On September 9, the Archdiocese of Boston agreed to pay $85 million to settle the hundreds of lawsuits filed against it by persons saying they were abused by priests. It took the leadership of Archbishop Sean O'Malley to bring closure to the scandal that he inherited. By working tirelessly with victims and their lawyers, he was [...]
Actor Mel Gibson is spending $25 million of his own money to finance a movie about the last 12 hours of Christ's life. "The Passion" will open during Lent next March or April. It has already come under fire for being allegedly anti-Semitic. Curiously, only those who have not seen the movie are making this charge. [...]
Over the summer, the Catholic League became very involved in the nomination of Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor for a seat on the federal court of appeals in Atlanta. The Catholic League contends that Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have subjected him to a de facto religious test. Accordingly, William Donohue wrote to all 100 Senators asking [...]
When the Catholic League learned that bills were pending in Ohio that would require members of the clergy to report suspected cases of child abuse to the authorities, our concern was that the sanctity of the confessional not be compromised. At the end of the day there was nothing to worry about, but it didn't start [...]
June was a critical month for the Catholic Church. The bishops met in St. Louis for their semiannual meeting, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case of significant importance to the Church. On both counts, there was good news for the Church. At the bishops' meeting, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago spoke plainly when [...]
A new PC video game, “Postal 2,” is selling out across the nation. The sequel to “Postal,” the new action game allows the player to be “Postal Dude,” a character who kills anything in sight. The player can blow a priest’s head off with a shotgun and kick the bleeding head around the street like a [...]
U.S. Senator Rick Santorum recently defended the institution of marriage, and for doing so has been criticized by gay activist groups. Santorum, who is a Roman Catholic lawyer, offered a comment that reflected both the current legal view of homosexuality and one that is consistent with Catholic teaching. The Catholic League immediately rushed to his defense, [...]
The Catholic League has taken no position on the Iraqi conflict, but it has taken a position on the way the pope’s words on the war have been exploited by anti-war activists. It should come as no surprise that the pope is viscerally anti-war. But it is a grave error to label him a pacifist. Pope [...]
U.S. Secretary of Education Roderick Paige has come under fire by secular extremists for extolling Christian values; his comments were made during an interview with the Baptist Press. The Catholic League rushed to his defense and was the first organization in the nation to do so. “All things being equal,” Secretary Paige said, “I would prefer [...]
Several states are now reconsidering bills that would end the exemption for the priest-penitent privilege. In every instance, the Catholic League has been integrally involved in challenging any legislation aimed at breaking the confessional seal. The most dramatic success occurred in Maryland, Iowa and West Virginia. Led by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of the Archdiocese of Washington, [...]
