On December 13, the day Cardinal Bernard Law resigned, William Donohue issued the following remarks to the press: “Most Catholics are greeting the resignation of Cardinal Law with a sigh of relief and sadness. While no one blames Cardinal Law for the entire scandal in the Church, his departure nonetheless represents an important step towards recapturing... [Read more...]
“HOLIDAY WARS” EXPLODE: COURTS ENTER THE FRAY
The “Holiday Wars” controversy over the propriety of putting religious symbols on public property drew a response this past Christmas season from the Supreme Court. On November 29, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens ruled that the city of Cincinnati could not bar the display of a menorah on a downtown plaza during the holidays. The municipal... [Read more...]
DISSENT AND DOUBLE STANDARDS
One of the most spectacular canards of our day is the notion that the Catholic Church is a dictatorship. Not only is this patently untrue, the fact of the matter is that part of the reason the sex abuse scandal took place is due to a collapse of discipline. Yet the myth of tyranny continues. Dictatorships are marked by involuntary conditions: its subjects... [Read more...]
A “MORAL” CRUSADE AGAINST CATHOLICISM Daniel Goldhagen’s Unsavory Treatment of the Wartime Church
By Bronwen Catherine McShea Daniel J. Goldhagen’s latest book, A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair, purports to be a much-needed “moral philosophical” contribution to a troubled field of scholarship. Standing on the shoulders of other critics of Pope Pius XII’s wartime Church—James... [Read more...]
RIPPING UP THE RELIGIOUS ROOTS OF CHRISTMAS
As the lead story in this issue of Catalyst indicates, the “Holiday Wars” lost no steam in 2002. Here are some other examples of how deracinated our culture is becoming: Every December on New York’s Park Avenue the Helmsley Building nightly features a huge display of lights in the shape of a cross. This is the first year it has been discontinued. GAP... [Read more...]
HATE GROUP PROMOTES CLONING
On December 27, Brigitte Boisselier, the head of Clonaid, said her company was responsible for the world’s first cloned human baby; the company is tied to a religious group by the name Raelian. William Donohue strongly protested this outrageous development: “A woman who calls herself a Raelian ‘bishop’ holds a press conference alleging that... [Read more...]
THE HYPOCRISY OF TERRY McAULIFFE
When Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Terry McAuliffe called on Republican leaders to “denounce” recent statements made by Senator Trent Lott regarding the record of Senator Strom Thurmond, William Donohue didn’t hold back in commenting to the media. “There is no question that what Senator Trent Lott said was inexcusable,” Donohue... [Read more...]
DEMOCRATIC HOPEFULS PUT ON THE SPOT
On December 17, William Donohue wrote a letter to Democratic hopefuls for the presidency in 2004 asking them to oppose the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) association with an anti-Catholic organization, Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC); the DNC provides a link on its website to CFFC. Donohue’s letter was sent to the following: Senator... [Read more...]
DAVID E. KELLEY’S OBSESSION CONTINUES
In the last issue of Catalyst, we cited the Catholic-bashing script of David E. Kelley’s November 10 episode of the ABC show “The Practice.” We also mentioned his obsession with Catholicism. Kelley, it should be noted, is Protestant. He continued his obsession on November 17 with another episode of “The Practice.” Then on December 2 he... [Read more...]
NEWSDAY’S BRESLIN MERITS DISMISSAL
William Donohue sent the following news release to all 134 parishes on Long Island: “Jimmy Breslin is out of control and Newsday is irresponsible for not firing him. It is one thing to write critically of the Catholic Church, quite another to slander the Church and its leaders. In 2002, Breslin wrote 31 articles mentioning the Catholic Church and... [Read more...]