Every school year we get legitimate complaints from our members about school calendars that recognize Jewish holidays by name but not Christian ones. This year is no exception as complaints have been fielded from Cincinnati, Ohio, Peekskill, New York and other parts of the country. The way it usually works is like this. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur... [Read more...]
When people talk about the commercialization of Christmas, they usually mean the extent to which material indulgence has overwhelmed the celebration of a sacred event. But there is a secularizing trend going on that is, on many counts, even more offensive than the empty-headed pursuit of profit: the introduction of ersatz nativity sets. It used to be... [Read more...]
Testimony of William A. Donohue, Ph.D., President, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights before the United States Civil Rights Commission on May 20, 1998 during a Public Hearing on Schools and Religion. I very much appreciate the opportunity to testify today on the subject of schools and religion. As president of the nation’s largest Catholic... [Read more...]
by Sister Margherita Marchione With the issuance of the Vatican document, “We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah,” voices adversely judging Pope Pius XII’s alleged “silence” have increased. Some writers are igniting flames of hatred by claiming that the Catholic Church is responsible for the Holocaust. The evidence is overwhelmingly... [Read more...]
Sister Margherita Marchione Catalyst, June 1998 With the issuance of the Vatican document, “We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah,” voices adversely judging Pope Pius XII’s alleged “silence” have increased. Some writers are igniting flames of hatred by claiming that the Catholic Church is responsible for the Holocaust.... [Read more...]
by William A. Donohue (5/20/1998) Testimony of William A. Donohue, Ph.D., President, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights before the United States Civil Rights Commission on May 20, 1998 during a Public Hearing on Schools and Religion. I very much appreciate the opportunity to testify today on the subject of schools and religion. As president... [Read more...]
by Sister Margherita Marchione Pope Pius XII was not a German collaborator nor was he pro-Nazi. Neither was he inactive nor silent. As a member of the Catholic Church, I resent the blatant accusations against the diplomacy of the Pope and the Church during World War II. This is not only indecent journalism but it also an injustice toward a man who saved... [Read more...]
In many parts of the country, this past Christmas was marked by conflict over its public celebration. The Catholic League was engaged in battles over the public display of crèches, winning some and losing some. In Lorain, Ohio, the ACLU threatened to sue city officials for erecting a crèche in Veterans Park; the ACLU director who led the charge is... [Read more...]
In a story that received national attention, the Catholic League protested a painting that hung in the front window of the Art Students League in New York City. The painting, by Robert Cenedella, showed Santa Claus nailed to a cross, hovering over New York. The artist claimed that his work was designed to protest the commercialization of Christmas. The... [Read more...]
Travelers Insurance Company trespassed on the rights of Robert Cospito and lost. The Catholic League saw to that. On December 17, the New York Times ran a remarkable story by David Gonzalez on the decision of Travelers to deny further coverage to Cospito on the grounds that his house was a church. Cospito, who lives in Forest Hills, Queens, called... [Read more...]