The Catholic League has filed two formal complaints with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) alleging illegal pulpit politics. The first complaint was made against a Miami Baptist church for allowing the church to become the venue of a political rally. On August 29, Bishop Victor T. Curry of Miami’s New Birth Baptist Church welcomed Rev. Al [...]
After years of debate, the District of Columbia now has in place the nation’s first federally funded voucher program. The beneficiaries of the program are almost all non-white: African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and African immigrants make up 85 percent of the District’s public school students. They may receive as much as $7,500 a year for tuition and [...]
Op-Ed by Terry Eastland, Wall Street Journal, 8/6: “On Monday, the New York-based Catholic League publicized Ms. Peterson’s position, and by Wednesday, she had resigned from the DNC, explaining that it was ‘no longer possible for me to do my job effectively.’ ... When the Catholic League (ever the watchdog) noted Ms. Vanderslice's left-wing activist past and [...]
On July 6, the U.S. Senate voted 51-46 to put J. Leon Holmes on the federal bench in Arkansas. The Catholic League had worked hard to persuade the lawmakers to appoint this quality judge; Holmes is a practicing Catholic who accepts the teachings of the Magisterium. For about a year, the Catholic League has publicly criticized [...]
When the bishops recently assembled in Colorado, they overwhelmingly approved a policy statement on "Catholics in Political Life." Presented on June 18, the position that the bishops staked out on what to do about pro-abortion Catholic politicians was greeted with enthusiasm by the Catholic League. From our point of view, the bishops spoke with convincing clarity [...]
Last year, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights filed a joint friend-of-the-court brief with the Thomas More Law Center supporting the right of public school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The June 14 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, though made on grounds that the plaintiff lacked standing, upholds the constitutionality of [...]
A growing number of bishops are speaking out on the subject of pro-abortion Catholic politicians. But there is disagreement over what should be done. Fargo, North Dakota Bishop Samuel J. Aquila said in May that denying Communion to pro-abortion politicians is part of Catholic teaching. Portland, Oregon Archbishop John G. Vlazny said that "Catholics who publicly [...]
When school voucher programs are instituted, it stimulates public schools to improve. That, at least, is what the Florida experience shows. In Florida, if a school receives two failing grades in a four-year period, its students can elect to go elsewhere. Performance is measured by standardized tests, and students who choose to use a voucher can [...]
For the first time in over four decades, Catholicism has emerged as a factor in a presidential campaign. In 1960, Massachusetts Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy had to overcome Protestant critics who objected to having any Catholic in the White House. Now another Roman Catholic JFK from Massachusetts is the source of controversy, namely John Forbes Kerry. [...]
On March 24, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Pledge of Allegiance case. The Catholic League, together with the Thomas More Law Center, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the Elk Grove Unified School District that seeks to uphold the recitation of the Pledge in the schools. Challenging the school district [...]
