An ad by Absolut, the vodka product of Sweden, met objections from the Catholic League because it exploited the Catholic sacrament of Holy Eucharist. The ad, which appeared on p. 321 of the March issue of Vogue, is a story-book tale about a priest on an island. Throughout the ad, reference is made to many Catholic symbols and themes, all but one of... [Read more...]
ANTI-CATHOLIC AD APPEARS AGAIN
Last spring, the Catholic League wrote to David Lawrence, publisher of the Miami Herald, asking him not to accept any more anti-Catholic ads from the Eternal Gospel SDA Church. In response, Lawrence pledged not to allow the identical ad again. To the league’s dismay, his paper ran the very same bigoted ad on February 28. The ad is one of those dumb... [Read more...]
ATHEISM, ANTI-CATHOLICISM AND PARANOIA
by William A. Donohue At the conclusion of John M. Swomley’s article in the January/February edition of The Humanist, the credits read that he is “emeritus professor of social ethics at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, and president of Americans for Religious Liberty.” It would be more accurate to say that Swomley... [Read more...]
“FOUR CORNERS” WAS NO “NOTHING SACRED”
The CBS show, “Four Corners,” was cut after just two shows. The drama featured a Catholic priest who was pursued by an attractive young woman. In its debut, “Four Corners” ranked 65th in program households for the week of Feb. 23-March 1, posting a modest 6.9/11 ratings/share split; the second show lost 45% of its audience from... [Read more...]
HORMEL STILL IN THE RUNNING
In the last issue of Catalyst, we mentioned that the Catholic League was challenging the Clinton nomination of James Hormel to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg; Hormel refuses to retract his endorsement of the anti-Catholic group, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. At press time, he was still in the running. It seems that Hormel’s generosity... [Read more...]
KEEPING HOLY WEEK HOLY
Carl Horst, president of the San Diego chapter of the Catholic League, has kept a close watch on the public school calendar as it impacts on Easter. Last year he protested a decision made by area schools to hold class on Good Friday, and this year he took aim at the 1998-1999 calendar because it doesn’t allow for spring break to coincide with Holy... [Read more...]
LEAGUE TARGETED IN NOVEL
In a new novel by Mary Gordon, the Catholic League is introduced as a censorial agent. In Spending, Gordon refers to the “Catholic Defense League” as an activist organization that protests the artistic work of Monica Szabo. Spending is a sex novel about a jaded artist who wants to put a new spin on pictures of “dead Christs.”... [Read more...]
MARYLAND JUDGE VIOLATES CHURCH-STATE BOUNDARIES
Frederick County Circuit Judge Mary Ann Stepler has issued a preliminary injunction ordering a Catholic high school to allow two of its students, who have been expelled, to attend school pending a trial. The students, a boy and a girl, were expelled after a sexual encounter in the hallway of the school; they are suing on grounds of racial discrimination.... [Read more...]
MEDIA BIAS IN OHIO CRIME STORY
It happens all the time. Someone who commits a crime and attends a Catholic school has his religion gratuitously cited. Only this time, the reference was more than unnecessary, it was inaccurate. Audrey Iacona is a 17 year-old Ohio girl convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of her newborn baby boy. While she formerly attended Holy Name... [Read more...]
MUDSLINGING AT MUHLENBERG
Muhlenberg is a small college in Eastern Pennsylvania that, up until now, has never caught our attention. That changed when we learned that a controversial statement about Our Blessed Mother was made on campus; we also objected to a slam at Pope Pius XII. In the library of the school stood an icon of Mary, complete with a statement that chastised Catholics... [Read more...]