There they go fighting the Reformation again. It is with this sense of exasperation that we read an article in the Evangelical publication, World. The name of the piece, “On the eve of saints,” contains the ruminations of Andree Sec, a Catholic-turned-Evangelical who has a need to vent in public. Sec isn’t too worried about Halloween,... [Read more...]
GOOD GUILT AND BAD GUILT
When people make light fun of their own religion, race or ethnic group in the company of like persons, that’s one thing. It’s quite another when someone who doesn’t belong to the group does so. It was in this vein that we greeted Marie Osmond’s remark about Catholic guilt. In a segment on Larry King, the Mormon singer replied to a comment that... [Read more...]
HATING CATHOLICS
The hate mail that comes into the Catholic League, on a rather steady basis, offers proof of the hatred against Catholics. We say this knowing that some will say there is a difference between hating the Catholic League and hating Catholics. Of course there is, but it is also true that much of the hatred towards the league is expressed in a manner that... [Read more...]
SEX SURVEY BY KANSAS CITY STAR BACKFIRES
When the Catholic League learned that the Kansas City Star commenced a sex survey of Roman Catholic priests, it immediately decided to follow suit by issuing its own survey of the newspaper’s staff. On October 15, Mark Zieman, editor and vice president of the Kansas City Star, sent a letter to Roman Catholic priests, all of whom were randomly selected... [Read more...]
LEAGUE OPPPOSES KKK
On October 23, Ku Klux Klan members held a “White Pride” rally in New York City. The Klansmen were forced to march without their hoods: a decision by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an 1845 statute in New York barring groups from congregating in public places in masks or disguises, except for authorized parties or entertainment,... [Read more...]
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART HOSTS ANTI-NUN FILM
This fall, New York’s Museum of Modern Art played host for the premiere of “Women In Black,” a one-hour documentary on Catholic nuns produced and directed by Claudia Sherwood. The film was described as a “kaleidoscope of baby boomers’ memories” that featured “childhood experiences of physical and psychological punishment... [Read more...]
RELIGION IN THE SCHOOLS
When the Catholic League learned that an anti-Catholic book was being used in a public school in Cooperstown, North Dakota, we immediately asked the superintendent of schools for an explanation. We are happy to report that the book will no longer be referenced by the teacher. Here’s what happened. Handouts from a book by Ralph Woodrow, Babylon’s... [Read more...]
CORNWELL’S ERRORS: REVIEWING HITLER’S POPE
Ronald J. Rychlak John Cornwell’s new book, Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII, turns out to be a deeply flawed attack on Pope John Paul II. That’s right, the final chapter is actually an attack on the current plaintiff. Cornwell is disturbed by John Paul’s “conservative” positions on celibate clergy,... [Read more...]
THE PRIEST AND THE MODEL
It is no secret that the media love conflict. Or that the tensions between sex and religion make for good copy. But when the media force a conflict between sex and religion—especially when the religion is Catholicism—they can expect to hear from the Catholic League. That’s what happened in the case of media hype over a yet-to-be shown CBS series,... [Read more...]
TIME SHOWS BIAS—AGAIN
Time has a thing about Catholicism. We don’t know exactly why, but it is clear that the magazine treats the Church with great suspicion. And that’s putting it kindly. In a November 15 story on Catholic hospital mergers with non-Catholic institutions, Timeflagged the story in its index by questioning, “Are church-run institutions imposing... [Read more...]