” author Tim Wise was asked how pervasive homophobia is in hip-hop culture.

Wise answered: “Well, I mean, it’s pervasive because it’s pervasive in the culture. We have a society where it’s perfectly legal to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people. So what is the bigger issue? The issue is not hip-hop, per se, putting out homophobic messages, though it does. It is a culture which is institutionally homophobic and heterosexist. We have a president who is affiliated with religious organizations and movements that believe that gay people are sick and need to be cured.” (Our emphasis.)  

Too bad he didn’t name them, citing chapter and verse.

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February 12, 2007:

France doomed to anti-Semitism: archbishop

From Breitbart.com:

The archbishop of Paris and head of the Roman Catholic Church in France, Andre Vingt-Trois, said that France was doomed to a "pandemic of anti-Semitism" during a visit to Israel.

"France is doomed to a pandemic of anti-Semitism," he told a news conference in Tel Aviv with Israeli Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog after arriving on his first visit to the Holy Land.

They (Jews) know that in a serious situation, we are ready to be at their side," Vingt-Trois said, emphasizing the "importance of relations between the Catholic church and Judaism".

Click here for full article:

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February 6, 2007:

What's the Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives?

According to the latest report from the Barna Group, "American Lifestyles Mix Compassion and Self-Oriented Behavior:"

Compared with political conservatives, liberals are more likely to recycle. But they are also more likely to use sexually explicit material, to have a non-marital sexual encounter, to steal music, to use profanity, to gamble or buy a lottery ticket, to use an illegal drug, to say mean things about others, and to get payback.

Click here to read the full report.

January 30, 2007:

Religious Profiling of Catholics

Hannity went to parochial school… 

Journalists who cover TV shows almost never bother to mention where the star of the show went to elementary school. An exception was made today by Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times. Writing about Sean Hannity’s new Sunday-night show on Fox News, and his interview with some of the gals from Nevada’s famous Bunny Ranch, Stanley said that “While Mr. Hannity, who attended Roman Catholic school, interviews scantily clad prostitutes….”

So who ever said that liberals abhor religious profiling? When it comes to Catholicism and sex, the nexus is just too irresistible not to notice.

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January 29, 2007:

Teacher Protests Union Dues over Abortion Support

A Catholic teacher who wishes to divert her dues from the Ohio Education Association due to the union's support of abortion filed a federal complaint in U.S. District Court in Columbus after her request was denied.  Under current Ohio law, only members of the Seventh-Day Adventists and the Mennonites may claim religious objection to paying union dues.  (Both denominations have a history of objecting to union membership.)

Click here to read the Catholic News Agency piece on this story. 

January 26, 2007:

Soviet Agents Smeared Pope Pius XII

Click here to read that National Review Online article "Moscow’s Assault on the Vatican" by Ion Mihai Pacepa.  Pacepa, the highest-ranking intelligence officer ever to have defected from the former Soviet bloc, discusses how Soviet agents worked to discredit the Church by smearing Pope Pius XII as a Nazi sympathizer.  Pacepa reports that the agents were even responsible for the 1963 play "The Deputy," which made popular the false notion that the pope supported Hitler.

January 25, 2007:

No Buyers for "Hounddog"

Click here to read Roger Friedman's piece for Fox News called "No Buyers for Dakota Fanning Rape Movie."

Friedman has this to say about the film:

There is no point that I can find to the child’s rape.

Once it happens, it’s never discussed. The culprit is never accused or apprehended. The child never tells her story to anyone. There’s no great moment of revelation that could possibly help someone who’s watching the film. It’s simply there for shock value.

Rehab for Rosie?

Now that ABC has forced Isaiah Washington into rehab for using an anti-homosexual slur, the time is ripe to order Rosie O’Donnell into therapy for bashing Christians. Bill Donohue has agreed to counsel Rosie pro bono.

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January 19, 2007:

More on Dakota

What do feminists think of Dakota Fanning’s child rape scene in “Hounddog?” As of today, there has been only one reply. Carol Lloyd of Salon.com wrote on January 11, “My impulse is not to worry about little Dakota’s future mental health and not to see the movie.” On January 18, Lloyd called herself “an uncompromising Western feminist.”

In other words, whether “little Dakota” has been compromised is not something this “uncompromising Western feminist” is about to worry about. Nice to know that this is what it means to be a feminist in 2007.

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Yuval Levin Gets it Right on Embryonic Stem Cells

Today's New York Times includes an op-ed piece titled "A Middle Ground for Stem Cells."  The author, Yuval Levin, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and former executive director of the President's Council on Bioethics, had this to say:

It is a simple and uncontroversial biological fact that a human life begins when an embryo is created. That embryo is human, and it is alive; its human life will last until its death, whether that comes days after conception or many decades later surrounded by children and grandchildren.

But the biological fact that a human life begins at conception does not by itself settle the ethical debate. The human embryo is a human organism, but is this being -- microscopically small, with no self-awareness and little resemblance to us -- a person, with a right to life?

Many advocates of federal financing for embryo-destructive research begin from a negative answer to that question. They argue that the human embryo is just too small, too unlike us in appearance, or too lacking in consciousness or sensitivity to pain or other critical mental capacity to be granted a place in the human family. But surely America has learned the hard way not to assign human worth by appearances. And surely we would not deny those who have lost some mental faculties the right to be regarded with respect and protected from harm. Why should we deny it to those whose faculties are still developing?

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January 17, 2007:

Frontline's "Hand of God"

Yesterday evening, the 90-minute documentary “Hand of God” aired on the PBS public affairs series “Frontline.”  In the piece, filmmaker Joe Cultrera explores the situation surrounding his brother being abused by a priest 30 years ago. 

The Catholic League does not take issue with the documentary's theme: honest investigations into what led to and contributed to the abuse scandal do not trouble us.  The problem with "Hand of God" is the disrespectful manner in which the filmmaker treats the Eucharist during a small portion of the program. 

While his brother discusses the financial settlement he received from his diocese, Cultrera shows money pouring into a collection plate, intermingled with Hosts, some broken in jagged pieces.  In another scene, hands are shown opening a package of unconsecrated Communion wafers.  They are spilled across a table as a voice-over states, "So all this stuff.  All of it.  In some ways this film has been making itself before I ever picked up a camera.  Layer upon layer and I am still trying to fit the pieces.  The bread into the blood.  The wine into the  sauce." 

For the movie to indict the behavior of those who contributed to the scandal is expected.  However, Cultrera uses the occasion to denigrate Catholic belief in Transubstantiation.  “Hand of God” could have easily been made without these attacks on the Eucharist.  That it was not reveals a clear animus against the Catholic faith. 

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January 11, 2006:

The VA and Religion

From the Associated Press (1-10-07):

The Department of Veterans Affairs' increasing use of religion in treating ailing veterans does not violate the separation of church and state, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge John Shabaz dismissed a lawsuit by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and defended the agency's practices in his decision Monday, saying religion can help patients heal and is legal when done on a voluntary basis....

The group's president, Annie Laurie Gaylor, said Tuesday it would appeal the ruling...

The lawsuit challenged the agency's practice of giving most patients spiritual assessments that ask questions about faith, such as how often they attend church and how important religion is in their lives.  Agency officials say the assessments help them determine patients' needs.

The suit also targeted VA drug and alcohol treatment programs that incorporate religion, the integration of its chaplain program into patient care and the expansion of chaplain services for outpatient veterans instead of just those at VA hospitals.

The veterans' agency, which treated 5.3 million people at its facilities in 2005, acknowledged it believes spirituality should be integrated into care but said it allows patients to decide whether that involves religion.

[The judge said that] "The choice to receive spiritual case, the choice to complete a spiritual assessment, and the choice to participate in a religious or spiritually based treatment program always remains the private choice of the veteran...Accordingly, there is no evidence of governmental indoctrination of religion."

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The ADL and Christmas Recess

From the Los Angeles Times (1-11-07):

Three newly elected school board members in southern Orange County want to rename the two-week winter vacation the "Christmas" recess...

Deborah Lauter, national civil rights director for the Anti-Defamation League, said she was dismayed by the trend, which she says values Christianity above other religions.  "Public schools should seek to be welcoming and inclusive and respect all religions, or even those with no religion," she said.

Greg Scott, a spokesman for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund in Scottsdale, whose attorneys have advised districts that they can call the vacation "Christmas" break, dismissed Lauter's concerns.  "It is a sad day in America when it is controversial to put Christmas on the school calendar," he said. "It's not leaving anybody out. It's honoring a federal holiday."

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January 9, 2007:

Glenn Beck 

On January 5, CNN’s Glenn Beck invited supermodel Janice Dickinson to talk about her life and career. In the course of the discussion, she mentioned that her father was a pedophile who tried to molest her when she was young. She advised everyone who has been molested to “tell a neighbor, tell a friend, tell a priest. Not a priest, they’re all pedophiles, but tell someone.” [Our emphasis.] Beck let her off the hook by saying—with a smile on his face—“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

On January 8, Beck discussed a movie about a pedophile priest and said that tales of sexual abuse by priests “are increasingly common these days.” This is flatly wrong: most of the molesters were homosexual priests—not pedophiles—and most of the damage was done in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. The most recent data (for 2005) show that .02 percent of priests had a credible accusation made against them.

In a day and age when it is common for everyone on TV to watch their P’s and Q’s about making sweeping statements of a negative kind, the one exception continues to be Catholic priests.

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January 8, 2007:

Michigan Atheists' Admission

The state director of Michigan Atheists, an affiliate of America Atheists, has admitted she mislead the public when she “claimed in a letter to Howell schools that the curriculum of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools has been found to be unconstitutional in four states.  The council’s curriculum has never been found to be unconstitutional” (The Detroit News, 1-6-07).

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January 5, 2007:

Newsday Strikes Again

The letter below was written by Bill Donohue is response to an article, "I'm not a racist, but...," that appeared in today's Newsday.

January 5, 2007

Mr. James Klurfeld

Newsday

235 Pinelawn Rd.

Melville, NY 11747-4250

Dear Mr. Klurfeld:

Randy Blazak’s article about hate speech is the most politically correct piece written on the subject I have seen in some time (“I’m Not a Racist, But…”, 1-5). He seems only to recognize bigotry against Jews, homosexuals and African Americans, blaming, of course, straight white Christians for everything. Like Blazak, I am a sociologist (I previously taught sociology and political science), but unlike him I do not make accusations without offering empirical evidence.

Blazak finds great meaning in the fact that one menorah was knocked down on Long Island while a Christian display was left unharmed. “Hate crimes have a defensive religious motive behind them,” he writes. Too bad he didn’t mention the scores of nativity scenes that were vandalized this past Christmas—some in places where menorahs were left unharmed—and then speculate as to who might be responsible. But then again, in his mind, there is no war on Christmas. Funny how the work of the Catholic League detailing this war was picked up by AP and reported in dozens of newspapers, here and abroad. Indeed, we posted a “Christmas Watch” listing on our website offering example after example.

Nor does Blazak seem to know that in his home state, Oregonians strongly rejected a referendum in 2004 approving gay marriage. In his mind, “racist skinheads” are the only ones who disapprove.

Blazak’s quip that “Santa Claus has been winning the war on Hanukkah” is quite revealing. There is no Christian war on Hanukkah, but there is a secular war on Christmas. It is not menorahs that are barred from display in New York City schools, just crèches. Interestingly, the ADL has filed an amicus brief in support of this discriminatory policy.

“Suburbs are the new battleground as straight white Christian men are told that somebody is trying to take their privileges away,” he writes. Again, more bashing—done in the name of fighting bigotry. Yup, it’s those straight white Catholics and Protestants who are the problem. Sorry—just those who are male. Moreover, it would be nice to know what “privileges” these guys have and who gave it to them. Are Asians, who proportionately have more college degrees than any other ethnic group, another example of a people who have been “privileged”? Or did they just happen to earn their success? Since homosexuals earn, on average, more than heterosexuals, can we assume that they, too, have been “privileged”? Or is it just those straight white Christian male types who have been “privileged”?

If Blazak wants to know where he can find real intolerance, I suggest he visit the faculty lounge and bring a tape recorder. Better yet, have a student record his own classroom lectures and then post it on the Internet. After all, I’m posting this letter on the Catholic League’s website.

Newsday does not enjoy a great reputation among many Catholics. Wonder why.

Sincerely,

William A. Donohue

President

cc: Randy Blazak

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January 4, 2007:

Lou Dobbs on the Church

One can sympathize with CNN’s Lou Dobbs over his anger at some Catholic officials who want a totally open-ended immigration policy, but this doesn’t justify his remark of January 3^rd taking the Catholic Church to task for talking about “a very secular matter.” The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and religious liberty, two rights that all members of the clergy enjoy, independent of the content of their speech. Looks like Lou needs a refresher course in Civics 101.

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January 3, 2007:

Blasphemy Challenge

MSNBC is featuring a piece from the January 8 Newsweek about a campaign run by atheists trying to get young people to deny the existence of God. BlasphemyChallenge.com is the site of this project. “The particular form of the challenge was chosen because,” the article says, “by one interpretation, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, a part of the Christian Trinity, is the only sin that can never be forgiven.” 

The Catholic League is delighted to learn that even atheists know which religion is the one true religion.

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January 2, 2007:

Washington Post's Harold Meyerson

On December 20, Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson wrote, “John Paul also sought to build his church in nations of the developing world where traditional morality and bigotry, most especially on matters sexual, were in greater supply than in secular Europe and the increasingly egalitarian United States, and more in sync with the Catholic Church’s inimitable backwardness.”

Bill Donohue said Meyerson’s statement “smacks of elitism, anti-Catholicism and racism”; his letter to the editor was published December 30.

On December 31, Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell labeled Meyerson’s comment “a pretty broad statement.” 

So who was bent out of shape by Howell’s slap on the wrist? MediaMatters.com. Its column of January 2 took Howell to task for mildly criticizing Meyerson. Not surprisingly, it had absolutely nothing to say regarding Meyerson’s elitism, anti-Catholicism and racism.

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The Catholic League is the nation's largest Catholic civil rights organization. It defends individual Catholics and the institutional Church from defamation and discrimination.