As this issue of Catalyst details, the annual Christmas war with secularists continued in 2006. The good news is that our side fought back with greater determination this past Christmas season than ever before. Our ad in the New York Times (see the November Catalyst), got us off to a quick start. The Christmas war impacts everyone. Battles were... [Read more...]
REWARDING BIGOTRY
The Thomas More Law Center, representing the Catholic League, is appealing a decision by a federal judge who declared that an anti-Catholic resolution passed last year by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was constitutional. The resolution, which was adopted last March, was one of the most vitriolic condemnations of the Catholic Church ever made... [Read more...]
WE DON’T HAVE TO LIE
Those of us who are pro-life have two major advantages over our adversaries: a) the scientific evidence is on our side—life begins at conception, and b) we don’t have to lie. It is this second advantage, the moral advantage, that is the subject of this article. The other side has a difficult time just honestly describing who they are. They shun... [Read more...]
ELECTION UPDATE
Attempts to stop the referendum in California on gay marriage failed, but they succeeded in Florida in derailing the referendum on school vouchers. Regarding the California initiative, all the state’s bishops signed a strong statement urging Catholics to support the traditional understanding of marriage as a male-female union. The November results... [Read more...]
THE SECULAR CRUSADE AGAINST RELIGION
Dinesh D’Souza This article is adapted from Dinesh D’Souza’s new book The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, just published by Doubleday. Is Osama Bin Laden right when he alleges that America is a pagan society, the “leading power of the unbelievers”? Bin Laden and the Islamic radicals... [Read more...]
ANTI-CHRISTMAS FEVER ABOUNDS
Like most Jews, Olympic skater Sasha Cohen is not offended by Christmas carols. But that didn’t stop a government employee from trying to protect her. While Cohen was skating at a rink in Riverside, California, a high school choir started singing “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” immediately sending Michelle Baldwin into orbit. She summoned... [Read more...]
SEATTLE AIRPORT CHRISTMAS DEBACLE
A rabbi from Seattle threatened to sue the Port of Seattle if an eight-foot menorah wasn’t erected at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) to “balance” Christmas trees there. Airport officials responded by removing the trees. Don Feder of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation and Bill Donohue issued a statement to the press.... [Read more...]
HANDS OFF SANTA!
At Brandeis Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky, a teacher asked her students to make a Christmas tree out of paper; it was put on her bulletin board. But when a Jewish teacher said she was offended, she complained to the principal, Shervita West-Jordan, and got her wish. According to a news report, “She, and the teacher who complained,... [Read more...]
CRECHES ON PUBLIC PROPERTY ARE LEGAL
Note: At press time, the Supreme Court of the United States had yet to decide on whether it would hear the case on allowing a crèche in New York City public schools. On December 18, the Catholic League erected a nativity scene in New York’s Central Park; it was located on the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, right near the Plaza. As we... [Read more...]
BABY JESUS EVICTED FROM MICHIGAN TOWN
In December 2005, the ACLU threatened a lawsuit against Berkley, Michigan unless a crèche outside the city hall was removed. This past November, the Berkley City Council voted 6-1 to remove it, angering many of the residents who packed the building. There is a lot of blame to go around. First, there is the ACLU, an organization that is so terrified... [Read more...]