Susan Fani, the editor of Catalyst, recently told me that in her first week of law school she heard a lot of students talking about how important it was to be caring and compassionate, especially toward the needy. No phony sentimentalist, Susan was not impressed. Neither was I. "To feel concern or interest" is how my dictionary [...]
Andrew Greeley, the priest and sociologist turned novelist, and Malachi Martin, the ex-Jesuit and non-fiction writer turned novelist, have both written angry books that assail the Catholic Church. Greeley is angry that the Church hasn’t adopted as many reforms as he would like and Martin is angry that the Church has adopted too many reforms. Both [...]
I have been told by those who know him that Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad is actually a nice person. Maybe he is. Maybe he’s not even anti-Catholic. But he sure isn’t too bright. How any District Attorney could think that he could get away with bugging a priest in the confessional is beyond me. [...]
There has always been humor and bad taste. Unfortunately, we not only have more bad taste than humor these days, we have a blurring of the lines between the two. To be exact, we have become so accustomed to bad taste that much of it frequently passes as humor. Lots of people don’t like Bill and [...]
I don't like lunch. I have no problem with lunch on weekends, but on weekdays, that is a different matter altogether. Here's why. The Catholic League, thank God, continues to grow by leaps and bounds. As a result, I am frequently asked to have lunch with people to discuss the secrets of our success. Sometimes the [...]
The editor of a Pennsylvania newspaper recently called to protest my letter objecting to an anti-Catholic cartoon. Nothing noteworthy about that. But what is worth mentioning was his tone. He could not for the life of him understand why there was a need for an organization like the Catholic League. He spoke for many when he [...]
When Nelli Gray asked me to be a speaker at the 1996 March for Life convention, I was delighted to accept. Nelli has been out in front of the abortion issue for years and has done as much as anyone in the country to keep this issue before the public. Reflecting on what I would say, [...]
I defy anyone to name a single organization that has more rabid members than the Catholic League. Indeed, one of the reasons why we don't rent our membership list to other organizations is because of the special nature of our members. Our members are generous, loyal and extremely active. When we ask them to write to offending parties [...]
What a sorry bunch of creeps. That's the only way I can describe the way I feel about those who mounted their little protest against the Pope. Pope John Paul II is arguably the greatest man of the 20th century and he is surely the most beloved person on earth today. Non-Catholics, as well as Catholics, [...]
We get lots of calls left on our answering machine, most of which are run-of-the-mill-type messages. Some, however, are downright obscene. But whatever can be said of foul-mouthed bigots, the charge of cowardice or hypocrisy usually doesn't apply. The same is not true of the Catholic bashers who work at the ABA, Benetton and Calvin Klein. [...]
