The outcome was in doubt but reason prevailed. A law governing child sexual abuse in Connecticut allowed for an exemption for allegations heard in the confessional. In the first part of May, the Connecticut state House passed a bill that would require Catholic priests to report allegations of child sexual abuse disclosed in the confessional. But [...]
On April 23-24, Pope John Paul II summoned U.S. cardinals to Rome indicating a real turning point in the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church. The Holy Father clearly understands the gravity of the problem and that is why he directly intervened in this matter. Even before the cardinals met with the pope, [...]
An inappropriate joke about a Catholic priest is told at a function sponsored by the state of Oklahoma. A Catholic layman in attendance objects. Nothing is done. He contacts the Catholic League. An apology is forthcoming. Here's what happened. At a "Partnership Series" substance abuse workshop, an instructor opened his seminar by telling an offensive joke [...]
On March 11, the Catholic League went on a tear against the American Red Cross. Four hours later we got what we wanted: a reversal of its newly minted policy banning religious speech at its functions and a much-deserved apology. The pressure we put on the American Red Cross was enormous. We asked over 100 organizations [...]
In the last edition of Catalyst, we reported on the efforts of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to try to close down crisis pregnancy centers throughout the state. On March 1, he announced that he had withdrawn his subpoenas. Spitzer, who works closely with NARAL and other pro-abortion groups, targeted the abortion alternative centers for [...]
Following a complaint by the Catholic League, Yahoo!, the Internet portal, deleted biased entries against Catholics. Until recently, when the word "Catholic" was typed in the search engine site, the second of the Category Matches had a listing called "Christian History > Catholic Inquisition." By clicking on that category, the listings of "Torture" and "Witch Hunts" [...]
The culture war that has gripped the nation is nowhere more clearly evident than in the annual attempt to stamp out Christmas. Things got out-of-hand this year, in particular. Some thought the events of 9-11 would bring us together, but as the following examples demonstrate, there are some who are absolutely determined to divide us. · Government [...]
Thanks to the Catholic League, employees in King County, Washington, were allowed to say "Merry Christmas" this year. But if the Seattle-area county executive Ron Sims had his way, the ban he instituted would still be in place. Sims, who is a Baptist minister, issued a memo on November 14 mandating that King County employees use [...]
Within five days, eBay, the online auction house, withdrew two blasphemous and obscene items from its website following a complaint by the Catholic League. The first item was called the "Weird Tattooed Jesus Statue!" It depicted Jesus with three eyes, vampire teeth and a dagger on his chest. The base was covered with roses and green [...]
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has petitioned the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The "Sisters" are a San Francisco-based gay group that dress as nuns, mock Catholicism and make small donations to AIDS-related charities. The league’s position is that the "Sisters" have long been [...]
