Examples of anti-Catholic bigotry that appear in this report are culled from activist organizations, the arts, commercial establishments, education, government, the media and the workplace; acts of violence are also detailed. The commentary that follows will address each of these areas. But first a word about the difference between criticism of the Catholic Church and rank bigotry.

There is a difference between those who choose to disagree and dispute and those who prefer to disdain and disparage. There is a difference between criticism and insult. And there is a difference between dialogue and diatribe. Our concern is with the latter responses only. To be frank, it is not always easy to discern whether a line has been crossed. Context is surely important, as is tone. Patterns matter, too, for if we see that the same person or organization repeatedly comes to our attention, it suggests that something other than criticism might be at work. Inevitably, there is no substitute for sound judgment in making these assessments. In the end, the public will judge whether we have made the right calls or not.

There was no shortage of ill-will expressed by activist organizations against the Catholic Church in 1994. The anti-Catholic group, Catholics for a Free Choice, took to the airwaves lambasting the Vatican for its teachings governing the family. This was especially noticeable at the Cairo Conference and the Preparatory Committee hearings that preceded it at the U.N. Frances Kissling led a band of population control activists in a vain attempt to persuade U.N. member states to expel the Holy See from the Vatican. But that didn’t stop Kissling, Bella Abzug and others from trying to discredit the Catholic Church.

The degree of anti-Catholic venom was so bad in Cairo that the Ambassador from Benin rose to say how “disgraceful” the behavior was. Indeed, the booing that greeted Catholic delegates was so great that the Ambassador said he never saw anything like it. He was not the only one who noted that the incivility that was accorded representatives of the Holy See was so unprecedented that even acknowledged terrorists who have spoken before the august body have never had to endure such badgering. Evidently, the Church’s positions on the integrity of the family and the rights of the unborn is so distasteful to some that they can’t restrain from making vitriolic attacks.

If Cairo demonstrated anything, it is that there is a close alliance between the activists involved in the anti-natalist, feminist, gay and lesbian causes. The unifying thread between organizations like Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women and the various gay and lesbian organizations is their belief that all expressions of human sexuality are equally meritorious and that eliminating the consequences of unlimited sexual expression is a fundamental human right. As such, these organizations entertain a view of life that is anathema to Catholic doctrine. More important, it puts these organizations on a political collision course with the Vatican.

If there was one event in 1994 that activist organizations engaged in that was particularly offensive to Catholics it was the illegal gay march that took place up New York’s Fifth Avenue on June 26. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani succeeded in getting a court order to stop the march (another, much bigger, gay parade had already been given the right to march up First Avenue), but when the group decided to march anyway, Mayor Giuliani not only allowed it to proceed with impunity, he ordered the New York Police Department to escort the criminals up the street. But it is what happened on Fifth Avenue that angered Catholics most of all.

The radical gay contingent that chose to march up Fifth Avenue did so for one reason: so that they could partake in an anti-Catholic demonstration in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. When the marchers reached the Cathedral, they yelled—in unison—four-letter epithets and pointed their middle fingers at those on the steps of the church. Some were dressed as Cardinals, others as nuns and priests, and many wore nothing at all. They sat down in the street, did satanic dances and generally showed as much disrespect as they could. No one was arrested, not even those who went fully naked through the streets.

What was particularly odious about this case was the refusal of anyone in the New York media to brand the marchers as anti-Catholic bigots. Yet had this happened in front of a Jewish synagogue or a black Baptist church, the charge of bigotry would have been quick and decisive. Indeed, it is doubtful that the Mayor would even have authorized the parade in the first place. And even though Mayor Giuliani is a Catholic, he not only allowed the march to take place,

he never blasted the parade for what it was—a vile, public exhibition of anti-Catholic bigotry.

The arts community weighed in with contributions to Catholic-bashing as well. Ron Athey not only put on several despicable anti-Catholic shows, he received public monies for doing so. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) showed in 1994 that it was not going to flinch from critics who have labeled some of what it funds as anti-Catholic. It is an outrage that Catholics, and others, are forced to fund Athey’s abuse of Catholic imagery so that he can indulge in sexually explicit and vulgar statements. Yet when pressed on this issue, Jane Alexander of the NEA continues to recite the same old lyric about free speech, never questioning the right of artists to pick the pocket of the public to pay for their perversities.

Even commercial establishments proved not to be immune from anti-Catholic artists in 1994. Barneys of New York, the upscale clothing store, put a vulgar nativity scene in its window on Madison Avenue and 61st Street, explaining to its critics that no one has any right to pass value judgments on the work of artists. The display, “Hello Kitty Cat,” showed our Blessed Mother as a cat with six nipples exposed and her legs spread wide apart. Fortunately, the Catholic League was able to mount public pressure to get Barneys to pull the obscenity within hours after going public with our objections.

Catholic-bashing in the schools is a real problem and this is especially true at the level of higher education. Carnegie Mellon University, Western Michigan University, the University of Kansas, William Paterson College and Metropolitan State College in Denver all drew fire from the Catholic League in 1994. Though the incidents were different at each school, there was a common denominator: the Catholic Church was targeted because of its beliefs. What was most disturbing, however, was the extent to which administrators tolerated such intolerance, especially given the much vaunted interest in multiculturalism that all of them claim to have.

The Catholic League is concerned that programs in multiculturalism are actually fomenting the bigotry they claim to be fighting. Where is the evidence that suggests that respect for the traditions and beliefs of Roman Catholic students are taken seriously in such curricula? Where are the sensitivity seminars and workshops to stop religio-phobia from breaking out all over? Why is it that some cultures are to be valued more than others and that the Judeo-Christian heritage is fair game for bashing?

At the local, state and national levels of government, many incidents of anti-Catholicism were reported. In local communities, there was much dissension over the inequitable treatment that was afforded expression of the Christmas season. At least in some parts of the country, it proved to be quite controversial for nativity scenes to be placed on public property and in the schools, even when every precaution was taken to be in compliance with Supreme Court rulings on this subject. Yet the placement of menorahs met with relatively little complaint, making Catholics, and Christians in general, wonder what was going on. They were even more perplexed to learn that at the federal level, there was an attempt to nix religious stamps.

The Catholic League was particularly disturbed by the lame response of Governor Christie Todd Whitman of New Jersey to a serious incident of Catholic-bashing at a state college. When the Catholic League asked Governor Whitman to do something about the outrageously anti-Catholic antics of Professor Vernon McLean, and the equally outrageous response of the administration, we got nowhere. It took Governor Whitman four months to answer our request for assistance and then we got nothing but a “I’ve-accepted-the-findings-of-the-college” type response. In short, the same woman who publicly condemned one boardwalk vendor for selling anti-gay T-shirts couldn’t muster one word of protest over an egregious anti-Catholic incident at a school that is under her tutelage.

The Clinton Administration also drew fire from the Catholic League in 1994. We were particularly incensed with the way administration officials tolerated the Catholic-bashing that took place at the Cairo Conference. We took note, too, that even President Clinton’s own Ambassador to the Vatican, Raymond Flynn, complained to the President in a letter about the “ugly anti-Catholic bias” that some in the administration have shown. Indeed, the Catholic League even paid for a half-page Open Letter to the President in the New York Times to address the bigoted remark of a State Department spokeswoman made just prior to the Cairo Conference.

This report cites many examples of bias in the media, including offensive cartoons. Do the newspapers ever caricature rabbis or ministers? Or do they only pick on the Pope, priests and nuns? It certainly does not exaggerate by much to say that they “only” pick on our clergy and religious. Sure, the hierarchal nature of the Catholic Church, coupled with its countercultural positions, makes for an easy target, but the fact remains that there are lots of easy targets in society, yet only a few seem to be fair game. In short, the Catholic Church is not one of the sacred cows that the media like to protect.

When assessing anti-Catholicism in the media, it is important not to confuse criticism of Church policies with unadulterated bigotry. One index of bigotry, however, is the constancy of critical commentary to the exclusion of anything favorable. For example, those who read the columns of Margery Egan in the Boston Globe, or have read the pieces that Anna Quindlen used to write for the New York Times, are not wrong to wonder whether there is an animus at work. Why is it that they consistently choose to portray the Church in the most negative possible way? While any one column, standing on its own, might not warrant the tag of bigotry, the cumulative effect of persistently critical articles might very well merit such a charge.

Here’s another example. The media like to report on divisions—contrived and real–within the Catholic Church. But few reports were as obviously shaded as the one that took place in the fall of 1994 when nuns protested in St. Peter’s Square. TheWashington Post gave it a big spread and the Today Show featured it as well. So what’s wrong with giving wide coverage to nuns demonstrating in St. Peter’s Square? When the number doing so is exactly four, it begs the question, “Just how few would it take for the media not to report on it?” Three? Two? One?

Bigotry in the workplace is another problem, though it is markedly different than the type that took place in the past. There was a time, not too long ago, when it was commonplace for Catholics to be excluded from jobs because of their religion. The more common problem these days, as this log indicates, occurs when religious symbols are displayed at works.

It must also be said that if a Catholic employee makes public his or her commitment to the rights of the unborn, problems on the job may very well be forthcoming. Indeed, college graduates who have been active in pro-life work would be well advised not to flag their contribution in a resume. But if the students were involved in abortion rights affiliations, that would be acceptable. Problems like these do not show up in a report like this because of the difficulty of proving bigotry, but anyone who is in a position to know about situations like this will verify its veracity.

It is our expectation that this report will provide skeptics with information that they might not have come upon otherwise. We also hope to educate fellow Catholics to the nature of the assault that is being waged against their religion. Most Americans are fair-minded people who, when presented with a record of indefensible behavior, will respond with indignation. The time has come to rally that indignation in a manner that is as constructive as it is effective. By issuing this report, the Catholic League hopes to contribute that end.

William A. Donohue, Ph.D.
President

2/9/94

Washington, DC – The League defended Pope John Paul II against attacks by a representative of a splinter group of Seventh Day Adventists on a local radio station. The sect had been sponsoring billboards in southern states displaying a drawing of the Holy Father with the caption “Man of Sin.”

2/18/94

Franklin County, VT – The Franklin County Superior Court dismissed the case brought by Catholics for a Free Choice against Charles and Susan Baker, owner of Regal Art Press, who refused to print membership cards for the anti-Catholic, pro-abortion organization. Judge Linda Levitt, ruling on behalf of the Bakers (who are Catholic) said “it cannot be said as a matter of law that the state of Vermont’s interest in eliminating discrimination overrides a person’s rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion.” On appeal, the Vermont Supreme Court sent the case back to Superior Court for retrial.

3/4/94

Brooklyn, NY – Khalid Abdul Muhammad, spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, spoke at the Slave Theatre in Brooklyn. There he asserted that the Catholic religion was filled with “homosexuality and pedophiles” and likened Catholic priests to mass murderer and cannibal, Jeffrey Dahmer.

3/11/94

Boston, MA – The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld a lower court ruling that the annual Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade, sponsored by the South Boston Allied War Veteran’s Council, had to include the Irish American Gay Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston (GLIB) with a banner. Judge Harold Flannery, in his ruling, held that the parade was “more akin to a social association” than a parade, and ruled the parade “an open recreational event,” subject, therefore to the laws governing public accommodations. In response to the decision, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council canceled the parade.

3/17/94

New York, NY – Members of ILGO, the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization, and other homosexual protesters and supporters, were arrested after holding a protest and blocking the street in response to their exclusion as a marching unit in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Protesters anti-Catholic statements included signs; a “choir” (including one member dressed as a nun) singing “God is a Lesbian” to the tune of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”; etc.. New York State Attorney General Oliver Koppell, Al Sharpton and City Councilman Thomas Duane were among those on hand to show their support. All charges against the protesters were later dropped on the grounds that their arrest violated their free rights.

4/3/94

Washington, DC – ACT-UP threatened to demonstrate against James Cardinal Hickey and break into the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Easter Sunday while the Cardinal was saying Mass. The threat came in response to remarks the cardinal made in a letter to President Clinton. The League threatened to use the RICO statute if a church break-in did occur. None did.

4/4-22/94

New York, NY – The three-week-long Preparatory Committee meeting of the International Conference on Population and Development included numerous vicious attacks on the church. Planned Parenthood launched an especially vicious attack when they, along with various population control organizations around the world, signed the “Letter To The Delegates At Prep Com III” in which they said, “To impose one religious perspective on a whole continent or world-wide is imperious and unacceptable.” (Emphasis in original.) Those representative of non-governmental organizations opposing the position of the Holy See passed out anti- Catholic stickers, buttons with the words “Papal Control” covered over by the international “No” symbol, and anti- Catholic literature. The unofficial daily newspaper of the conference, Earth Times, regularly included cartoons and articles mocking the Pope and the Vatican envoy present at the conference.

5/9/94

Los Angeles – Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice, charged in the Los Angeles Times that the Catholic Church was fill of “hatred of women and fear of sexuality,” explaining that this is what accounts for the Church’s positions on birth control and abortion. “Misogyny is alive and well at the Vatican,” she added, and “women’s lives still rank at the bottom when it comes to respect, much less value.”

6/18-26/94

New York, NY – Numerous groups participated in commemorating the 25^thanniversary of the Stonewall rebellion. Many of the activities, both those endorsed by the official organization (Stonewall 25) and those planned by other groups to coincide with the celebration, were blatantly anti-Catholic. The most outrageous examples of the deep-seated hostility directed at the Catholic Church included the following:

June 24 – Dignity, an organization of homosexuals who purport to be faithful Catholics yet live in direct opposition to Church teachings, held a demonstration across the street form St. Patrick’s Cathedral and featured a defrocked priest as one of their speakers.

June 25 – Dignity hosted a “Mass” at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church on Park Avenue. Attendees were greeted by a man wearing earrings, a necklace and short leather pants, and were treated to a New Age hymn, the Lord’s Prayer beginning with “Our Mother/ Father in Heaven…”; and a homily by Dr. Mary Hunt. Dr. Hunt attempted to make a distinction between the “hierarchical Church” and the “real Church.” Episcopal priest (and former Catholic priest) Ronald E. F. Hoskins presided.

June 26 – An illegal gay parade was held with marchers proceeding up Fifth Avenue past St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Many of the demonstrators were either fully or half-naked. Participants in the parade shouted four-letter words, on command, and pointed their middle fingers at the Cathedral. The marchers laid down in the street, holding up traffic. Some were dressed in mock religious attire, some in satanic garb. The choice of an illegal march down Fifth Avenue was made specifically to lambaste the Church and Cardinal O’Connor.

6/23/94

New York, NY – The Youth Education League of ACT-UP began a campaign of destruction when it printed and posted handbills denouncing an anti-condom ad being run by the Catholic League. The handbills, which were placed directly over the League’s ad, read in part “It is no secret the Catholic League would sooner see you die than use a condom.” This action came following calls to censor the ad, numerous threats of destruction, and the defacement and removal of countless posters, some of which were then returned to League headquarters.

7/11/94

Washington, DC – In a statement designed to discredit the Vatican and stir up old prejudices, Catholics for a Free Choice president Frances Kissling charged that “The Vatican cannot be allowed to set policy for the whole world.” What she was referring to was the free speech of Vatican officials who, as representatives of a nation state that was duly elected to the United Nations, were expressing their concerns over the use of abortion to resolve the alleged world population crisis. Her attempt to characterize the Vatican’s position in terms of a world-wide conspiracy is consistent with the approach of her organization. Kissling’s remark dovetailed with her call for the Vatican to be expelled from the U.N.. She also accused the Catholic Church of greed, saying it was “money and power,” not doctrine, that drove the Church’s position on abortion.

7/27/94

Idaho and Washington – A 16-page tabloid, distributed to nearly every household in certain towns, entitled Earth’s Final Warning, accused the Catholic Church of seeking world domination and viciously attacked the Pope. The paper attempted to show that the United States, the United Nations and the Papacy are involved in a conspiracy to create a “New World Order” controlled by Rome, with the ultimate goal of restoring the “Dark Ages.” Members of an anti- Catholic group splintered from the Seventh Day Adventists, based in Western Washington, were responsible for the bigotry. Anti-Catholic billboards and newspaper inserts believed to be sponsored by the same group appeared about a year ago in Portland, Oregon and Walla Walla, Washington. Adventist leaders in Silver Spring, MD, placed the organization on the list of renegade assemblies that refuse to halt anti-Catholic rhetoric.

10/7-8/94

New York, NY – The Lesbian and Gay Cultural & Business Expo, sponsored in part by the Ramada Milford Plaza Hotel and distributors of Dewar’s’ scotch, contained anti-Catholic material, primarily in an exhibit touted as a “Haunted House.” That exhibit consisted of a maze of rooms, with the first, a “prayer room,” containing a spinning statue of Jesus with red eyes and dreadlocks. Hand-clapping caused the statue to emit an eerie laugh. Sitting in front of Jesus were several Jack-in-the-Box-type items called “Cracker Crumbs,” featuring likenesses of Cardinal O’Connor and others. Bowls on the table contained a yellow liquid which resembled urine. A crucifix sat in one of them and was adorned with the letters “NEA,” referring to the NEA’s funding of Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ.” Another bowl contained a reference to Cardinal O’Connor’s plea that anyone thinking of killing an abortionist should kill himself instead. Another scene had a small statue of an altar boy with a noose around his neck kneeling in front of a small statue of a pope or bishop. In the center of the room was a four-sided cardboard box punctured by holes, one of which was labeled “Cardinal O’Connor’s Sphincter.” There was also a room which identified enemy organizations and included the Catholic League among the display.

12/22/94

Jersey City, NJ – The ACLU filed suit against Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler for allowing the display of a Nativity scene in front of City Hall. Mayor Schundler had previously allowed, and in fact encouraged, other cultural and religious displays in front of City Hall. He displayed a Menorah during Hanukkah, and has in the past encouraged displays celebrating Pakistani and Indian religion and culture.

12/22/94

Monmouth County, NJ – The ACLU filed suit against the Monmouth County government for its display of a Christmas tree, Nativity scene and a Menorah at the Hall of Records in Freehold, the county seat. The ACLU contends the display violates separation of church and state. This despite the fact that the Supreme Court has ruled permissible the display of religious symbols so long as the display also includes secular symbols.

January-February, 1994

New York, NY – The Whitney Museum presented a vulgar display entitles “Catholic Tastes,” featuring the work of “lapsed Catholic” Mike Kelley. “Catholic Tastes” was a scatological exhibit designed to offend Catholics. The book of the same name which was included as part of the exhibit was even more revealing of Kelley’s bigotry. The exhibit also ran at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from June to August, 1994.

4/11/94

Wyomissing, PA – The Community Players of Wyoming, a suburb of Reading, PA, announced plans to stage a performance of “Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All To You,” by Christopher Durang. The play has been cited for its virulent anti-Catholicism.

6/18 – 7/17

New York, NY – The posters advertising “Stonewall: Night Variations,” a musical theater version of the 1969 Stonewall uprising presented by En Garde Arts, depicted a man wearing a crown, holding the body of another male across his draped lap in the direct imitation of Michaelangelo’s Pieta in which the Virgin Mary cradles the body of Christ crucified.

6/19/94

Houston, TX – Everett Evans, in a theater review of a local production of “Nunsense,” published in the Houston Chronicle, described the play as a “one joke show, stretched way past the breaking point.” The play’s “format is ‘Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour’ in convent attire.” Evans decided that “much of the humor…is cheap shot.”

9/10/94 – 10/21/94

St. Paul, MN – The College of St. Catherine sponsored a display by Croatian artist, writer and poet Neda Miranda Blazevic in St. Catherine’s G. Murphy Gallery. The exhibit included the painting “Virgin Mary and Zeus Play Chess,” in which an abstract topless woman in a pleated mini-skirt and sunglasses floated in the sky opposite Zeus and a chess board.

October

Kansas City, MO – The Missouri Repertory Theatre presented a revival of Rolf Hochhuth’s “the Deputy,” a play largely credited with creating the myth that Pope Pius XII was silent during the Holocaust. In panel discussions and “educational presentations” set up by the theater both before and after the run of the play, anti-Catholic venom was spewed where discussion and clarification were intended, and the theater representatives did nothing to clarify the misconceptions.

10/16/94

Pennsylvania – WYIEP FM, a community public radio station in Pennsylvania, sponsored the play “Loot,” a benefit performance by Joe Orton. Local papers described it as a farce filled with “a scathing attack on the Catholic Church…a satire on priests and elements of the Catholic religion.” It was scheduled as the season-opening play for the radio station.

10/27/94

New York, NY – Ron Athey, a homosexual performance artist with AIDS, began four performances of his “Four Scenes in a Harsh Life,” at P.S. 122 in Greenwich Village today. Athey is perhaps most remembered for a 1993 performance in Minneapolis, MN, in which he cut into the back of another performer, blotted the blood with towels, attached them to a clothesline and spun the towels out over the audience. His current show is no less bloody, though audience members are not quite so intimately involved. Athey draws heavily on religious, and particularly Catholic, symbolism in crafting his shows. He recreates images of the martyrdom of St. Sebastian, the crown of thorns and Michaelangelo’s Pieta, and reporters have made note of the proliferation of images of bloody Catholic martyrs found in Athey’s home.

11/3-23/94

Lancaster, PA – The Art department of Franklin and Marshall College sponsored an extremely anti-Catholic art exhibit in the student center. The exhibit consists of large panels, many of which were derogatory of Pope John Paul II. One panel depicted the Holy Father with Mickey Mouse ears, another with condom balloons, still another driving through desert wasteland in a Nazi jeep. In the center of the exhibit was a book where visitors could write personal notes to the Pope, the majority of which were blasphemous or obscene. When protests were registered with the President, he responded by saying that the exhibit was chosen because of its dimensions and that he did not believe the exhibit was anti-Catholic.

11/11/94

College Park, PA – The University of Pennsylvania sponsored an Andres Serrano exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) which included his “Piss Christ.” Wendy Steinberg, PR coordinator for the ICA, commented, “I think it’s very, very beautiful…actually kind of reverent.” The exhibit ran through January 1995.

Two bishops chatting in church (while a woman dressed like the Virgin Mary with a halo around her head is on her knees with a scrub-brush in her hand), one bishop says to the other
“Of course women can’t be ordained as priests – but that shouldn’t stop them from assuming other important roles within the Church.” —David Catrow and Copley News Service

A poor woman wearing a “Third World” T-shirt kneels before a statue of Our Lady asking, “Blessed Mary, I need to know which is the greatest sin: bringing another few billion poor, starving children into the world? …or using the pill?” —North American Syndicate

An arrow points to the top of Pope John Paul II’s head with the caption, “UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH and he is wearing a button that reads, “No Women Priests.” —New York Newsday

The Pope visits a cemetery for the “World’s Aids Victims”. He comments: “Glad to see so many of you have followed the papal order not to use condoms.” —Tribune Media Services

The pregnant “Woman who lived in a shoe…” is holding a newspaper headlined: WORLD POPULATION CONFERENCE IN CAIRO. The Pope is in the upper right corner carrying a placard that reads, “Procreate — Have more children”. —The Boston Globe

A bishop holds up two signs, one with a cross and one with an X. He state, “ACTUALLY, WE HAVE TWO CROSSES. ONE FOR THE CHURCH…AND ONE FOR WOMEN!” —Don Wright and the Palm Beach Post

A priest labeled “US Catholic Bishops” tells a woman who is holding a feather duster and a spray bottle, “We believe it’s time women be allowed into some of the Church’s highest levels.” An older priest labeled “The Vatican” stands near a ladder, points to the ceiling of the church and says “You can start with that big DUST BUNNY up there!” — Stuart Carlson and the Milwaukee Sentinel.

“The World Pope-elation Conference” strip includes four frames. The first two frames show the Pope. He says, “Go forth, be fruitful and multiply! To hell with the Population Conference.” “And have dominion over everything in God’s creation.” A woman wearing an upside down feminist symbol stands next to the Pope in the third frame. The woman stands alone in the fourth frame with a voice (presumably the Pope’s) saying “…except your uterus.” — Arizona Daily Star

A bishop stands holding his crosier in one hand and a small round object in his other hand. The banner at the top reads, “THE CHURCH FINALLY AGREES TO ARTIFICIAL BIRTH CONTROL…” The bishop proclaims: “Ladies… just hold this little pill between your knees.” —Tribune Media Services

Three elderly women stand in a bingo hall listening to a priest who says,”I don’t mind if you use the Church for BINGO…heck, I don’t even mind a little wagering…but I draw the line at making game pieces out of Communion wafers!” —Dave Coverly and Creators Syndicate

This two frame visual depicts a group of people talking at the Population Conference next to a multiplication sign next to a bishop and a rabbi next to an equal sign. The second frame shows a massive congregation of screaming babies with a turned over, empty garbage pail nearby. — Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Four surgeons in an operating room where the table bears a tag “HEALTH REFORM”, look on in horror as an attending bishop calls and reaches for a “Hatchet” which is labeled “Abortion Dogma”. —Tony Auth and the Philadelphia Inquirer

A bishop stands smiling, holding up “Rosary Beads” next to a woman wearing a United Nations overcoat holds up an open case of “Birth Control Pills”. The banner across the top reads “They’re both small, round and recommended daily. But only one really prevents unwanted pregnancies.” — Steve Benson and UFS, Inc.

A small banner in the upper right corner states “The Vatican Approves Altar Girls…” The Pope presents a laundry basket to a pony tailed girl saying, “Here’s the rest of my laundry…and when you’re finished with that you can wash the wine chalice, put away the vestments and dust the confessional. — Rob Rogers and UFS, Inc.

A woman who is crying out in pain carries a pregnancy that is about ten times her size. She is wearing a dress that has a global view of the world imprinted on it. The Pope stands before her with outstretched arms telling her to “Put it up for adoption …”. — Rob Rogers and UFS, Inc.

Jesus holds a plate of bread while saying “TAKE THIS ALL OF YOU AND EAT IT…UNLESS YOU’RE PRO-CHOICE OR DIVORCED OR GAY OR ON BIRTH CONTROL OR…” The caption to the right reads:”…IF JESUS WERE A CATHOLIC BISHOP.” —Tribune Media Services

A caricature of “THE VATICAN SOUVENIR STAND AT THE U.N. POPULATION CONFERENCE”. Under the Souvenir banner marked “Pope Approved”. Some of the shirts read: “Immaculate Conception NOT contraception,” “Catholics We Got Rhythm,” Birth Control–Schmirth Control,” “We’re panning family planning” —Scott Willis and theSan Jose Mercury News

A woman comments to a man who is reading a newspaper headlined: “NO WOMEN PRIESTS”. “Is John Paul II the first Pope to kiss the GROUND… AND WALK ON WOMEN?” —Tribune Media Services

Two nuns in habits view a poster that includes a picture of the Pope over the words “NO WOMEN PRIESTS – There were no female apostles – Priests must resemble Jesus – There are altar cloths to be cleaned and pressed”. One nun says to the other “I’ve often wondered what nun meant.” — Tribune Media Services

The Pope is shown in bed with a newspaper (headlined “Population Conference”) and a “Militant Muslim”. there is a gun leaning on the night table next to the Muslim. The Pope is placing his mitre on the night table next to his side of the bed while he says “Well, It’s for a good cause..” —The Courier Journal

February

Anaheim, CA – Mother Publications, a five-year old company specializing in distasteful trading cards, released it’s “Perverted Priests” collection. A set of 36 cards, the company promises “100% unnatural corrupted clergy, demented deacons, maniac messiahs, sinister ministers, heinous horny healers and lesbian nuns.”

2/10/94

St. Cloud, MN – The US West telephone directory released new advertising guidelines which affected religious advertisers. The Yellow Pages ads for two nursing homes, the St. Benedict’s Center, run by Catholic Charities, and the Good Shepherd Lutheran Home, were altered by the new guidelines. US West based policy on interpretation of the Federal Fair Housing Act which forbids discrimination. Good Shepherd was forced to remove its logo because it consists of a shepherd’s staff. St. Benedict’s Center, whose motto had been “All faiths welcome without preference,” was forced to change its motto to “Spiritual care for all faiths.” St. Benedict’s was also limited to using the “Benedict” just once in their entire ad, thus limiting their opportunity to list other services which included the same word. After numerous complaints both nationally and locally, US West returned to their original policy.

March

Anaheim, CA – Greg Garvey unveiled his Automatic Confession Machine, a computer programmed to guide users through a formal confession, at the 20^th Annual International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Anaheim, California. His machine, in the shape of a gothic arch, features a photo of Jesus at the top, a red velvet cushion to kneel on, an eye-level computer screen and a keyboard. It charges $2 for three to four minutes of confessing, then spits out the penance.

October

The Funny Side Up catalog offers, for $6.50, “What’s Funny About Being Catholic,” which claims to be “chock full of comical Catholic, off-the-wall humor.”

December

Hoboken, NJ – Noble Works, a greeting card company based in Hoboken , produced a line of anti-Catholic Christmas cards. Images included Santa Claus on the cross, the Virgin Mary driving a cab, a mockery of the Nativity and of women religious. One card depicted a nun dressed in a traditional habit and playing guitar in front of a group of young children. She was singing “Like a virgin, touched for the very first time…” The inside greeting read: “Hope this Christmas is like the very first time.”

12/9/94

New York, NY – Barneys New York, an upscale clothing store, removed an offensive crèche scene from its storefront window in response to pressure from the league and the public. In the display, the Virgin Mary was shown as a “Hello Kitty” doll, dressed in an unfastened bustier and garters with her legs spread apart. Six nipples were depicted. Jesus was shown as another “Hello Kitty” doll, but was wearing a beanie and had a halo over his head. Bart Simpson dolls ere used to depict the Three Wise Men. Hanging over the middle of the stable was the red and yellow McDonald’s symbol. The scene was removed and returned to the artist.

Yearly Total

The Vatican announced that more than 260 Catholic priests and religious were murdered around the world in 1994. The civil war in Rwanda — in addition to killing tens of thousands of laity — claimed the largest number: three bishops, 101 priests and 64 nuns. Elsewhere, missionaries were killed in India, Uganda, Algeria and Sudan. The Vatican said its figures were provisional and could be higher, according to the report.

6/10/94

Lawrence, MA – David Cedeno and an unidentified accomplice entered St. Mary’s Church while Fr. Robert Guessetto was celebrating the noon Mass. They entered the sanctuary and, in the presence of forty worshippers, stole two chalices and a Communion paten, spilling the sacred species on the altar and the sanctuary floor. Seventeen year-old Cedeno was charged with larceny and disturbing an assembly of worship. He was later charged with civil rights violations. Due largely to pressure from the Catholic League, Cedeno became the first person found guilty of violating the rights of Catholics under a hate crime conviction. He was also found guilty under constitutional charges, and received a combined sentence of 3 to 5 years, despite having no prior criminal record.

7/21/94

Staten Island, NY – A pro-life sign, situated on the property of the Church of the Holy Child, Staten Island, New York, was vandalized when inscriptions were made on the sign and an anti-Catholic poster was taped to it. The poster accused the Catholic Church of holding “vast economic and political resources” used by its undemocratically chosen hierarchy” to enforce its “archaic” views about “abortion, women’s rights, homosexuality and conception.” It went on to say that “free speech in America is not free” and that “We have chosen to use this sign to say: ‘Stop imposing your religious beliefs on those who do not share them.’” It ended with “Stop abusing and restricting women in the name of God.” The church’s sign read “Abortion Stops a Beating Heart,” and was paid for through donations raised by the Respect Life Committee of the parish. The pastor, Msgr. John D. Burke, had previously received several phone calls demanding that the sign be removed.

November / December

Indianapolis, IN – St. Gabriel’s parish in Connersville was one of several Catholic Churches in the Indianapolis area to be hit by thieves stealing chalices over the course of two months. On Dec. 11, a silver chalice and a paten were stolen from an unlocked safe at the parish. Other Indiana churches hit by theft include parishes in Rensselear, Logansport, Reynolds and Monticello.

12/23/94

Valhalla, NY – The baby Jesus was removed from a Nativity scene displayed in front of a firehouse in Valhalla. The plastic figure was found a day later, hanging upside down from a nearby tree, its head bashed in.

2/16/94

Kalamazoo, MI – Stephen Hilker, a Ph.D. candidate at Western Michigan University, walked into his public administration class with the ashes he’d received earlier that day (it was Ash Wednesday). In short order, his teacher, Dr. Ralph Chandler, began an extensive diatribe against Catholics, including an effort to debunk several “myths” which happen to be central teachings of the Catholic Church. The league protested and Hilker quit the program.

4/11/94

Pittsburgh, PA – At Carnegie Mellon University CMU in Pittsburgh, posters featuring a defaced image of Cardinal O’Connor, with the words “know your scumbags” flanking the picture, were put up around campus by the militant homosexual group, cmuOUT. When CMU senior Patrick Mooney removed one of the posters to bring it to the attention of school authorities, he was placed on probation for removing the poster. No mention was made of the fact that cmuOUT violated school policy by neglecting to identify itself on the face of the poster. Mooney was also charged with harassment for merely noting his criticisms of the poster to a visiting professor. The harassment charges were later dropped and Mooney’s record was wiped clean of any mention of probation upon his graduation that spring. However, at no time was Mooney permitted to speak publicly about the case, thus making resolution that much more difficult. The league intervened on behalf of Mooney.

4/20/94

Denver, CO – The Metro Activities Council (M.A.C.) of the Metropolitan State College of Denver denied funds to a Catholic student organization due to the religious content of its intended program, despite having previously funded a group which presented a program with specifically anti-Catholic perspectives. After the league pointed out that M.A.C. had, in July of 1993, funded “Searching for a Place Within the Catholic Community,” an explicitly anti-Catholic program, and had previously funded programs which focused on the religious beliefs of Native Americans, the M.A.C. agreed to fund the Auraria Catholics’ presentation.

5/4/94

Plainview, NY – At the Mattlin Middle School in Plainview, New York, a sketch was presented concerning “Women in History.” The subject, Rosa Parks, made mention of the Ku Klux Klan. A sixth grade child who was Jewish then described the Klan as “a Catholic organization that hates Jews and Blacks.” When asked to make a correction, the teacher who was responsible declined.

5/16/94

Beaver Falls, PA – Bob Razzano reported being a victim of bias in employment because of his Catholicism. In applying for a full-time coaching position at Geneva College of Beaver Falls, PA, Razzano was “shot down” by the Board of Directors for religious reasons.

7/5/94

Paterson, NJ – Vernon McClean, a professor at William Paterson College (WPC) in Paterson, New Jersey, required all students in his “Racism and Sexism in Changing America” class to identify their religion on a piece of paper. When the lecture began, Dr. McClean then said that Farrakhan had once called Pope John Paul II a “racist cock-sucker.” Dr. McClean then said that Farrakhan was right. When the mother of one of the students learned of the incident, she wrote a letter of protest to college President Arnold Speert. Copies of the private correspondence were then distributed by Dr. McClean to his students. The college conducted an investigation and released a statement saying the matter was closed. Dr. McClean, in an interview the day after the complaint went public, called the accusations “a pack of lies.” In the college’s official statement on the incident, however, McClean said only that he disassociated himself from the remarks made in class. And even that explanation stands in contradiction to accounts given by several students. The official statement from WPC also left out any mention of the students having to record their religion on paper, or of the distribution of private correspondence in class.

9/23/94

La Jara, CO – Mike Cyrus, whose daughter is enrolled in Centauri High School, called to alert the league of an anti-Catholic book being used in the school. Mr. Cyrus was also extremely concerned about a teacher, Mr. Gary Benson, who was using classroom time to vent his bigotry against the Catholic Church and teaching factually incorrect information. Among the things he taught students: “Catholicism is a business, not a Church”; “The Catholic Church only survives because it keeps throwing out Bibles…”; “The Catholic Church survives because it changes its doctrine”; “The Catholic Church used superstition to control people”; “There is no record of Jesus having ever existed”; “The Catholic Church invented Tarot cards to control people”; etc.. One classroom assignment had the students rewriting scripture. After Mr. Cyrus, another parent, and the league filed complaints, the book was removed from the classroom pending further investigation. Mr. Benson was also under investigation.

10/5/94

Lawrence, KS – When Patricia Trausch, a student at the University of Kansas, met to discuss her schedule with her advisor, Dr. Albert Cook, she first apologized for missing a previous engagement. She explained that she missed her earlier appointment due to a meeting with the local Archbishop. Ms. Trausch, who was wearing a pro-life T-shirt at the time, was then informed by Dr. Cook that “you ought to tell the church that the Catholic Church needs to join the 20^th century on birth control.” He then expanded on his remarks, offering more unsolicited “advice.” After Ms. Trausch contacted the league, it sent a letter to Dr. James Muyskens, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, with a copy to Dr. Cook and Ms. Trausch. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Cook sent Ms. Trausch an “apology” saying “it was not my intention to blatantly offend you.”

11/21/94

Scarsdale, NY – The Board of Education of Scarsdale passed a resolution that no religious celebrations could be held in public schools. Displays or exhibits, such as wreaths, garlands, caroling and menorahs that appear to promote or give approval to religious matters were banned. A “Nutcracker” mural, candy canes, bells, holiday music, and Hannukkah or Christmas parties and concerts were among other things also banned. Children were permitted to hang non-religious items on trees made of twigs, hold parties with non-holiday themes and decorate with winter motifs (i.e.: snowflakes, bears, etc.).

12/15/94

Barrington, RI – Moments before a Christmas concert was to take place at Primrose Hill School in Barrington, Principal Elizabeth Durfee announced that because of a parent’s complaint and a School Committee rule, the name “Christ” would be omitted from all of the concert’s songs. The parent, whose name was not released, felt so strongly about the matter that the Superintendent of Schools, Ralph Malafronte, was asked to intervene. Songs which made reference to other religions were not changed.

2/24/94

Marlboro, NJ – The League protested a restraining order placed on a newsletter published by Karen and Vincent Bove detailing the alleged apparitions taking place on a monthly basis in Marlboro, New Jersey. The decision was made in conjunction with a ban on the vigil itself, wherein the judge banned attendance at the vigils due to safety concerns. In its objection, the League passed no judgment on the veracity of claims made by Joseph Januszkiewicz, the one reported to be receiving the apparitions, but confined its argument to the prior restraint imposed by the judge.

2/28/94

New York, NY – The league testified before the Committee on Public Safety of the City of New York against a FACE-type bill which significantly abridges the free-speech rights of pro-lifers. The bill, which was subsequently passed, called for a year in jail and a fine of $5000 for anyone convicted of blocking passage to an abortion clinic or who “communicates” with or “harasses” a woman seeking an abortion “in a manner likely to seriously alarm or annoy a reasonable person.” The league also sought to have included in the bill protection for the religious freedom rights in houses of worship. The bill passed without the house of worship rider.

2/28/94

Boston, MA – The Massachusetts Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of Rev. Thomas Carleton, a member of Operation Rescue, because of improper jury selection. The court found that the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, which prosecuted the case, had excluded jurors based on the Irish ethnicity of their surnames. It was seen as an attempt to exclude Catholics who might show sympathy toward Fr. Carleton. The Attorney General’s office also sought to prevent Fr. Carleton from wearing clerical garb in court, and to have him addressed as something other than “Father.” The Attorney General’s office appealed; but on November 11, 1994 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the decision of the lower court.

3/16/94

New York, NY – Thirty-one elected officials, including three U.S. Congressmen from the New York area, pledged not to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade due to the exclusion of the homosexual contingent ILGO. But many of these same politicians had already marched in the Salute to Israel parade despite its prohibition against allowing gays to march as a separate contingency.

April

During the Preparatory Conference for the International Conference on Population and Development held in New York City, Timothy Wirth, the U.S. Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs, scolded Archbishop Renato Martino, the head of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations: “We’ve been very patient with you!”

4/13/94

Albany, NY – According to published news reports, senior officials in the New York Republican party determined that the Republican party gubernatorial nominee must be Catholic, pro-choice and fiscally conservative. This effectively excluded not only Catholics who are faithful to Church teachings and thus pro-life, it also excluded any pro-life candidate of any faith.

4/27/94

Washington, DC – The National Museum of American History opened the “Science and American Life” exhibit. In one section, where the advent of birth control and “The Pill” were discussed, a crude caricature of the Catholic position on birth control was shown. The relevance of Catholic teaching to an exhibit on science was not explored. Rather, it seemed a gratuitous inclusion designed to minimize and insult. The exhibit had a positive presentation of Margaret Sanger but neglected to include her eugenic or racist theories. On this date, we also learned of another exhibit, “The American Encounters,” which, among other things, included the message that Catholicism was “forced” down the throats of the Native Americans by the Spanish who were given the option of conversion or death. Both exhibits are part of the Museum’s permanent collection.

5/10/94

New York, NY – In a letter sent to Catholic V.I.P.’s, U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Raymond L. Flynn addressed the “ugly, anti-Catholic bias…shown by the prominent member of Congress and the administration.” Flynn was primarily referring to the treatment of the Holy See’s envoy at the Preparatory Conference on Population and Development held at the U.N. in April. He said it was “downright deceitful… when Catholic Church officials were criticized and ridiculed.” Flynn criticized administration representatives saying, “they do the President and Congress a disservice with their invective and unreasoned comments.”

5/31/94

Rockland County, NY – Tony Guzman and his family sought assistance from a social worker in Rockland County, New York. During the course of the social workers contact with the family, Mr. Guzman claimed she (the social worker) attempted to “destroy my family,” urged his wife to seek a divorce, and said she wanted the family to become “born-again Christians.” The social worker also discarded the family’s Bible and Catholic devotional material, claiming hey were being used to practice Santeria, a religion originating in Cuba in which deities are identified with Catholic saints.

6/27/94

New York, NY – A Christian group of New York City police officers was denied the right to exhibit its wares at Police headquarters, this despite the fact that Jewish, Asian and other groups—including gays—had been allotted space. The NYPD maintained that the exhibition would violate church and state grounds. After the threat of a lawsuit and national publicity put the Police Department on the spot, Police Officers for Christ was granted the right to exhibit a display at headquarters.

7/14/94

Boston, MA – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court vacated a lower court ruling in favor of Paul and Ronald Desilets, Catholic landlords who refused to rent an apartment to an unmarried couple because of religious convictions, and sent the case back to the lower court for trial. The claim was brought against the brothers by State Attorney General L. Scott Harshbarger who claimed that their refusal to rent to an unmarried couple violated state anti-discrimination law. The league filed an amicus brief in support of the Desiletses asserting that the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution and Article II of the Massachusetts Constitution supersedes the so-called right to unmarried cohabitation. The Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the American Jewish Congress and the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders filed amici curiae briefs opposing the Desiletses. On December 2, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dropped its case against the Desiletses.

8/19/94

Washington, DC – Faith Mitchell, the State Department Coordinator for population, made anti-Catholic remarks during the final stages of preparation for the International Conference on Population and Development which was held just weeks later in Cairo. “We suspect,” Mitchell said during a telephone interview, “that (the Pope’s opposition) has to do with the fact that the conference is calling for a new role for women, calling for girls’ education and improving the status of women.” The league responded with a half-page ad in the New York Times addressed to President Clinton.

September

At the United Nations (UN) Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, members of the Holy See’s delegation were interrupted and criticized as they spoke. Gail Quinn, a member of the delegation was interrupted so much and so rudely that a UN Ambassador stood up to say how “disgraceful” the behavior was, and that everyone has a right to speak and should not be deterred “not here, not ever.”

9/26/94

Albany, NY – Thomas Neidl, head of the criminal investigations unit in the Attorney General’s office, was suspended for remarking that he didn’t think homosexuals should have children. Neidl, a Catholic, made the remark during a private phone conversation and was overheard when he neglected to turn his intercom off. Neidl was later reinstated.

10/19/94

Dallas, TX – The Washington Times “National Weekly Edition” ran a story explaining that “the Pope and the Queen of England were the butt of jokes Texas Governor Ann Richards told to 1200 Democratic supporters attending her Dallas fund-raiser.”

10/30/94

New York, NY – WNYC-TV, New York City’s public TV station, aired the program “Inversion of Solitude.” The show had been advertised as an irreverent video satire based on the life of St. Therese de Lisieux whose seemingly uneventful life became the subject of a global media campaign.” (When the show aired, it had been edited due to complaints registered by the league.)

11/17/94

Washington, DC – The United States Postal Service announced that beginning in 1995, it would cease printing the Christmas stamps series reproducing paintings of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. The league immediately registered its complaint and shortly thereafter, President Clinton intervened and had the matter overturned.

11/30/94

New Berlin, NY – Robert Scone, a convicted sex offender had been denied the right to attend Mass by his parole officers based on the potential for Mr. Scone to come into contact with young children. To deny him attendance and participation in the Mass was very simply a violation of his constitutional rights. The league protested and provisions were made for Mr. Scone to attend Mass.

12/15/94

Hauppauge, NY – The league filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity office in support of a case filed by postal service employee George Cornwall regarding the displays of crèches and menorahs in post offices. The regulation (in Postal Operations Manual and Handbook PO-203 Revision, 221.528, section c) explicitly states that menorahs are permissible but crèches are not. This regulation contradicts the rulings in Allegheny County v. ACLU, Greater Pittsburgh(1989) and Lynch v. Donnelly (1984).

12/20/94

Boston, MA – The Massachusetts Legislature voted to retain the “Know-Nothing” Amendment to the state constitution. The amendment , a product of vicious 19^thcentury anti-Catholicism, prohibits any form of state aid to Catholic students. Leading the fight for retention of the amendment were the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the American Jewish Congress and the ACLU.

1/7/94

ABC-TV, “Prime Time Live” ran a piece on the Catholic Church and annulments. Included in the piece were interviews with disaffected women and alienated priests. Without any substantiation whatsoever, Diane Sawyer opened the segment by saying that annulment was one of the most divisive issues in the Catholic Church today. The league wrote to the show asking for evidence and got no response. The Church’s teachings on annulment were not presented and Father Scharfenberger’s account, the only one which defended the Church, was given short-shrift.

1/12/94

PBS-TV presented Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City” on American Playhouse. The program dealt with the homosexual lifestyle, making gratuitous references to “Catholic guilt” in the presentation.a

1/20/94

Philadelphia, PA – The Philadelphia Inquirer published a column, “Wasting Time on Abortion,” by Melissa Dribben which chastised Pennsylvania Governor Casey for his refusal to implement easy access to abortion. Dribben reached the conclusion that “Gov. Casey believes Pennsylvania is his parish.”

2/16/94

PBS-TV presented two programs which, when shown one after the other, seemed designed to offend. The first, “Tongues United,” presented a clearly homosexual theme. It was followed by “Affirmations” which, among other scenes, contained images of a crucifix and a Vaseline jar.

2/16/94

San Diego, CA – Radio station KGB K-POP broadcast a scurrilous attack on the Roman Catholic observation of Ash Wednesday in a program called “Lash Wednesday.” This weekly program includes a “confessional” in which “Reverend Dave,” assisted by “Sister Dunn,” encourage listeners to call-in their worst sins and receive “absolution of sins against society.” The winner, declared the “sin, sinniest sinner,” wins a prize ranging from videotapes to vacations for what “Rev. Dave” considers to be the most “heinous crime,” nearly all of which are sexually vulgar.

2/28/94

ABC-TV’s sitcom, “Phenom,” contained a scene in which school girls made jokes about nuns. One saw visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the cafeteria’s “Sloppy Joes.” William Devane directed the following tasteless question at a woman religious, “Do you ever get sexual urges?”

3/394

NBC-TV – “The John Larroquette Show” featured a prostitute who identified herself as “a nasty Catholic schoolgirl.” Later in the show, when John, the title character, was told by his physicians to remain celibate for six months, the prostitute remarked, “I know priests who can’t do that.”

3/5/94

WOR-TV (New York) – Comedienne La Wanda Page, formerly of “Sanford and Son,” appeared on the “Arsenio Hall Show” and proceeded to tell a blasphemous story about a “converted” prostitute in church.

3/15/94

New York, NY – It was not anti-Catholic for the New York Times to condemn the Ancient Order of Hibernians for denying gays the right to march under their own banner in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. But when the Times labeled the parade, which celebrates both the Irish heritage and the Catholic faith, “an event that denigrates part of the city,” and urged politicians not to march in “this benighted display of bigotry,” it showed its own bigotry.

3/16/94

NBC-TV’s drama “Law and Order” (as seen on Channel 5, KSDK, St., Louis), featured the story of a religious zealot who sets off a bomb in a New York garage killing a young female member of his church in the process. Disparaging remarks were made concerning Catholics: “When he was young his mother was always saying the Rosary with one hand and beating him with the other.” At the end of the program when he was found guilty, six female followers committed suicide because of the verdict and a detective made the sign of the Cross.

3/22/94

Mamaroneck, NY – Robyn Hart (“Kathy”) and Maureen Collins (“Mo”) performed their off-Broadway show, the Kathy and Mo Show,” previously seen as an HBO special. The show included several sketches which ridiculed Catholic dogma.

4/19/94

West Palm Beach, FL – Leslie Hale of Station 61 referred to the Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary as “satanic theology.”

4/29/94

CBS-TV’s drama “Picket Fences” bashed the Catholic Church for its stand on contraception and abortion. It also portrayed a Catholic priest as a deviant who was a shoe fetishist. Perhaps most troubling was a scene in which a judge, in deciding a case, ridiculed the Catholic Church and threatened state action if the church refused to fall into line (with the judge’s views on contraception).

5/5/94

New York, NY – WINS Radio broadcast a commercial for ABC-TV’s “Wheel of Fortune” game show, which featured the voices of a young boy and an Irish nun. Dialogue between the boy and the nun included the nun saying that something was as unlikely as her “roller skating in her underwear in Church.”

5/6/94

ABC-TV – On “prime Time Live,” Sam Donaldson reported on the alleged involvement of the Catholic Church in the escape of S.S. officers to Argentina after 1945. Pope Pius XII was accused of being pro-German. A constant negative emphasis on the Church and Catholics pervaded the piece. Commercials broadcast prior to the airing of the program also suggested suspicious ties.

5/9/94

New York, NY – On Channel 69, the show “From The Box Out Of The Closet” made reference to sticking some item “up the ass-hole of Cardinal O’Connor.”

5/15/94

FOX-TV’s “George Carlin Show” dealt with a stolen life-size statue of Jesus Christ. Catholic beliefs were defamed as the statue was clothed in a coat and brought to a bar as if it were a patron.

5/17/94

FOX-TV – On “Night Court,” “The Nun” episode depicted a nun in traditional habit falling in love with one of the characters in the story.

5/31/94

Frederick, MD – Joe Crews, on a Seventh Day Adventist program, “Amazing Facts,” telecast from Frederick, Maryland, preached that the Pope is the Anti-Christ, number 666, etc.. The program is regularly broadcast on over 100 stations nationwide.

6/4/94

Pasadena, CA – An article by Robert Blair Kaiser, “Catholics Laughing At Pope Now, Through Tears,” criticized Pope John Paul II’s statement reiterating the Church’s teaching that the priesthood is open to men alone. Kaiser contended that “it’s an open secret that a majority of candidates for the priesthood are homosexuals” and “a vast majority of pedophilia suits facing the U.S. involve priests who tamper with young boys, not girls.”

6/7/94

New York, NY – New York Newsday published an editorial which was meant to be an apology for the offensive cartoons published by cartoonist Marlette on June 1^st and 3^rd. Instead, it explained that the cartoons were not intended to “ridicule.”

6/7/94-6/13/94

The comic strip “Doonesbury” featured several days of praise for a book by Yale Professor John Boswell, Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe, which claims that the Church sanctioned, and even designated special ceremonies for the union of two members of the same sex. “His research turned up liturgies for same-sex ceremonies that included communion, holy invocations and kissing to signify union,” one character explained to another. “They were just like heterosexual ceremonies, except that straight weddings, being about property, were usually held outdoors. Gay rites, being about love, were held inside the Church!” The claims were later refuted.

6/7/94 – 6/21/94

New York, NY – The Boys of St. Vincent, a Canadian film very loosely based on the story of an orphanage in Newfoundland, Canada, staffed by Catholic religious brothers gone awry, began its run at the Film Forum Theatre in Greenwich Village. The movie, originally financed by the National Film Board of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Company, was shown on Canadian television and is scheduled to be shown on the A&E Network in 1995. A&E is the only cable or broadcast station in America which chose to broadcast the movie.

6/13/94

New York, NY – During the National News at noon on WABC Radio, the following quote was recorded: “if you’re tired of listening to Gregorian Chant, there’s a record coming out of Japan that has frogs on it.” The radio station apologized when contacted by a listener.

6/30/94

Weirs Beach, NH – The Weirs Times published an article that was at once both an ad hominem attack on the Pope and a malicious diatribe against the Catholic Church. Author Cheryl Lukatch’s piece, “The Pill, the Pope and Population,” attributed to the Pope the most base motives, holding, for example, that the Church’s opposition to abortion was merely an attempt to oppress women.

7/4/94

New York, NY – On Channel 21, Timothy Leary compared Pope John Paul II to the Ayatollah Khomeni. He contended that “the Pope wants people to be miserable and unhappy.”

7/12/94

California – “Back To the Bible,” a California-based program hosted by Prof. Rev. Dr. Harold Camping, (as heard on WFME, New Jersey) contended that Catholics teach “false gospels,” and called Ireland and Italy “unsafe countries.”

7/17/94

Boston, MA – Boston Herald columnist Margery Eagan, in her fifth Catholic-bashing column in ten months, exploited the publication of the Pope’s book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, to launch another scathing diatribe against the Church. Her column was titled “Pontiff’s Book Speaks Volumes.”

August 1994

“Report from Mexico,” an article by Elena Poniatowska published in Harper’s Bazaar, detailed the struggle many Mexicans experienced following the devastating earthquake. Early in the story, a photo appears of a group of women, obviously distraught and poor, standing amidst a heap of rubble. Poniatowska illustrates the photo in the following way: “although women in Mexico live under the weight of an age-old patriarchy, they have a much heavier burden still—that of the Catholic Church which teaches that it is the meek who will inherit the earth. So while a group of seamstresses—good Catholics all— were patiently waiting for the bodies of their companions to be removed from the collapsed buildings, they saw that their boss, their patroncito, was more concerned with rescuing his safe than his 60 buried employees.”

8/22/94

ABC-TV – In a report on the recent popularity of Gregorian chant music, “Good Morning America” included a disrespectful parody of the music.

8/28/94

New York, NY – New York Newsday published an article, “It’s Time for the Church” by Lawrence Osborne, which criticized “Christianity’s obsession with virginity, chastity and its definition of sexual normalcy,” and singled out the Catholic Church for the harshest ridicule.

8/31/94

Atlanta, GA – Radio station WGST depicted the Holy Father wearing a headset, hands raised similar to the position during the Eucharistic prayer but holding a Walkman, in a billboard advertisement for their station. The two-sided ad read “FATHER KNOW BEST” and appeared above the main hub in Atlanta (I-75/I-85), visible to both north and southbound commuters.

10/21/94

Bridgewater, NJ – The Courier-News printed a vicious article against the Catholic Church by Alan Shelton, a writer from Elizabeth, New Jersey. Shelton, a self-confessed Jewish activist, said that he would have led a demonstration against Pope John Paul II if the Holy father’s visit had not been canceled. Shelton wrote that the Pope represented “the most anti-Semitic religious institution in world history.” He blamed the Vatican for an alleged role during the Holocaust and stated that this “most chilling indictment” remains “largely unknown.” Shelton believes that Pope John Paul II “follows in the tradition of papal Jew-baiting,” and thus has earned the title of “vicar of anti-Semitism.”

10/28/94

San Antonio, TX – A host on the morning show on KTFM-FM (102.7) commented on the trip President Clinton took to the Middle East stating it took “3,500 to protect Clinton and 2,500 to protect the Virgin Mary.”

10/30/94

New York, NY – WNYC-TV, New York City’s public TV station, aired the program “Inversion of Solitude.” The show had been advertised as an irreverent video satire based on the life of St. Therese de Lisieux whose seemingly uneventful life became the subject of a global media campaign.” (When the show aired, it had been edited due to complaints registered by the league.)

11/11/94

St. Paul, MN – Radio station KTIS broadcast a show twice during the first week of November which offended many Catholics in the area. In discussing the 14^th and 15^thcenturies, and the relationship between Martin Luther and the Catholic Church, the host was biased in his discussion of the Church, bringing up many old stereotypes.

11/17/94

Boston, MA – The South End News published an ad from the Institute of Contemporary Art which depicted the “Blessed Virgin Rubber Goddess” surrounded by rain forest leaves with a sideways crescent moon above her head. Included above was a “prayer” for “Immaculate Protection,” which calls on those saying the prayer to concentrate on their desires after asking that they be “shield(ed) with all thy radiant rubber sheathes.”

There was nothing on the ad to indicate who placed it, or even that it was an advertisement.

December

Rhinelander, WI – The Daily News published an extremely anti-Catholic article, “What Really Happened to the Roman Empire,” on the church page. The author, Kevin Kauzlaric, was incorrectly listed as a member of the Daily News staff. Mr. Kauzlaric informed readers that the Catholic Church was set up by Satan as a phony Christian Church which would ultimately destroy the true Christians. He also explained that the Catholic Church is pagan and the Pope is the anti-Christ. To their credit, within two days the publisher of the paper, Dick Timmons, published a lengthy apology, explaining that Mr. Kauzlaric was listed as a staff member in error and that the article was originally sent to the news desk as a reader-opinion piece and should have appeared, if at all, in the Opinion pages.

12/7/94

Minneapolis, MN – John Williams of WCCO Radio said on the station’s evening program (the eve of the Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Conception) that “The Virgin Mary is never depicted as smiling because she never had sex.” The comment was intended as a punch-line.

12/10/94

CBS-TV – The sitcom “The Five Mrs. Buchanans” depicted a dizzy blonde singing garbled Christmas carols. The former stripper, now married to a preacher, crooned “O Little Gown of Bethlehem” and other parodied carols. A sister-in-law, excited about the city’s house decorating contest, vows, “Mrs. O’Leary’s head is gonna be spinning when I rip that blue ribbon out of her greedy little Catholic hand!” Their Jewish sister-in-law observes sarcastically, “You Christians really have this holiday spirit down, don’t you!”

12/13/94

The Advocate, the nation’s largest “mainstream” gay and lesbian magazine, published a cover story under the title, “Is god Gay?” with the teaser “Tolerance of homosexuals is religions new cross to bear.” The cover image depicted a bloody crucified Christ, complete with a crown of twisted nails and wire, tattoos and a metal chain-link necklace. A larger picture on the inside of the issue featured a grotesque, irreverent image of the crucified Christ amidst a collage of abstract images.

12/17/94

NBC-TV – A comedian on the “Tonight Show” mocked the Blessed Virgin Mary for giving birth to Jesus when she was homeless.

12/19/94

CBS-TV – The sitcom, “The Nanny,” contained a scene where the character of the Nanny is in the confessional carrying on a lengthy and inane conversation with a priest made to look equally stupid. Then, after a knock on the confessional door, a man enters the confessional box where the Nanny is seated and begins carrying on a three-way conversation with the priest and the Nanny. The sacrament of reconciliation was totally mocked.

2/16/94

LaGrange, GA – Detective Marc Clay, a member of the Police Department of LaGrange, Georgia, was suspended by Captain Randy Dye, Chief George Yates, and Lt. Barbara Price for refusing to remove the ashes from his forehead on Ash Wednesday. Despite the fact that none of Clay’s co-workers registered a complaint, Clay was suspended on the claim that his ashes hindered the workplace. After the league contacted superiors in the Police Department, the mayor and members of the town council, Clay received his back-pay plus another holiday to replace the one he’d lost.

2/22/94 – 2/24/94

Omaha, NE – Christine Wilson spent three days in court testifying in her case against US West which fired her after she refused to remove a pro-life button bearing the words “Stop Abortion” and “They’re Forgetting Someone” and the picture of an unborn baby at 18 weeks of development. Mrs. Wilson’s co-workers said the button upset them and disrupted the workplace.

4/12/94

Albany, NY – David Hubicki, a temporary employee at the New York State Department of Civil Service, had a 3″x 5″ picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at his workplace. A supervisor, Imogene Bessette, told him in threatening terms to remove the picture. She claimed a department-wide rule excluded the display of religious symbols in the workplace. The league demanded to see a copy of the rule and in short order the matter was dropped and Hubicki was allowed to keep the picture on his desk.

6/1/94

Pittsburgh, PA – In the office of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, an openly homosexual writer was describing the First Holy Communion of a relative He mentioned that some of the girls wore ivory or cream colored gowns instead of white. He then publicly said that they looked like “whore brides of Christ from Babylon.”

6/28/94

New York, NY – Fr. Ralph LaBelle, the Catholic chaplain at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, called to report an incident at the hospital. On June 28, the Executive Assistant to President Dr. Speck (a Roman Catholic) made an unannounced inspection of LaBelle’s room on the 2^nd floor. In the room she noticed a bed which had been bought and paid for years ago by the Catholic community to provide for priests on “night duty.” She ordered the bed removed commenting she didn’t want women or young boys brought here.” Despite the fact that the bed was not hospital property, it was to be discarded. (The Protestant chaplain’s room on the 3^rd floor of the hospital still had a bed in it.) Ultimately, the hospital replaced the bed (which is now in storage) with a “hide away” couch bed. Dr. Speck’s Executive Assistant has since denied making any comments about “women and young boys.”

9/19/94

Phoenix, AZ – The league registered its complaint with the City of Phoenix’s Equal Opportunity Commission and the Arizona Appeals Board on behalf of Ms. Beverly Rutt. In June, 1993, Ms. Rutt quit her job at Specialty Graphics as a result of sexual harassment; much of it aimed at her because she is a Catholic. The harassment lasted several months, during which time Ms. Rutt, known to all employees as a proud Catholic, was subjected to a steady stream of sexually explicit jokes, some of which were gruesome in nature. Four-letter-words were frequently uttered over the loud speaker, all in the name of humor. After Ms. Rutt left Specialty Graphics, she applied for unemployment compensation which her company denied on the grounds that a pro-life picture (of an aborted fetus) had harassed fellow employees. The case is now pending.