Catholics who eat meat on Good Friday will receive free concert tickets. That’s what listeners of KDMX radio in Dallas were told on Good Friday. We didn’t think it was funny and so we let them know. Rick Hinshaw, the league’s director of communications, placed a call to the station and was told that this was [...]
It’s not everyday that an author is asked whether he practices his religion and whether it impacts on the way he writes. Unless he’s Catholic. On April 5, in an unusually unfriendly interview with historian Paul Johnson, Brian Lamb, on C-Span’s "Booknotes," began probing the author of A History of the American People about his religion. Lamb: "Almost [...]
On March 25, by a vote of 31-5 with one abstention, the House International Relations Committee voted to accept the Religious Persecution Act (H.R. 2431). Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia, who is spearheading this important legislation, is determined to stop the existing practice of allowing nations that practice religious persecution to get off scot-free. The Catholic [...]
On March 16, the Vatican issued a long-awaited document on the Holocaust, "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah." The document was not an apology, but it was a call for repentance. It stated the Church’s understanding of the causes of Hitlerism, the mixed response of Catholics to the Holocaust and the role which Pope Pius [...]
Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), headed by Frances-the Quisling-Kissling, has been explicitly labeled by American bishops as an inauthentic Catholic organization. But that has not stopped Kissling from lecturing the bishops on how to do their job. The growing trend of Catholic hospitals merging with secular medical institutions has been the subject of much controversy, [...]
Hollywood’s fascination with religion continues with "The Prophecy II." It stars Christopher Walken as the evil angel Gabriel; having been cast out of hell, Gabriel seeks to create havoc in heaven and on earth. Gabriel pursues a nurse who is to give birth to a half-angel child. The nurse is played by Jennifer Beals, of "Flashdance" [...]
It’s hard to say what the motivation is, but there is little question that Dolce & Gabanna seems obsessed with Our Blessed Mother. In last month’s Catalyst, we noted the designer’s dress that featured a full-length picture of Madonna, her head placed squarely in the pelvic area; we also noted the crude comments that Hollywood actors had [...]
K-Rock radio in New York hosts Howard Stern and likes to play Marilyn-the Satanist-Manson tunes. So it wasn’t a shocker to learn that one of its D.J.’s recently ripped Pope John Paul II on the air. Here’s a pretty close account of what "Cane" the D.J. had to say. "Man, am I glad I was raised [...]
The Philadelphia/South Jersey chapter of the Catholic League, headed by Arthur Delaney, is supporting the efforts of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in opposing a "life partners" bill. The legislation seeks to put alternative lifestyles on the same legal, social and moral plane as the institution of marriage. The Philadelphia chapter placed an ad in Catholic Standards [...]
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, owned by the wealthy Richard Mellon Scaife, is known for its conservative political bent, especially when it comes to financing its war against President Clinton. Not as well known is its raging enthusiasm for the politics of abortion. Another addition to its legacy is affording columnists an opportunity to bash Catholicism. On April 4, [...]
