A new book that Catholic League members will not want to miss is now available from Our Sunday Visitor. Anti-Catholicism in American Culture is a series of essays which includes the Center for Media and Public Affairs’ newest report on media coverage of the Catholic Church. The book is edited by Robert Lockwood, former president of the publishing... [Read more...]
BROOKLYN MUSEUM DEBATE RAGES TO THE END
The debate over the Brooklyn Museum of Art exhibition, “Sensation,” raged until its final day on January 9. The Catholic League led a protest of the painting, “The Holy Virgin Mary,” which featured a dung-splattered portrait of Our Blessed Mother laden with pornographic pictures. To say the least, the debate drew some unusual... [Read more...]
CANDIDATES ADDRESS RELIGION
The presidential campaign is off and running and already the Catholic League has entered the fray. In December, the league defended candidates from both parties on the subject of religion and politics. Presidential candidates George W. Bush and Gary Bauer were defended by William Donohue when they both invoked the name of Christ in a nationally-televised... [Read more...]
CATHOLICISM IN AMERICA
Joseph Varacalli is an astute observer of the American Catholic scene, and in his new book, Bright Promise, Failed Community: Catholics and the American Public Order, he describes how and why Catholic America has essentially failed to shape the American Republic in any significant way. Varacalli turns his sociologically-trained eye to uncovering the... [Read more...]
CATHOLICS RIPPED ON SITCOMS AND DRAMAS
In mid-December, within the space of three days, three network television shows featured lines that were offensive to Catholics. In the December 13 episode of the CBS sitcom, “Becker,” there was a segment about a Christmas pageant that revolved around Joseph and Mary. Dr. Becker, played by Ted Danson, at one point told the man dressed as... [Read more...]
CHRISTMAS CONTROVERIES CONTINUE
The old battle between those who want crèches and menorahs on public property and those who don’t was fought again in December 1999. In Somerset, Massachusetts a coalition of residents got together to remove a nativity scene and a menorah from the grounds of the Town Office Building. The group was an assembly of Catholic, Protestant and Jewish clergymen... [Read more...]
CNN OFFERS CLARIFICATION
On December 15, on CNN’s “Showbiz Today,” CNN correspondent Gloria Hillard commented that the Catholic League had successfully killed the TV show, “Nothing Sacred.” She then said that “Protests, angry campaigns, and even death threats accompanied the opening of ‘Dogma.’” Next to speak was Kevin Smith, the writer/director... [Read more...]
A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM “DATELINE”
The NBC show, “Dateline,” gave Catholics a Christmas present by featuring a segment on a Catholic-operated mental hospital that existed in Quebec a half-century ago. The segment, “Suffer the Little Children; Orphans Sent to Mental Hospitals Demand Restitution,” showed the Catholic Church at its worst; it aired on December 21. The... [Read more...]
DISNEY/MIRAMAX TAKE A DIVE
Many in the media often question the Catholic League strategy of protesting movies we object to, arguing that we are only drawing more attention to the films, thus securing greater proceeds for the offender. But if this were necessarily true, then how does one explain the fact that both Disney and its subsidiary, Miramax, have taken a beating lately? Third-quarter... [Read more...]
“DOGMA’S” CURIOUS FANS
The movie “Dogma” didn’t do too well at the box office—after 12 weeks it pulled in a measly $27 million—but the critics, being for the most part critical of the Catholic Church, liked it. Indeed, some loved it so much they voted it one of the ten best movies of 1999. Among “Dogma’s” fans were priests. Father John Kirwin,... [Read more...]