Activist Organizations

November 28
The Anti-Defamation League advised government officials on the placement of religious symbols on public grounds. One of the matters explained by ADL was “Choosing appropriate holiday symbols to decorate school grounds—among them Christmas trees, menorahs, reindeers, and snowmen.” Christian displays did not make the cut.

December
Section, CT – The Connecticut Valley Atheists erected a ten-foot-tall sign of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers with the words “Imagine No Religion” next to a nativity scene in a public park.

December 
Columbus, OH – The Freedom from Religion Foundation asked for an investigation on Governor Ted Strickland to see whether or not he violated his oath of office to uphold the constitutions of Ohio and the United States by allowing religious displays on public property. Strickland had resisted erecting non-seasonal pagan displays.

December 18
Madison, WI – The Freedom from Religion Foundation objected to the nativity scene on the lawn of the Manitowoc County Courthouse. Because the nativity scene was owned by a Catholic organization, the Foundation argued that the government was endorsing Catholicism.

December 19
Racine, WI – Atheists were upset that a crèche was erected on the city’s Monument Square. They said that the local church groups that sponsored the nativity scene were, “shoving [religion] into the face of the entire population.”

December 19
Webster, MA – Americans United for Separation of Church and State urged the town to remove a nativity scene from the Town Hall lawn. Americans United claimed that the crèche was a government endorsement of religion.

December 24
Green Bay, WI – The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s display of the crèche on the roof of the City Hall.

The Arts

December 8
Los Angeles, CA – The “Merry Titmas” exhibit opened. The display included sacrilegious artwork such as a large-breasted Blessed Virgin Mary wearing a Hooters tank-top with chicken wings on the blanket where the Baby Jesus should be. The curator commented on the painting saying, “I really feel that if the Virgin Mary found herself knocked up today that she would have to go work at Hooters to support the baby Jesus.”

Business/Workplace

November 13
Lowe’s, the nationwide home improvement chain, apologized for referring to Christmas trees as “family trees” in its holiday catalog. A spokeswoman called the use of the term “family trees” a “plain old error.”

Education

October 9
Oak Lawn, IL – The Oak Lawn School District voted to include Ramadan as well as Christmas on the school calendar. Christmas had previously been removed from the school calendar as had Easter and secular holidays such as Halloween. Christian holidays were removed from the calendar because of complaints made by Muslim parents and students which make up one-third of the district’s enrollment.

December
A public elementary school in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. held its “Winter Concert” with various secular songs. During the concert a class performed the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” but the word “Christmas” was replaced throughout the song with the word “winter”.

December 19
Moore, OK – The Moore, Putnam City, and Midwest City-Del School Districts did away with Christmas parties in elementary schools. They replaced the Christmas parties with “Winter” parties. District administrators said that moving away from Christmas parties reflects the changing demographics of the area.

December 20
Weatherford, OK – The word “Christmas” was banned from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Decorations in the registrar’s office containing the words “Christ” or “Christmas” were covered up and there could be no use of “Merry Christmas” in e-mails.

Government

November 15
Oklahoma City, OK – The City Manager e-mailed a memo to the department and division heads of the city government concerning “Holiday Decorations.” In the memo the City Manager bans nativity scenes, cherubs, crosses, menorahs, etc. The memo also lists acceptable displays such as snowmen, reindeer, and evergreen trees.

November 27
Larimer, CO – A county sheriff was under investigation because he publicly expressed his frustration with the political correctness of Christmas.

December 13
New York City – A press conference was called at City Hall to discuss the topic of religious discrimination in the New York City schools. The schools allow the display of Jewish and Islamic religious symbols, but neglect to display Christian religious symbols. Bill Donohue spoke at the press conference along with Councilman Tony Avella, Rabbi Yehuda Levin of Jews for Morality, and Martin Kelly of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

The press conference followed months of correspondence between Donohue and the New York City Department of Education (DOE). On June 24, a press conference was called at City Hall to announce Councilman Avella’s resolution to allow the display of nativity scenes in public schools during the Christmas season. In October, Donohue wrote to New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, “There is no constitutional prohibition or court ruling that disallows the display of nativity scenes in the New York City public schools.” The DOE responded that they permit “the display of holiday secular decorations with secular dimensions.”

On November 21 Donohue responded to the DOE stating that the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that it was constitutional for religious symbols to be displayed in the schools, and stated that the federal district court erred by declaring the menorah and the star and crescent secular in nature. So by displaying the menorah and the star and crescent, the DOE is denying Christians parity by not allowing a crèche to be displayed.

The DOE’s General Counsel, Michael Best, replied to Donohue that the courts have upheld the DOE’s policy and that there is nothing wrong with it. On December 4, Donohue responded to Best stating, “It is plain to see that although New York City is not barred from permitting a crèche alongside the menorah and star and crescent, it has elected not to do so. This is not a matter for the courts, but for the legislature.” At the December 13 event, Donohue discussed Councilman Avella’s resolution that would grant parity to Christians.

Vandalism

November 22
Kearney, MO – A large portion of a man’s Christmas display was destroyed Thanksgiving night.

November 28
Schaumburg, IL – Two plastic figures of the Baby Jesus were stolen from two homes in a neighborhood. The homeowners had placed the figures on their front lawns only days before they were stolen.

November 28
Westbury, NY – A 72 year-old man was attacked as he was hanging Christmas lights in his front yard. The attacker, a 21 year-old man, followed the older man and smashed his nativity scene during the attack.

November 28
Lattimore, NC – A life-size Baby Jesus figure was stolen from a daycare. The figure was stolen a day after the children of the daycare, all under the age of 5, assisted the staff in setting up the display.

November 28
Windham, NH – Two 18”x 24” signs were stolen from the Windham Bible Chapel. The signs directed visitors to the chapel’s Journey to Bethlehem presentation, a live play with a cast of 100 telling the birth of Christ.

November 29
Elyria, OH – Vandals destroyed a man’s inflatable Christmas decorations and stole the Baby Jesus from his nativity set.

November 30
Hoffman Estates, IL – A man woke up to find seven or eight boys smashing his decorations and attempted to stop them from leaving. When he stepped in front of their car; he was hit and dragged, running over his foot in the process. The man valued his losses at over $1000.

December 1
Rogers, AR – Figures of St. Joseph and a donkey were stolen from a front yard. A few years prior the homeowner had an angel stolen from the set.

December 3
Marlowe, WV – A complete set of nativity figures was stolen, save the angel, from a nativity scene at a Christian retreat center.

December 3
Bozeman, MT – A full nativity set, except for the stage and hay, was stolen from a yard near Montana State University. Other outdoor decorations including a church, candy-cane lights, and a wreath were not vandalized.

December 4
Bal Harbour, FL – A figure of the Baby Jesus was stolen from a nativity set about an hour after it was displayed. In the park where the figure was stolen, a Christmas tree and menorah were untouched.

December 6
Glastonbury, CT – Figures of the Mother Mary and a sheep were stolen from a church’s nativity scene. The Baby Jesus was stolen last year from the same display. The stolen pieces would take $2000 to replace.

December 8
Tampa, FL – A 13-piece nativity scene was stolen from a front yard only hours after it had been put up.

December 8
Greensboro, NC – A nativity scene at Greensboro College was destroyed. Every figure of the scene was either ripped apart or smashed to the ground. The vice president of the school said that the set was an antique and was very valuable.

December 8
Longwood, FL – Two teenage girls, who were caught on the surveillance camera, vandalized The Walk Through Bethlehem attraction.

December 8
Sylvania Township, OH – A Baby Jesus figure was stolen from a nativity scene outside of a priest’s home. The priest was out of town for the week and returned to find only the Infant Jesus missing from the crèche.

December 8
Marietta, GA – A public school coach drove several middle-schoolers in his pickup truck and damaged Christmas displays with them. The coach and students placed lawn figures in sexual positions as well as trashed Christmas displays.

December 9
Manchester, NH – Figures of a Baby Jesus and a Wiseman were stolen from a nativity scene along with the nativity star.

December 11
Ft. Walton Beach, FL – Figures of Mary, Joseph and the three wise men were stolen from the front yard of a disabled lady’s home. The woman, who is confined to a motorized cart and had a figure of the Baby Jesus stolen in 2006, was only left with a couple of animal figures left in her nativity scene.

December 13
Sulpher, LA – A statue was stolen from a nativity set in front of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. The statue was valued at $1200.

December 14
Middlebury, CT – Vandals broke through a Plexiglas window vandalized the figure of St. Joseph from a nativity scene.

December 17
Antioch, CA – Two men smashed a hand-carved nativity into pieces and destroyed other Christmas decorations in a front yard.

December 18
Ft. Walton Beach, FL – A few figures were stolen from a nativity scene a day after they were erected. A week later the rest of the homeowner’s Christmas decorations were stolen and vandalized.

December 18
Nyack, NY – Figures of the Baby Jesus and a lamb were stolen from a town’s manger scene. It was the third time in four years that the Infant Jesus was stolen from this crèche.

December 18
Santa Clarita Valley, CA – A dozen Baby Jesus figures were found at a Church. A prankster had stolen them from various homes in the area and dropped them off in the grotto.

December 18
Ashton, ID – A life-size statue of the Infant Jesus was stolen from the city’s nativity set. The week before a sheep and shepherd figure were stolen from the scene. The shepherd was found damaged in a residents yard.

December 18
Mason, OH – A figure of the Baby Jesus was stolen from a nativity scene in a family’s front yard. The figure is a forty year-old family heirloom.

December 18
Sagamore Beach, MA – Figures of the Baby Jesus and Mary were stolen from a nativity scene from a deacon’s front yard.

December 18
Green Bay, WI – The mayor placed a moratorium on all religious displays until the City Council could draft new guidelines for displays. This came as a result of a Wiccan wreath that was damaged on top of City Hall.

December 19
Bangor, PA – The figures of the Baby Jesus and a lamb were stolen from a funeral home’s nativity scene. The nativity scene had been displayed for 21 years.

December 19
Eugene, OR – Baby Jesus figures were stolen from two homes and were replaced by pig’s heads.

December 19
Hartford, CT – A nativity scene was destroyed overnight outside of a Baptist church. The figures of Mary, Joseph, and the Wisemen were smashed and the Baby Jesus was knocked from the manger.

December 25
West Springfield, VA – Homemade figures of Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were stolen from an elderly couple on Christmas morning. The figures were over forty years old.

December 25
Concord, NH – The figure of the Baby Jesus was stolen from a church’s nativity scene. The thieves broke into the Plexiglas shield that protected the set.

December 26
Sioux Falls, SD – For the second year in a row, vandals robbed and destroyed Christmas decorations at a home in Sioux Falls. The homeowner stated that none of the secular decorations were destroyed, only the ones with sacred value. This year they stole a Baby Jesus figure from the manger and ripped the lights that spelled “Jesus” from the fence that read, “Happy Birthday Jesus.” The display benefits two charities: Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

December 29
Minneapolis, MN – A Baby Jesus figure was stolen from St. Olaf’s Church. The nativity scene, which was carved from the wood of an olive tree four to six hundred years ago, is valued at around $30,000.

December 29
Queens, NY – The nativity scene that is setup by the Bayside Business Association was stolen.

December 29
East Lampeter Township, PA – A figure of the Baby Jesus was stolen from the front yard of a local homeowner.

January 7
New York, NY – Two 20-year-olds and an 18-year-old were arrested for allegedly stealing statues of the Baby Jesus from nativity scenes over a two-year period. Police said they would not charge them with hate crimes; the three were each charged with 14 counts of petty larceny. Around the same time, a 20-year-old was charged with a hate crime for allegedly kicking a menorah and faced seven years in prison. The bias in hate crime enforcement means inequality as far as who is considered a victim of a hate crime.

January 28
Columbus, OH – Parishioners at Christ the King Catholic Church stopped two people who attempted to rob worshippers during Mass. The thieves entered the church with a handgun and said, “This is a robbery.” After stealing a woman’s purse and a man’s wallet, the thieves tried to leave but parishioners detained them until police arrived.

February 3
New Orleans, LA – Chris Rose, a staff writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, was King and Chief Warden of the infamously anti-Catholic parade “Krewe du Vieux.” Rose turned down a request by the Archdiocese of New Orleans asking him to address the parade’s past mockery of the Catholic Church.  In a February 6 column, after he had participated in the parade, Rose wrote that he agreed with the archdiocese’s criticism of the parade but said that the “krewe members” had the right to “express themselves in any way they see fit.”  In the same column Rose admitted that he would not allow his children to watch the parade.

February 12
West New York, NJ – A marble statue of Jesus was decapitated and knocked over outside Our Lady of Libera Roman Catholic Church.

February 20
New Orleans, LA – Two women who called themselves “Angry Little Sisters of the Apocalypse” walked around the French Quarter dressed in nuns’ habits with camouflage capes.  The women carried rulers with the words “weapons of mass instruction” written on them, as well as weapons called “novena bombs” and “rapid-fire rosaries.”

February 21
Santa Fe, NM – The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi was evacuated during Ash Wednesday Mass when three CD players duct-taped to the bottom of pews began blaring foul language and pornographic references. Parishioners removed the CD players and called police, who sent the bomb squad to investigate.

February 23
South Ozone Park, NY – A man was charged with attacking a priest outside St. Anthony of Padua Church with a cane. The assailant had been released from prison 11 days earlier after serving time for setting fire to the same church.

March 16
Omaha, NE – A painting of the Virgin Mary called “The Virgin Immaculata,” valued at $100,000, was stolen from St. Cecilia Cathedral.

April 1
Port Richey, FL – Palm Sunday Mass at St. James the Apostle Church was interrupted when expletives could be heard coming from the church’s sound system. The disturbance occurred as parishioners were taking part in the solemn Palm Sunday procession at the start of Mass. A group of teenagers were believed to be responsible.

April 5
Baton Rouge, LA – Vandals spray-painted vulgarities and Satanic symbols on a crucifix, a statue of Mary, and a wall at St. Joseph Cathedral on Holy Thursday. The crucifix and the statue of Mary date back to the 1880s.

April 11
Warren, MI – Two men, both 21, were arraigned on charges of spray-painting “Arabs die” and other anti-Arab messages on the outside of St. Mary’s Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church. The men were charged with ethnic intimidation and malicious destruction of property.

April 22
Miami, FL – Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, an American cult leader who calls himself the “Anti-Christ,” cancelled a trip to Guatemala after the country barred his entry, saying he provoked conflict with Catholics and evangelical Christians. Miranda preaches that sin and the devil do not exist, and that his teachings supercede those of Jesus. His followers disrupted Catholic Good Friday processions in Miami, and in the past have destroyed Rosaries and statues of the Virgin Mary.

April 30
Memphis, TN – Three people were arrested after allegedly breaking into the Diocese of Memphis offices. The three were charged with vandalism, theft of cash and desecration of the diocesan headquarters’ chapel.

May 1
Bronx, NY – For the third time in a month, a statue of Jesus was vandalized outside St. Martin of Tours Church. The statue was found half-smashed, with “devil” and “666” written on it with a black marker. On April 23, the statue was knocked down and damaged. On Good Friday, April 6, the statue was pried off its pedestal and tossed on the ground.

May 11
New Castle, IN – A 33-year-old man was arrested after a fire burned down St. Anne’s Catholic Church five weeks earlier.  The man was charged with setting the fire in order to cover up a break-in. The church had been built in 1924.

May 17
Middletown, NY  – A woman participating in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was sexually assaulted by a man in a pew at St. Joseph’s Church. The attack was caught on the church’s security camera. The man fled after the woman fought him off by stabbing him with a pen

May 18
Lexington, KY – Vandals pulled up flagstones in a garden at Pax Christi Catholic Church and broke them. Stones were also pulled out of a dry-laid wall forming one side of the columbarium, where people’s ashes are laid to rest.  It was the third time in the past year that the church had been vandalized.

May 23
Cape Coral, FL – A statue of Jesus outside St. Katherine Drexel Church was knocked over and damaged.

June 5
Cooperstown, NY – A statue of Mary outside St. Mary’s Church was knocked to the ground.  It was replaced with a smaller statue and a sign that read, “We forgive.”

June 8
Westwood, CA – Two men were sentenced to federal prison terms for burning a cross in front of the home of a Catholic priest from Rwanda.  One man, 21, was sentenced to two years; his 18-year-old accomplice was sentenced to one year and nine months. The older man said he committed the crime because he hates black people.

June 23
St. Louis, MO – Vandals toppled over 100 headstones at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery.  A section where priests are buried was particularly hard-hit, with over a dozen granite crosses knocked down.

July
Windsor Heights, IA – An e-mail was circulated urging evangelicals to support Mike Huckabee of Arkansas for president over Sam Brownback; Huckabee is an evangelical, and Brownback is Roman Catholic. The e-mail’s author, Rev. Tim Rude of Walnut Creek Community Church, wrote, “I know Senator Brownback converted to Roman Catholicism in 2002. Frankly, as a recovering Catholic myself, that is all I need to know about his discernment when compared to the Governor’s.”

July 7
Massapequa, NY – A fire destroyed a playground and damaged preschool classrooms at St. Rose of Lima Church. The local police and fire marshal deemed the fire suspicious.

July 8
Naperville, IL – Vandals spray-painted obscenities and gang symbols on the front sign and several windows at Holy Spirit Catholic Church.

July 24
Mobile, AL – A statue of Mary and a statue of St. Vincent de Paul were vandalized at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. Both statues had their heads knocked off and stolen.  A third statue, a small one of Mary, was also stolen.

August
Las Vegas, NM – Monuments and marble icons were vandalized at two Catholic cemeteries, both of which date back to the late 1800s. The cemeteries were also littered with old appliances, empty beer cans, and drug paraphernalia.

August
Ada, OK – St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and three Protestant churches were spray-painted with obscenities and phrases such as “Gay Pride” and “Only God Can Judge.”

August 14
St. Augustine, FL – A man was arrested after slamming his pickup truck into St. Anastasia Catholic Church.  He reportedly told police that he did it because he was angry at God.

August 25
Kendallville, IN – Two safes containing church documents and a small amount of cash were stolen from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. The safes held records of births, baptisms, marriages and deaths dating back to the 1840s.

August 26
Camden, NJ – Vandals knocked over a statue of Mary outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

September 10
Columbus, OH – A 51-year-old grandmother of five was sentenced to seven years in prison for an armed robbery committed during a January 28 Mass at Christ the King Catholic Church. The woman held open a bag to collect money while her accomplice pointed a gun at parishioners.

September 16
Las Vegas, NV – A woman walked up to the altar at Guardian Angel Catholic Church during Sunday Mass and exposed her buttocks to the congregation. Moments later, she was arrested just outside the church and charged with possession of cocaine.

September 18
Hoboken, NJ – A 16-inch wooden crucifix was stolen from inside Ss. Peter and Paul Church.

September 19
Dallas, TX – Vandals pulled a statue of Mary off its pedestal at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, breaking off the head.

October 24
Detroit, MI – Thieves broke into St. Andrew’s Catholic Church by smashing a window, and stole several items including a tabernacle, a chalice, and the top of the baptismal font.

October 25
San Francisco, CA – Police arrested an 18-year-old man for allegedly setting fire to the front and back doors of the Good Shepherd Convent. The fires burned out on their own and none of the six nuns inside were injured.

December 9
Colorado Springs, CO – According to the AP and CNN, Matthew Murray, a gunman who stormed a Christian youth mission center and then a nearby church, held a deep hatred for Christianity. Murray, who took the lives of four people before dying himself during a shootout with a security guard, targeted his victims because of their religion.

A look back at an Internet-message board he frequented, aimed at those who have left evangelical churches, reveals that on the morning of his killing spree he raged,  “You Christians brought this on yourselves.” He also wrote, “All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you…as I can especially Christians who are to blame for most of the problems in the world.”

It is interesting to note that Murray was a fan of rocker Marilyn Manson (a self-described Satanist); he even performed some of Manson’s songs at a mission concert.

December 15
Mandeville, LA – A Church was broken into and vandalized. The vandals stole guitars, video projectors, and laptop computers. They poured coffee inside a grand piano, punched holes in the walls, knocked over a Christmas tree among other things. The damage was estimated at about $100,000.

December 21
Pittsburgh, PA & Bartlesville, OK – A book called National Sunday Law: A Shocking Glimpse Behind the Scenes by A. Jan Marcussen was mass mailed in these two areas. The book is filled with anti-Catholic rhetoric including allegations that the pope is the anti-Christ, is responsible for the deaths of millions of Christians and is part of a conspiracy to take over the world.

This cartoon questions whether presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith would hinder his campaign. The Blessed Mother and God the Father are satirized, but the depiction of Jesus, relaxing on the sofa in a crown of thorns and bearing the stigmata, is the most vile. (New York Post, December 7)

This cartoon gives a sick twist to the Catholic belief that Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father. (Justin Bilicki, syndicated, July 24)

This syndicated cartoon maliciously implies that the Catholic Church is only concerned with life in the womb. It ran in the Sentinel & Enterprise (MA) on January 10.

This cartoon contributed to the anti-Catholic bigotry that followed the Supreme Court upholding the partial-birth abortion ban. All five judges who voted to uphold the ban are Catholic. (Tony Auth,Philadelphia Inquirer, April 20)

On July 10, Pope Benedict XVI approved a document that restated important sections of the 2000 textDominus Iesus. Though the document was a respectful statement reaffirming Catholic teaching on doctrinal differences with non-Catholic Christian religious groups, many critics were enraged. These cartoons unaccurately and crudely accuse the pope of belittling Protestantism.

Top: J.D. Crowe (Alaska’s Press-Register, July 12)

Bottom: David Horsey (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 12)

Over the summer, the Catholic League started hearing about an upcoming film called “The Golden Compass.” The film was to be based on the first book of a trilogy called His Dark Materials written by British children’s author Philip Pullman. Though we were not familiar with the trilogy, we heard whispers in the blogosphere that the books were decidedly anti-Catholic.

We read the books ourselves, and were astonished at the extent to which the series is an assault on the Catholic Church, and religious faith in general. When we examined the press coverage of the books (mostly from the United Kingdom), we learned that Pullman himself had been speaking openly about his anti-Catholic agenda for years. There was simply no question that the goal of the books is to sour kids on the Church while promoting atheism.

Though we read that the anti-Catholic content of the book would be toned-down for the film, which was released by New Line Cinema in cooperation with Scholastic Entertainment on December 7, this did nothing to alleviate our concerns. Indeed, we found this watering-down of the content to be deceitful. We knew that the flick would serve as bait for the books, and unsuspecting parents who took their kids to the theater and were unaware of the books’ content may be impelled to buy the trilogy as a Christmas present. We decided to call for a boycott of the film, and to issuing a consumers alert. To that end, we published a booklet called The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked. The booklet contained background information on the film, quotes from the author, extensive plot summaries and excerpts from the trilogy.

We made sure that every bishop, Catholic schools superintendent and director of religious education in the country received a copy. We also mailed copies to approximately 500 members of the press, and made them available to the public, both in printed and electronic additions. We sold over 25,000 copies. American parents were eager to educate themselves on what Hollywood was trying to feed their kids. However, the media, by and large, were not: the Catholic League was subjected to a torrent of criticism just for telling the truth about Philip Pullman and his agenda.

What follows is a summary of some of the busy events surrounding the theatrical release of “The Golden Compass,” which proved to be a box-office disaster in the U.S.

DISHONESTY ABOUNDS

As dishonest as New Line Cinema toning down Pullman’s anti-Christianity for the film was the role of Deborah Forte, president of Scholastic Entertainment, the media arm of Scholastic Corporation. She was associated with the film from the get-go, acting as producer for New Line Cinema. But unlike her work in producing “The Indian in the Cupboard,” a film that had several Indian advisers on set from two different tribes, or her more recent brainchild, “Maya and Miguel,” an animated television series which accessed the advice of Latino consultants, no religious leaders were asked for their input in the production of “The Golden Compass.”

Scholastic Corporation is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. In making the movie, the mega-corporation expressly violated the tenets of its own Credo, one part of which says, “To help build a society free of prejudice and hate, and dedicated to the highest quality of life in community and nation.” Astonishingly, Scholastic also professes a belief in “High moral and spiritual values,” and says its stands square against “discrimination of any kind on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, age, or national origin.” They didn’t stand by this Credo, however, when it came to Christians.

Just as with Pullman (who promoted the film by claiming his real problem was not with the Catholic Church but with “the literalist, fundamentalist nature of absolute power, whether it’s manifested in the religious police state of Saudi Arabia or the atheist police state of Soviet Russia”) the rank hypocrisy of Scholastic was made worse by its glaring deceitfulness. On its website, it featured a short review of each of the three books that comprise His Dark Materials, a short biography of the author and a two-plus page interview with Pullman. Not surprisingly, there was not a single hint of Pullman’s in-your-face atheism. In short, it amounted to a sanitized cover-up.

Bill Donohue wrote to Scholastic’s CEO, Richard Robinson, on November 13. Donohue asked him to pledge that in the event that the other two volumes of Pullman’s trilogy come to the big screen, Scholastic will have nothing to do with them. Robinson did not respond.

PULLMAN’S PREVIOUS COMMENTARY

How New Line and Scholastic could get behind making The Golden Compass into a film, in light of comments Philip Pullman made for years, was never something addressed by the movie moguls. Choosing instead to spin the story as a family-friendly adventure picture teaching the values of honesty and courage, they refused to acknowledge the blatant anti-Catholicism in Pullman’s books. However, a short sample of what Pullman himself has said about his work reveals, without a doubt, his atheist agenda:

· “I am all for the death of God.” (“Philip Pullman,”www.books.guardian.co.uk)

· “My books are about killing God.” (Tony Watkins, Dark Matter, pp. 21 and 152)

· “The trouble is that all too often in human history, churches and priesthoods have set themselves up to rule people’s lives in the name of some invisible god (and they’re all invisible, because they don’t exist)—and done terrible damage. In the name of their god, they have burned, hanged, tortured, maimed, robbed, violated, and enslaved millions of their fellow-creatures, and done so with the happy conviction that they were doing the will of God, and they would go to Heaven for it.” (“Religion,” www.philip-pullman.com)

· “Give them [the Catholic Church] half a chance and they would be burning the heretics.” (“Profile: Philip Pullman: He’s Killed God, Now He’s Off to the Theatre,” The Sunday Times, November 23, 2003)

· In a letter to the British Humanist Association: “I am happy to support you and argue for your aims, and pour ridicule on faith schools.” (See the British Humanist Association, “Philip Pullman CBE,” www.humanism.org.uk)

· “Many religious leaders are men who, it’s obvious to anyone but their deranged followers, are willing to sanction vicious cruelty in the service of their faith.” (John Bambenek, “The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins,” www.blogcritics.org)

· “I’m trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.” (Alona Wartofsky, “The Last Word; Philip Pullman’s Trilogy for Young Adults Ends With God’s Death, and Remarkably Few Critics,”Washington Post, February 19, 2001)

PULLMAN’S FANS UNWITTINGLY PROVE US RIGHT

While New Line Cinema and Pullman himself were claiming his stories weren’t about attacking the Catholic Church, Pullman’s long-time fans were alternatively looking forward to the flick and expressing disappointment because the bigotry they’d come to know and love from the books wouldn’t be portrayed on the big screen. The Catholic League credited the enthusiasts for anti-Catholicism, such as those listed below, for their honesty.

Ellen Johnson, president, American Atheists: “I think that the movies are about questioning authority and I think that’s a good thing… I think that if more children were taught to question authority maybe a lot fewer of them would have been sexually molested by priests.” (CBS, “The Early Show,” November 28)

According to a USA Today article written before the film’s release, Johnson was troubled “over rumors that the film has been ‘watered down’ and is not anti-God, anti-Church enough.” (November 29)

Movie Reviewer Josh Tyler: Though he admitted the books are “pretty heavily anti-religion” and “strewn with god-hating elements,” Tyler wrote that he was “disappointed, but not surprised” that the film was set to “be Hollywoodized to remove any controversial material.” (“Anti-God Elements Yanked From His Dark Materials,” www.cinemablend.com)

Bridgetothestars.net, Pullman’s fan site: “The removal of the religious motivations makes the institution [the Catholic Church] incredibly bland, a mere band of thugs with a domineering power for no apparent reason.”

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford: Morford agreed that the books are “aggressively anti-Christian” and “ultimately describe, as their grand finale, nothing less than the death of God.” However, he expressed disappointment that the same themes would not be as strong in the film, writing “Fans were, appropriately, outraged [by this]. It remains to be seen how much of those vital themes Weitz left intact, but you could argue that the Bible-thumpers have already taken their sad toll…”

Morford did hold out some hope for the movie, however, and suggested, “if ‘The Golden Compass’ turns out to be even half as wondrous as the book, it will hopefully fuel a massive surge in sales of the HDM trilogy in America.” (“Jesus loves ‘His Dark Materials,’” November 30)

Terry Sanders, president, National Secularist Society (UK): “We knew from the beginning that the producers of this film intended to leave out the anti-religious references. We think this is a great shame.” (“Golden Compass author hits back,” BBC News online, November 29)

PUNDITS GET IT WRONG ON BOYCOTT

Most pundits predicted that the Catholic League boycott of “The Golden Compass” would backfire and actually entice more people to see the film. The movie, which was supposed to be the new “Lord of the Rings” or “Chronicles of Narnia,” made a mere $25.8 million its opening weekend and an even paltrier $9 million the following weekend. Although the film was number one at the box office that first weekend, it brought in less money than the Disney film “Enchanted”($34 Million) did its opening weekend (November 21), and was destroyed at the box office by “I Am Legend” ($77.2 million) and “Alvin and the Chipmunks”($45 million), which opened up the weekend of December 14.

In fact, film critic Roger Ebert, who loved the film, said “the box office was wounded by attacks of religious groups.” He added, “The criticism was led by the Catholic League and its talkative president William Donohue.” He concluded, “Any bad buzz on a family film can be mortal, and that seems to have been the case this time.” The buzz was so bad that Hollywood reporters suggested there will not be film versions of Pullman’s second and third books.

Here are some other examples:

· Chris Weitz charged that people were attacking “a film they haven’t seen, often based on a book that they haven’t read” (Knoxville News-Sentinel, December 7). Though he also charged, “the people who have been organizing this boycott type activity are getting it wrong,” he welcomed the attention saying that the boycott would make “more people see the film” (Fresno Bee, December 7 and WENN Entertainment Newswire Service, November 5).

· Pullman wrote an article in the Sunday Times of London in which he questioned the purpose of the Catholic League and downplayed the effect that the boycott would have. In the piece he called the Catholic League a small American group “which seems to be an organization mainly devoted to the self-promotion of its president.” A few sentences later Pullman echoes Weitz’s sentiments, writing, “The league’s activities are having the usual effect, which is that far more people are now going to see the film and read the book than would otherwise have done.” (December 2)

· Jeff Mahoney, a columnist for Ontario’s Hamilton Spectator, assumed that the Catholic League was working in cahoots with New Line Cinema “as part of the carefully machined prerelease publicity.” He attributed the large budget of the film to the boycott because “getting groups to boycott your film doesn’t come cheap, but it can sure pay off.” He likened the public backlash of “The Golden Compass” to that of “The Passion of the Christ” and suggested that the negative publicity drove “Passion’s” success. (November 27)

· Melanie McDonagh of The Times of London wrote in reference to the Catholic League’s boycott, “Christmas has come early for Chris Weitz.” McDonagh also stated, “if Mr. Weitz is really lucky, Santa may deliver what every director prays for…a condemnation from the Vatican.” In the same article she called Catholic League president Bill Donohue a “Vatican frontman” and said the controversy surrounding the film is what “every film distributor longs for.” (November 28)

· In the Daily Titan, from the campus of Cal State-Fullerton, an editorial stated that, “The strength of Hollywood’s advertising intertwined with a tasty controversy only makes us more curious,” and, “Sometimes, a boycott is just the right marketing tool that studios or publishers need.” The editorial added, “Tell us not to see something, and…there’s a good chance we are going to see it.” (December 6)

· Harvard University’s Harvard Crimson ran an article that called the Catholic League out of touch with reality and the boycott “pointless.” The reporter questioned the faith of the league saying it “should realize it would take more than three fantasy novels to dissuade anyone, even children, from participation in the Church.” (December 6)

USCCB WITHDRAWS POSITIVE REVIEW

Despite the overwhelming evidence of Pullman’s anti-Christian agenda, the Office of Film and Broadcasting, a division of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), released a positive review of the film on November 29. The review, written by layman Harry Forbes (the Office of Film and Broadcasting’s chief) called it “an exciting adventure story” that “rates as intelligent and well-crafted entertainment.” Forbes’s piece sidestepped the anti-Catholic nature of the books upon which the movie was based.

Forbes dismissed Philip Pullman’s use of the term Magisterium for the evil entity as “a bit unfortunate.” At one point, Forbes congratulated the movie’s producers for promoting Catholic values. “To the extent, moreover, that Lyra [the protagonist] and her allies are taking a stand on behalf of free will in opposition to the coercive force of the Magisterium, they are of course acting entirely in harmony with Catholic teaching.”

To complicate matters, Forbes—and by extension the USCCB—was used by New Line Cinema: the studio posted an exploitative advertisement on the website of Beliefnet. It deliberately, and unethically, juxtaposed two unconnected remarks from the review, leading the reader to conclude that the bishops’ conference had ruled that the movie was “entirely in harmony with Catholic teaching.”

In fairness to Forbes, he never said any such thing. He qualified his remarks about the so-called “free will” components, saying they were “entirely in harmony with Catholic teaching.” He never said that the storyitself was emblematic of Catholic teaching.

It didn’t take long before many bishops weighed in on this issue. Not one sided with Forbes. Every one of them who spoke out was unqualified in his denunciation of the movie. The bishops quickly killed the Forbes review, removing it from their website on December 10.

What follows is a selection of what Church leaders themselves had to say about the film.

Bishop Gregory Aymond, Diocese of Austin: “Catholic schools and religious education programs should not encourage children to read any of these books and they should not be held in their libraries. ‘The Golden Compass’ attempts to devalue religion, especially Christianity. Our children deserve better education than what is in these books and movie.” (in his Nov. 9 Friday commentary).

Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans: The archbishop circulated a memo to his parochial schools highlighting the problems with the books and movie. He also preached on the topic at St. Louis Cathedral and wrote a column for the diocesan newspaper warning that Pullman’s books “surreptitiously lead children to atheism and pose a special threat to Christianity.” (Clarion Herald, November 24)

Website of the Archdiocese of Chicago: Francis Cardinal George’s archdiocese carried a note on its homepage declaring, “Both the movie and the books contain aspects that are deeply troubling to those who profess the Catholic faith.” (December)

Andrew Walton, spokesman for Bishop Joseph Galante’s Diocese of Camden: “If a Catholic parent’s responsibility is to do their best to bring their children up in the faith, then they will not likely want to make this material available to their children…The public should know that the movie is based on the first book of a trilogy—a trilogy that gets particularly anti-Christian and particularly anti-Catholic.” (The Press of Atlantic City, December 7)

Monsignor Paul Showalter, vicar general of the Diocese of Peoria:“As shepherds of the faithful, it is our moral duty to inform parishioners regarding any forms of media that seriously attack our Catholic faith…The books portray the Catholic Church as evil and urges children to join fallen angels in a rebellion against God…Please caution your parents against this movie, and also regarding purchase of the books. We promised at our baptism to reject Satan and all of his evil. May we remain vigilant over the innocence of our children’s souls, and diligently protect them from desensitization to evil. Let’s continue to promote edifying films and books, and use this premier as a teaching moment for the truths of our Holy Church and the beauty of serving our Loving Redeemer.” (in a letter to pastors of his diocese, December 7)

La Crosse Bishop Jerome Listecki: “Good fruit does not come from a bad tree… It is clear that this movie is the first part of a trilogy that expresses hatred of Christianity and that portrays God, the Church and religion as oppressive and urges children to join fallen angels in a rebellion against God…It is good for all of us to be reminded that it is our duty, especially that of the lay faithful, to form and inform our culture.” (Catholic News Agency, December 12)

Baltimore Archbishop Edwin O’Brien: “The Archdiocese of Baltimore is grateful that the conference withdrew the review because it caused much confusion in the Catholic community. From all reports, the review failed to adequately warn parents about the movie’s widely recognized dark themes and anti-Catholic imagery.” (Baltimore Sun, December 12)

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput: “The aggressively anti-religious, anti-Christian undercurrent in ‘The Golden Compass’ is unmistakable and at times undisguised. The wicked Mrs. Coulter alludes approvingly to a fictional version of the Doctrine of Original Sin. When a warrior Ice Bear—one of the heroes of the story—breaks into the local Magisterium headquarters to take back the armor stolen from him, the exterior walls of the evil building are covered with Eastern Christian icons. And for Catholics in our own world, of course, ‘Magisterium’ refers to the teaching authority of the Church—hardly a literary coincidence. The idea that any Christian film critics could overlook or downplay these negative elements, as some have seemed to do, is simply baffling.” (Catholic News Agency, December 13)

St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke: “I caution all Catholics regarding the atheistic and anti-Catholic nature of Pullman’s writings, upon which ‘The Golden Compass’ is based…A most defective review of the film was published by Catholic News Service. The review has by now been removed from the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The review was not based on a viewing of the film by bishops and was not endorsed by the bishops.” (St. Louis Review, December 14)

Editorial in the Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano: The Vatican called the film “the most anti-Christmas film possible” and wrote that “honest” viewers would find it “devoid of any particular emotion apart from a great chill.” (December 19)

Every year there is an issue that absorbs a disproportionate amount of Catholic League resources, and in 2006 that issue clearly was “The Da Vinci Code.” While many organizations from several faith communities objected to the film, no group did more to get the word out about the movie’s lies than the Catholic League. It was only fitting, then, that the media would give us top billing in leading the protest.

When the book by Dan Brown came out in 2003, I told the Catholic League staff we would do nothing about it. That’s because I respect the right of novelists to take liberties with history. After all, it’s done all the time, and almost everyone knows the difference between a story concocted for entertainment and an historical account of some past event.

This doesn’t mean that we would never object to a novel, but it would have to be something altogether unusual for us to do so. Brown’s The Da Vinci Code proved to be such a book.

As an author of non-fiction books and articles, I do not have the time to read novels. But when it was announced that there would be a film version of the book—released by Sony, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks—I knew that I had to read it. What bothered me more than anything in the text of the novel was the page at the beginning of the book titled “Facts.” Listed were three “facts” that were demonstrably false and defamatory of the Catholic Church. This led me to write a letter to Ron Howard on March 18, 2005 asking him to put a disclaimer at the start of the film noting it as fiction. He never answered me.

A year later, on March 6, 2006, we opened our campaign against the movie in the pages of the New York Times. We reiterated our appeal for a disclaimer. Brown, we said, has been trying to have it both ways for years: at times he says his book “is a work of fiction,” and at other times he says it is based on “historical fact.”

Brown’s first “fact” alleged that a secret society, the Priory of Sion, kept alive the story that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married. But in fact, this tale was exposed as a hoax that was made up in the 1950s by an anti-Semitic Frenchman (who was sent to prison for fraud). The second “fact” alleged that a “religious sect” called Opus Dei was an evil organization, when in fact it is a lay group that calls Catholics to holiness in their daily lives. The third “fact” was the most malicious: it claimed that the book was based on historical documents that show how the divinity of Jesus was forged in the fourth century.

Everyone is free to believe what they want about Catholicism (or any other religion), and novelists are free to offer conjecture about the past. But no one has the right to defame another human being, or an institution, and then lie about his sources. As to the bigoted nature of the book/film, consider that it was John Calley, the movie’s co-producer, who admitted that the film was “conservatively anti-Catholic.” It would be unimaginable to conceive of a single producer in all of Hollywood who would brag about his association with a bigoted film, unless, of course, it was a Catholic-bashing flick.

When the movie opened May 19, we were pleased that we had succeeded in getting our message across—the film is a fable (even “60 Minutes” did a segment on it and concluded it was a hoax). However, we had no idea that it would prove to be such an artistic disaster, and that most reviewers would pan it as a bore. Forced to see it, I branded it “inane.” Referring to my experience attending the movie on opening day, I commented that “at the end of the film there were three or four people who clapped, and three or four who hissed. Most just walked out in a zombie-like fashion, eerily mimicking the characters on the screen.”

While we did not succeed in persuading Howard to begin the movie with a disclaimer, we did succeed in persuading the public that the movie was a fable. We also scored a number of full-fledged victories in 2006, the most prominent being our year-end triumph over NBC and pop singer Madonna.

Madonna has a long record of offending Christians, especially Catholics. So when we learned of her “Confessions” tour, we braced for her latest onslaught. This time, it was her “Mock Crucifixion” that offended us the most. To the tune “Live to Tell,” she donned a crown of thorns while hanging from a mirrored cross. It was purely gratuitous, the stunt having nothing to do with the song. I wound up telling CNN’s Paula Zahn that “If she tried it with some other religion, she may lose more than her shirt.” I added, “She certainly won’t bother the Muslims, and I think we all know why that is.”

After making an initial protest, we chose not to criticize Madonna everywhere she went on tour. But when we learned that she was taking her concert to Rome, on a Sunday no less, we restarted our campaign. It was just a little too cute performing two miles from the Vatican. Fortunately, Protestants, Jews and Muslims also protested her act. I said on the “Today” show that to portray herself as Christ on the Cross was “the functional equivalent of taking a middle finger and sticking it right in the face of Christians.”

The final straw happened when we learned that NBC-TV planned to air the entire Madonna concert on Thanksgiving eve. Some Protestant groups called for the concert to be cancelled. We took a different approach. We told NBC to go ahead and air the concert, save for the “Mock Crucifixion” part. In the event our request was not honored, we would launch a boycott, but it would not be a conventional one.

Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, and I had written a letter to NBC chief Bob Wright explaining the boycott. We informed him that only one corporate sponsor would be targeted (a boycott of all sponsors was unrealistic), and that it would be randomly chosen the day after the concert aired. That way no sponsor would know in advance to whom we would deliver our Christmas present. Moreover, several other allied organizations had pledged to join us in the boycott.

On October 19, NBC issued a statement saying it would cut the “Mock Crucifixion” segment from the concert. Madonna, who previously said through her spokeswoman that NBC must decide between airing the entire concert or nothing at all, accepted the new terms. In other words, we won, NBC lost and Madonna swallowed her pride and took the money and ran.

The year 2006 also saw the Catholic League widely commenting on the behavior of Muslims, and media reactions to it. In the first part of the year, the issue was Muslim protests over Danish cartoons portraying Muhammad. At the end of the year, the issue was the reaction to the pope’s speech at Regensburg University and his trip to Turkey.

Our reaction to the Danish cartoons controversy was twofold: on the one hand, we denounced the cartoons as inflammatory, siding with the U.S., Britain and the Vatican; on the other hand, we denounced the incredible duplicity of the media—it chose not to offend Muslims by refusing to show the cartoons, while continuing to air television shows, movies, cartoons and commentary that were offensive to Catholics.

The Washington Post chastised the European newspapers for demonstrating their “hostility” to Muslims. The Los Angeles Times declared that it “must take great care not to offend,” never explaining why it was necessary to adopt a new strategy—for Muslims, that is. Similarly, the San Francisco Chronicle said something we never heard before: it announced that “insulting or hurting certain groups” is wrong (the cartoons posted in the online edition of the newspaper frequently insult Catholics).

The New York Times managed to top this when it opined that it was wrong to publish “gratuitous assaults on religious symbols.” What made this so special is that on the same day that Michael Kimmelman wrote a splendid piece on the controversy (comparing the Catholic League’s non-violent protest of the “Sensation” exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1999 to the violent Muslim reaction of 2006), the New York Times printed the offensive Virgin Mary portrait with the elephant dung and porn on it that was the focal point of our museum protest!

In September, Pope Benedict XVI drew a firestorm of condemnation for dropping a line about a 14th century Byzantine emperor who called attention to Muhammad’s violence. The pope’s address at Regensburg warned of the dire consequences that follow when faith and reason are uncoupled. Ironically, as if to prove the pope’s point, Muslims in many parts of the world responded violently to his remarks. Churches were firebombed, the pope was burned in effigy, calls to kill the pontiff were voiced, and a nun was killed.

Yet in the eyes of so many in the media, the pope—not the terrorists—was to blame. The Catholic League, along with Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, took out an ad in the Washington Times defending the pope and criticizing Muslim violence. Dennis Prager said it best when he blasted those who continue to criticize Pope Pius XII for not speaking out about the Holocaust (the pope did, but that is another matter) and who were now criticizing Pope Benedict for “confronting the greatest evil of his time.” He concluded, “maybe it isn’t a pope’s confronting evil that concerns Pius’s critics, but simply defaming the Church.”

The flap over the Danish cartoons not only showed the duplicity of the media, it showed the hypocrisy of the academy. Most of the student newspapers on the nation’s college campuses choose not to reprint the cartoons, and when one of them did, a competing newspaper struck back by attacking Catholics.

The March edition of the Insurgent, a University of Oregon student newspaper, contained a large graphic cartoon depicting a naked Jesus on the Cross with an erection; there was also a graphic titled “Resurrection,” which showed a naked Jesus kissing a naked demon, both sporting erections. The entire issue was laced with downright insulting fare—there were several cartoons of Jesus (including Jesus crucified)—all of which were released during Lent. That this occurred at a state institution made it all the more disturbing.

This explosion of hate speech was a response to a decision reached by one of the Insurgent’s rivals, the Commentator, to publish the 12 Danish cartoons that so inflamed the Muslim world. An Insurgent editorial explained that because the Commentator published depictions of Muhammad so as to “provoke dialogue,” they had a right to trash Christians as a way of provoking dialogue.

It was the tepid response by university president Dave Frohnmayer that motivated us to contact every member of the Oregon legislature, the governor, the state’s three Catholic bishops, the president of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, and the chancellor of the Oregon University System. While the damage could not be undone, we were pleased that concerned students on campus registered their outrage. We were also delighted that the national media picked up this story, much to the chagrin of Frohnmayer.

We had another battle in September on the campus of the University of Virginia when the Cavalier Daily, the student newspaper, printed anti-Christian cartoons. One showed a drawing of Jesus crucified on a mathematical graph with the inscription, “Christ on a Cartesian Coordinate Plane.” The other showed the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. “Mary…I don’t mean to ruin this special moment,” Joseph says, “but how did you get that bumpy rash?” To which Mary says, “I swear, it was Immaculately Transmitted.”

Our protest included mentioning how the same student newspaper had previously apologized to gays when they were offended. So we demanded equal treatment. After being bombarded with 2,500 e-mails and 50 phone calls, the offensive comics were pulled from the website of the student newspaper and a statement of regret was issued.

We spent a lot of time last year, quite successfully, combating draconian state laws designed to punish the Catholic Church because of the sexual abuse scandal that was exposed in 2002. We had no problem with laws that promised uniform application, but when it was discovered that the Catholic Church was being singled out, we struck back. For example, when New Hampshire legislators entertained a bill that would violate the Sacrament of Reconciliation—as if priests routinely learn of molestation committed by a church employee in the confessional—we protested its unconstitutionality. We won.

Colorado was the site of the most tenacious battle in this area. Early in the year, three bills were considered that would suspend the statute of limitation for child sexual abuse lawsuits for two years. The bills, however, applied only to private entities; public schools were purposely given a pass, even though they have the worst documented record of the sexual abuse of minors of any institution in the nation. The Catholic League quickly came to the defense of Colorado’s three courageous bishops: Archbishop Charles Chaput, Bishop Michael Sheridan and Bishop Arthur Tafoya.

We wrote to every member of the Colorado legislature protesting the inequity of these bills. If all institutions were equally blanketed, we would have no problem, but by cherry picking the Catholic Church, the lawmakers were showing their bias. After a struggle, we prevailed and legislation was introduced that would give no institution a pass. Immediately, the teachers unions got scared and let their representatives know of their concerns. Thus did these bills die a slow death.

We were active in the courts, as well. We like to team with the Thomas More Law Center whenever we can—it’s a good tag team. Our most prominent case is still pending before the courts: we are protesting the prohibition of crèches in New York City public schools, citing religious discrimination (menorahs are allowed). When the year ended, the U.S. Supreme Court had yet to decide whether it will accept this case.

On April 4, 2006, the Thomas More Law Center sued the City of San Francisco, and two local officials, on behalf of the 6,000 members of the Catholic League who live there. The suit was brought after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution that amounted to government-sponsored hate speech against Catholics. Just because the Catholic Church supports the right of children to be raised by a father and mother, and not by various other combinations, the Board of Supervisors called the Church’s teachings on adoption “hateful,” “discriminatory,” “insulting” and “callous,” adding that it “shows a level of insensitivity and ignorance.” The resolution also accused the Vatican of “meddling” in the affairs of San Francisco. We lost the first round; the case is on appeal.

We also joined with the Thomas More Law Center in a case dealing with partial-birth abortion. The suit supports the ban and challenges the euphemistic language used by the pro-abortion industry. The other case, being fought for us by the Washington, DC law firm of Winston & Strawn, challenges a New York law that requires religious charities’ prescription drug plans to cover contraceptives.

Monitoring television shows is an on-going part of our work, and in 2006 the show that kept us the busiest was the ABC show “The View.” Joy Behar has long been a problem, but things got worse when Rosie O’Donnell joined the panel. Whether slamming conservative Christians, ridiculing Communion, or making blatantly untrue comments about Pope Benedict XVI, O’Donnell made it clear that she is an unrepentant bigot.

On a positive note, we were happy that NBC dropped the comedy/drama “The Book of Daniel” in the same month that it debuted. It was nothing more than a hit job on Christians.

A potential showdown between the Catholic League and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) was avoided when a highly controversial issue that we addressed was quickly resolved. When word got out that a movie, “Facing the Giants,” would be awarded a PG rating because it was “too religious,” we contacted the MPAA and let our position be known. Indeed, we were relentless on this issue and did not let up until it became clear that no film was about to get a PG rating because of its “religious viewpoint.”

Finally, the Christmas wars returned at the end of the year, though this time our side was on the upswing. Having defeated Wal-Mart the year before, the retail giant did a 180 and promoted “Merry Christmas” everywhere. Unlike previous years, when many Christians just complained, Christmas of 2006 was the year that many were mobilized. As a result, more victories were won last year than in previous years. We can lead, but we can’t do it alone. And lead we did: an AP story in December featured the Catholic League as the organization that was front and center in the Christmas wars.

In sum, 2006 was an impressive year for the Catholic League. We don’t win every battle, but even when we lose, we leave our mark. Most leaders, whether in the private or public sector, don’t want to be confronted by advocacy organizations, especially civil rights groups. We don’t start any of these fights, but we don’t back off from them, either. There is too much at stake, and too many good Catholics who support us, not to fight to the finish.

William A. Donohue, Ph.D.

President

January 16

Madison, WI — The Freedom From Religion Foundation posted on its website the following question about the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court: “Are you aware that if nominee Samuel Alito is named to the U.S. Supreme Court, there will be five members—a majority—who are radical, right-wing Roman Catholic?”

February 13

Indianapolis, IN — The Fairness Foundation waged a TV and radio ad campaign in Chicago and Washington, D.C. against Catholic hospitals. The foundation was critical of the billing practices of non-profit hospitals. During this time, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was supporting legislation that would have mandated that non-profit hospitals tighten their billing and collecting procedures. Madigan also wanted to force these institutions to contribute more to charities, lest they risk their tax-exempt status. One ad from the Fairness Foundation said it was regrettable that the Attorney General had to get involved, “but as with other immoral actions,” it concluded, “apparently the church needs to be forced by lawyers to do the right thing, to be moral. How sad.” In May, a similar advertisement was also heard on a New York radio station.

February 22

Salt Lake City, UT — The Utah House passed a bill that allows for state and local governments to maintain, donate or sell property to groups “that want to place memorials including religious symbols in honor of public servants who have died in the line of duty.” The bill blocked an attempt by American Atheists Inc., to remove metal crosses from roadsides that honor Utah Highway Patrol members killed on the job. American Atheists claimed that the crosses with the Utah Highway Patrol logo violated separation of church and state.

March 5

Chicago, IL — In an address at the Nation of Islam’s flagship mosque, Nation leader Louis Farrakhan said that the “Roman Church” is “the mother of White Supremacy,” does not represent Jesus and uses Jesus’ good name to shield its dirty practices.

March 13

Oshkosh, WI —The Freedom From Religion Foundation attempted to block the erection of a statue of an angel in a city park. The group’s co-president stated that religious imagery such as angels does not belong on public property.

April 18

Toledo, OH — A U.S. district judge said a Ten Commandments monument could remain in place outside the Lucas County Courthouse, because it did not promote religion. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio had sued the county in 2002 to have the display removed.

April 24

Los Angeles, CA — Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization that defends gays, lesbians and people with HIV/AIDS, asked the California Supreme Court to hear the case of a woman whose doctors refused to give her infertility treatment because she is a lesbian. The doctors claimed that performing such a procedure went against their fundamentalist Christian beliefs.

June 3

Des Moines, IA — A federal judge ruled that Prison Fellowship Ministries, a state-financed evangelical Christian program used in prisons, violated the separation of church and state. Americans United for Separation of Church and State had filed a lawsuit against Iowa prison officials and the Ministries. Americans United claimed that the faith-based prison treatment program was unconstitutional because prisoners engrossed themselves in Christian values.

June 28

Elkins, WV — Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the West Virginia ACLU sued the Harrison County Board of Education, saying a painting of Jesus Christ hanging outside the principal’s office sent the message that the school endorsed Christianity as its official religion. The school district was not going to fight the suit but, after private money was raised, changed its mind. After the portrait was stolen in August, someone gave the school, as a replacement, a mirror. The mirror had a brass plate at the bottom of it with an inscription that read, “To know the will of God is the highest of all wisdoms. The love of Jesus Christ lives in each of us.” Both sides in the case eventually reached a settlement in October, without disclosing the terms of the agreement.

September 7

San Francisco, CA — The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of drag queens that dress up as Catholic nuns, hosted an event called Revival Bingo. Among the features of the game are getting the bingo chips to make a cross on the card and “one finger bingo,” where the winner must stick up his middle finger to indicate Bingo. Another feature of the event is when one of the “nuns” yells out “Free s–t!” They then draw tickets from a bucket and winners get prizes, including pornographic DVDs and sex toys. A Revival Bingo event to be held in November, emceed by a drag queen known as Peaches Christ, was cancelled. Peaches hosted her own event called “Midnight Mass” throughout the summer and fall. Those events featured movies considered “camp,” along with guest stars and “drag spectacles.”

September 8

Atlanta, GA — A federal judge ruled that the Cobb County Commissioners could continue to begin their meetings with prayers that invoke Jesus’ name. The ACLU had filed a complaint on behalf of several people, claiming the government was unconstitutionally endorsing Christianity by allowing the prayer.

November 2

Denver, CO — Five organizations, including Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and Voice of the Faithful, demanded that the Denver Archdiocese release “all church documents relating to clergy sex abuse.” The groups also sent a letter that contained a lie to Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput. In the letter, the groups misrepresented the Archbishop; they stated that he was against legislation regarding victims of sexual abuse. In reality, the Archbishop was in favor of such legislation; he only objected to the fact that private and not public institutions were included in this law. Only when public institutions were included did the legislation fail. If SNAP and Voice of the Faithful were really interested in protecting children, they would have agreed with Archbishop Chaput, instead of making false accusations.

November 6

Green Bay, WI — Judge Mark Warpinski refused to recuse himself from a sexual molestation case involving a Catholic priest. Activist Attorney Jeffrey Anderson demanded that Judge Warpinksi recuse himself because the judge was Catholic and was serving on the Board of Education of Notre Dame Academy. Attorney Anderson has made tens of millions of dollars suing the Catholic Church. He has attempted to sue the Vatican and has called the seal of confession a “loophole.” Anderson is also one of the most generous benefactors to SNAP, which had issued a press release on November 4, making the same demand of the judge as Anderson did.

November 9

Las Cruces, NM — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop the city of Las Cruces (whose name means “the crosses” in Spanish) from using three crosses on its logos. Plaintiff Paul Weinbaum said he had told the judge previous to his ruling that, no matter what the outcome, he would appeal. Weinbaum was also suing the Las Cruces schools on similar grounds. In 2003, Americans United for Separation of Church and State complained that Las Cruces using crosses in its logos amounted to an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

November 17

Chicago, IL — The Rainbow Sash Movement issued a response to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) statement on pastoral care to homosexuals. Rainbow Sash chose to attack the Church as a whole rather than just address the statement on homosexuals. The organization said, “To say faithful GLBT lovers cannot get married harkens back to [the] days of the Inquisition…. Promoting discrimination against the GLBT Community flies in the face of Catholic Social Justice, and only further bankrupts the moral authority of the Bishops…. Perhaps it is time for GLBT Catholics to rethink their passive roll [sic] and find more creative ways to create positive tension between our Bishops and the GLBT Community.”

November 20

Philadelphia, PA — A federal judge threw out a sexual abuse-related class-action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Plaintiffs’ attorney Stewart J. Eisenberg attempted to sue the archdiocese and its current and former archbishops under racketeering laws. District Judge Legrome D. Davis said the plaintiffs’ claims did not sufficiently support a violation of such laws.

Simply suing the Catholic Church would not, per se, warrant inclusion in the Catholic League’s Annual Report. This particular case is included because Stewart Eisenberg has a history of actions that only seek to make money at the Church’s expense.

Additionally, Eisenberg knew that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia could not be sued for violating racketeering laws. He also knew that current Philadelphia Archbishop Justin Cardinal Rigali was not Archbishop when the alleged cover-ups of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese took place. Nonetheless, Cardinal Rigali was named as a defendant in this case. Eisenberg is an activist attorney with an agenda.

November 30

Washington, DC — The American Humanist Association announced the opening of a legal center in Washington D.C. The group’s first project was participation in a lawsuit challenging the location of polling places in churches. In one case, a Florida man complained that he had to vote in a Catholic Church and, in the process, walk past a church-sponsored pro-life banner framed by multiple giant crosses.

February 2

New York, NY — The Forum Gallery displayed a painting titled “Bread Shine,” which depicted several tiny figures engaged in sex acts beneath an industrial breadbox. A figure of Christ was attached to the breadbox as a decal. The painting was one of 30 by Gregory Gillespie that were displayed at the gallery.

March 23

Chicago, IL — The play “Oh, Holy Allen Ginsberg, Oh S–t Sweet Jesus, Tantric Buddha, Dharma Road” opened at the Balliwick Repertory Theatre. The play is about the life of a gay Catholic priest named Gerry Gallagher. Gallagher has a lover who is a professor of English and an atheist. David Zak, the play’s director, had previously directed the musical “Pope Joan.”

March 23

New York, NY — The play “Mary, Like a Virgin: a Divine Musical Experience” opened at Dillon’s Lounge. A transvestite played the Blessed Mother, whose character reveals, among other things, the “sometimes hazy details of her relationship with God” and “her struggle with eating disorders.”

April 21

Omaha, NE — The SNAP/Shelterbelt Theater presented “Defending Marriage,” a play about a gay priest named Father Pat and his boyfriend of ten years, an ex-seminarian named Gene. In the play, the local bishop asks Father Pat to lead a ballot campaign for traditional marriage.

May 20

New York, NY — An exhibit of the work of John Santerineross opened at KFMK Gallery. A photograph called “The Transformation of the Madonna” was displayed as part of the exhibit. An attendee described the photo, which is of a woman with her genitals cut and bleeding; there is a crucifix below the woman, and the blood from her mutilated genitalia is running into a wine glass.

June 15

West Chesterfield, NH — “Catholic School Girls,” a play by Casey Kurtti, opened at the Actors Theatre Playhouse. Characters in the play include nuns that are tyrannical, flaky, or senile. Girls in the play are, among other things, punished for saying Jesus was a Jew. The St. Petersburg Times wrote, “A dark undercurrent in the play criticizes the Catholic school experience as sexually repressive, humiliating to women and fostering an unthinking obedience to authority.”

June 16

Fort Lauderdale, FL — The Bill C. Davis play “Mass Appeal” opened at the Sol Theatre. The play is about a parish priest who tells parishioners what they want to hear in order to maintain his luxurious lifestyle. The priest advises a seminarian, “If you want to become a priest, lie.” Playwright Davis is also the author of the anti-Catholic play “Avow.”

June 20

Berkeley, CA — “Bigger Than Jesus,” a play by Rick Miller, opened for six performances at the University of California-Berkeley. In the play, Jesus criticizes the pope as an old man claiming to make infallible statements. Playwright Miller has described himself as a Catholic who “lapsed more than half a lifetime ago.”

June 24

Miami, FL — An exhibit called “Here I Sit” opened at the Faktura Gallery. The exhibit featured toilet seats that were painted and collaged. One of the pieces was a work titled “Holy S—.” The toilet seat in this piece had a collage of pages from children’s prayer books. A picture underneath the lid of the seat showed a priest’s hands breaking the Host in half. Angela Roell, the artist, has been described in the Miami New Times as a lapsed Catholic.

July 6

Munster, IN — The musical “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” by John Powers opened its five-week run at the Theatre at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts. The work features parodies of nuns and Catholic school students and trivializes the Sacrament of Confession.

July 21

Seattle, WA — The play “Mitzi’s Abortion” opened at the ACT Theatre. The main character, Mitzi, is unsure of whether she wants to abort her baby. She seeks advice from St. Thomas Aquinas, who says, “This inane position that the Church has taken lately which gives an embryo moral standing as a human person from the moment of conception! It’s ludicrous. But these puppies are eating it up like kibble!”

August 11

Chicago, IL — Oracle Productions presented “Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You.” The play by Christopher Durang features a vicious nun who rails against her dysfunctional students, derides the teachings of the Catholic Church, attacks Jesus and disparages the Virgin Mary.

August 15

New York, NY — “Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway” opened at the Helen Hayes Theatre. The Associated Press said of the play, “Catholics routinely come in for a thrashing, as do Republicans and anti-gay advocates.” The play claims that Nazis run the Catholic Church and “the devil really does wear Prada”; the devil in this case was the pope.

September 6

Philadelphia, PA — A dance production called “The Convent” opened in Philadelphia. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the nun characters “play nasty practical jokes, sing songs, perform religious rituals, experience spiritual ecstasy, and beat one another up.”

September 29

Hollywood, CA — A musical called “The Beastly Bombing” opened at the Steve Allen Theater at the Center for Inquiry-West. In the musical, a boy-crazy Catholic prelate makes a guest appearance, as does Jesus, who dances with the President.

October 10

Chicago, IL — A touring production of the musical “Altar Boyz” opened at the LaSalle Bank Theatre. The show is about a boy band that sings “Christian themed” songs that actually ridicule Christianity. In one song, the gay band member sings, “Your posse might not think it’s dope/If you confess you like the pope.” The choreography in “Altar Boyz” sometimes involves the group striking poses making believe they are crucified.

November 16

New York, NY — An exhibit by the artist Kiki Smith opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art. One of the pieces, titled “Virgin Mary,” is a female figure stripped of her skin, with her tissues and muscles exposed. Another exhibit features Mary Magdalene growing fur on her body.

November 17

Dallas, TX — The play “Jesus Hates Me,” by Wayne Lemon, opened at the Kitchen Dog Theater. The play is about a 20-year-old former high school football star named Ethan who lives with his mother on the seventh hole of a bible-themed miniature golf course. At one point in the play, the protagonist rages against Jesus, “You died for nothing. No? Then show me… you uncaring f—!” According to the alternative Denver weeklyWestword, also included in the play was a “Wal-Mart mannequin Jesus hanging on his cross, sporting a party hat and a ‘F— off Ethan’ banner.”

December 15

New York, NY — The play “Jackie Beat: How the Bitch Stole Christmas” opened at the Cutting Room. Jackie Beat is a drag queen who has been performing Christmas-themed shows for nine years. Press notes for this play included the following: “It all started innocently in 1998 with ‘Jesus Christ, It’s Your Birthday!,’ a delightful non-denominational holiday tribute featuring such seasonal fare as ‘Sleigh Ride in Leather With You,’ and ‘Black Christmas.’ When the show was prominently featured in The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Right’s 1998 Report on Anti-Catholicism, an annual holiday tradition was born.”

December 18

New York, NY — The Catholic League was informed of two art displays in the storefront windows of the Exit Art gallery. One display had two skeleton figures dressed like popes, and another figure made to look like Pope Benedict XVI with a menacing look on his face. There was also a life-sized teddy bear dressed as a priest. They were standing over a female mannequin dressed as an altar boy; she was lying on what looks like an altar. The title of this piece was “Bearing of the Cross” by Peter Caine. The other display by the same artist was of a scarecrow on a cross, with Ku Klux Klansman standing below him. In this display, titled “The Crucifixion,” there was also a skeleton figure made to look like an angel. Displaying these works exhibits a pattern: of all the displays that Exit Art could have shown during Christmas, it decided on these two.

December 21

New York, NY — The Calamity Carolers of Doom presented a musical titled “(Don’t Go) Home for the Holidays!” One of the songs, “Oy Vey, Maria,” featured the lyrics “Are you absolutely sure you’re a virgin?”

March 10

Watonga, OK — A priest phoned and e-mailed the Catholic League to inform us that a prisoner at Diamondback Correctional Facility was suing the facility’s parent company, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). The prisoner, a Catholic, claimed he was not receiving meatless meals on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent. After the Catholic League contacted CCA and spoke with the facility’s Vice President of Operations, the situation was remedied.

March

The chain store Urban Outfitters offered for sale a T-shirt reading “Erin Go F— Yourself.” The T-shirt mocked the Irish phrase “Erin Go Braugh,” which is popular on St. Patrick’s Day.

June

Clayboys, a greeting card company based in Canada, was offering for sale a card showing a nun with four facial expressions. Above the images were the words “Our Lady of Perpetual Mood Swings.” The inside of the card read “Holy Hot Flashes! Another Birthday!” The back of the card showed the nun engulfed in flames. Clayboys was also included in the Catholic League’s 2004 Annual Report for producing other cards of an offensive nature.

July

Streetsboro, OH — Creative Irish Gifts, in its catalog, was offering sets of kitchen towels and potholders with drawings of nuns carrying drinks. Each towel or potholder contained one of the following captions: “Sister Mary Merlot” and “Sister Mary Margarita.”

July

Provincetown, MA — A local T-shirt store called Don’t Panic! was selling shirts with the following sayings: “Catholic School Survivor,” “Catholic Boy Gone Bad,” and “Jesus is Coming. Hide the Porn.” Provincetown was in the news because some of the prominent homosexual population there was accused of harassing heterosexuals.

July

Pittsfield, MA — A company called Blue Q was selling products that ridicule the Catholic faith, including “Wash Away Your Sins Cleansing Bar.” Descriptions on the soap’s packaging included “Tempting ‘Do It Again’ Scent” and “For Liars Cheaters & Wrongdoers.” Other items Blue Q was selling included the “Lookin’ Good for Jesus Lip Balm.”

July 14

The Catholic League was notified about the website Chickenhead.com, which contained a number of items intended to offend Catholics. The site advertised a bumper sticker that included a picture of Jesus that read, “Jesus Loves You” in large print, and in smaller print, “unless you’re a Hebe, Towelhead, Homo, Buddhaboy, Hindufarian, Bull Dyke, Pagan, Atheist, or any other kind of hell-bound trash.” Also on the site were “Absolute Bottom 50” lists. Among these lists was the “Absolute Bottom 50 List of Bible Commandments.” Included on the list were “Though shalt not create graven images of any pre-teen hottie named Mary, to whom at some later day, I may opt to slip a celestial roofie and knock up” and “Thou shalt not abort any ‘rape baby’ unto whom I have bestowed divinely hideous deformities.”

August

Chester Springs, PA — Residents of a new development called Byers Station erected a statue of the Blessed Mother between their front steps and a shrub. Shortly afterward, they received a letter from the Byers Station Homeowners Association stating that if they wanted to keep the statue outside, they would have to submit a form requesting permission. They submitted this request and received a reply letter, denying them permission to have the statue. The homeowners association informed them that others may find religious statues offensive and, for that reason, the request was denied.

The residents contacted the Catholic League and local media. We wrote to the homeowners association, informing them that to deny the request would set a precedent that would mean crèches, menorahs and other religious symbols also would be forbidden. Local media also covered this story. The association, after receiving all the attention, dropped the ban on the Blessed Mother statue. Following this, another Byers Station resident erected a Blessed Mother statue in his front yard.

August

Signals, a company that sells a variety of gifts, was offering for sale a “Catholic School Survivor T-Shirt” in its mail order catalogs. The description of the shirt in the catalog read as follows: “Do nuns have legs? Do black patent leather shoes really reflect up? If these questions once concerned you (or still do), you’ll relate to this shirt. Wear it as a badge of honor.” A T-shirt and sweatshirt with the same saying were featured in the company’s 2006 holiday catalogue.

August

The Catholic League was informed that a list of prominent homosexuals, posted in the employee cafeteria of Universal Studios Orlando, included Pope Julius III (1550-1555). Claims that Pope Julius was homosexual have not been substantiated, and the Catholic League contacted the theme park and asked for evidence supporting such a claim. The theme park’s director of diversity called us, saying he did not mean to offend and had downloaded the list from the website of the radical homosexual activist group LAMBDA. He promised not to post the list again and said he would meet with anyone who was upset with the flier.

October 24

New York, NY — A staff member of Safe Horizon, a provider of domestic violence services, claimed on a panel discussion that some women become victims of violence as a result of emulating Mary, the Blessed Mother, by taking on weak and submissive qualities. Audience members objected to this statement, but the staff member ignored their remarks, saying she would continue to discuss this concept, which she called “Marianism.” The Catholic League wrote to Safe Horizon’s chief executive officer voicing objections to the staff member’s teaching. In a reply letter, the CEO said while the concept this staff member taught may be uncomfortable for people to hear, it is part of our mission to provide education about the dynamics of domestic violence in order to help rebuild the lives of victims.

He also said that Safe Horizon would review their training language in light of our concerns.

December

The Catholic League was informed that clothing retailer Urban Outfitters was offering a number of items offensive to Catholics. Among the items was a tote bag featuring Jesus and two women who appear to be infatuated with him. Other items included Jesus and Mother Superior rubber ducks, and a greeting card that ponders the question “Would we still have Christmas if he’d traded in the wooden cross for some bling?”

December 6

A woman from Utah informed the Catholic League of a poster that featured the Sacred Heart of Jesus that she saw in a novelty store in her area. The caption on the poster read “You Must Be Guilty of Something.” The poster is credited to an artist named Kenneth Ridgeway.

This cartoon by Domineck Scudera falsely accuses the pope of teaching hatred toward gays.

(Philadelphia Gay News, December 29, 2006-January 4, 2007).

Almost five years after the sex abuse scandal, some continue to attack the Catholic Church, including cartoonist Monte Wolverton.

(Sandusky Register [OH], December 21, 2006).

Cartoonist Pat Oliphant wasted no time in using the scandal involving disgraced congressman Mark Foley to take a swipe at the Catholic Church.

(Syndicated, October 2, 2006)

More than one cartoonist used the Mark Foley scandal to take a shot at the Catholic Church. This time the culprit was Henry Payne.

(Las Cruces Sun-News, October 30, 2006).

Cartoonist Pat Oliphant features the Catholic Church as a regular target for ridicule in his work, and 2006 was no exception. Here, Oliphant accuses religious people, and specifically the Catholic Church, of being responsible for much of the trouble in the world.

(Syndicated, September 18, 2006).

January

Shelburne, VT — A pamphlet from Child Lures Prevention that educates parents, teachers and students about violence against children included, as a symbol of hate, the Chi-Rho. Christians frequently use the Chi-Rho as a monogram for Jesus (it is created by combining “X” and “P,” the first two letters in the Greek word for Christ.) The Catholic League wrote to the president of the publication and asked him to delete the sacred symbol when the publication was reprinted. The president replied, saying the Chi-Rho was unintentionally misused as a symbol of hate. He also said it had been removed from the master copy of the pamphlet and would not appear in future printings.

January 26

Eden Prairie, MN — Eden Prairie Community Educational Services had planned to offer a three-part lecture entitled, “Da Vinci Code Historical Seminar,” about Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code. According to a flier advertising the lecture, “Most of the background items in the book were tied to events purportedly recorded in history.” The flier also stated that “Opus Dei frightfully exists right here in the USA, today” and falsely claimed that the Priory of Sion has existed since 1099. The lectures were later cancelled.

March

Eugene, OR — An entire issue of the Insurgent, a University of Oregon student newspaper, contained images and articles offensive to Catholics and other Christians. Some of the offensive images included a cartoon of Jesus on the Cross, with Jesus sporting an erection, and another cartoon of a naked Jesus kissing a naked demon, both of them with erections.

University of Oregon President David Frohnmayer responded in a way Bill Donohue characterized as “tepid.” Because of Frohnmayer’s response, Donohue sent a letter to every member of the Oregon Legislature, the governor, the state’s three Catholic bishops and others. He wrote, “At the very least, he [Frohnmayer] could have issued a moral condemnation.”

March 20

Plano, TX — Student’s Witnessing Absolute Truth (SWAT), a Bible study group, sued the Plano Independent School District, alleging religious discrimination. The boy who founded the group and his parents alleged that the principal at the boy’s middle school ordered information about SWAT be removed from the school’s website. The school’s principal, after receiving complaints, stated that district policy did not allow the website to include information about groups not affiliated with district curriculum. The lawsuit alleged other non-curricular groups remained on the site.

On April 25, the school district changed its policy, giving Bible study groups the same benefits and privileges of other clubs. SWAT also accepted a settlement from the district. Although this agreement was reached in April, the district still had to wait on a judge’s ruling, which came in November.

March 31

Waco, TX — The Lariat, Baylor University’s student newspaper, printed a photograph of a male student dressed as a pregnant nun. The photograph was taken at an on-campus event of a fraternal organization known as the NoZe Brotherhood, during which Baylor President John Lilley was inducted into the organization. At a meeting with editors of The Dallas Morning News, Lilley said the best way to handle things like this is just to laugh them off.

Bill Donohue sent a letter to Lilley, asking him about the incident. Lilly, in a reply letter, apologized and assured him that “the individual pictured in no way represents Baylor University.” Lilley also said he had previously sent the Bishop of the Diocese of Austin the same apology and assurance.

April 18

San Francisco, CA — A district judge ruled that the University of California’s Hastings College of Law could deny student activities funds to the Christian Legal Society, a group that does not allow gays, lesbians and non-Christians as members. The judge, in his ruling, said having homosexual students as members would not impair the group’s mission.

Bill Donohue sent the following letter to every member of the Oregon legislature, the governor, and the state’s three Catholic bishops. The letter came in response to the anti-Christian cartoons and articles that appeared in the University of Oregon newspaper the Insurgent and the university president’s response:

April 27, 28 & 29

Arlington, VA — The H-B Woodlawn Program, an alternative public high school, presented three performances of “The Marriage of Bette and Boo,” a play written by Christopher Durang that ridicules Catholicism. “Bette and Boo,” which was first performed in 1985, blames the Catholic Church’s teachings for the problems of the play’s characters. “Bette and Boo” also portrays priests as incompetent and powerless to do anything. Playwright Durang is the author of other anti-Catholic plays, including “Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You” and “Laughing Wild.”

May

Chapel Hill, NC — The Carolina Union on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill displayed as part of an exhibit a poster that read, “I use religious icons as masturbatory aids,” and bore a photograph of a rosary.

May 8

Salmon, ID — A high school English teacher was allowed to resume using the novel The Chocolate War in class. The novel takes place at an all-boys Catholic high school. The school is portrayed as a brutal place in which a mob of boys intimidates the main character, and the teachers turn a blind eye to what is going on.

May 24

Albany, NY — A man who had been barred from speaking about his Christian faith on Ulster County Community College’s campus won a civil-rights lawsuit. Greg Davis had his application for a permit to speak denied because the school said his speaking did not constitute a “cultural, educational, social or recreational activity.” The Alliance Defense Fund reached an agreement with the college that Davis’s constitutional rights had been violated.

June 15

Hong Kong — Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, speaking at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said that John Paul II told scientists at a cosmology conference not to inquire into the beginning of the universe. The Catholic League researched this and discovered a similar recollection by Hawking in his book A Brief History of Time. We noted that, in the book, there were no quotation marks around the statements attributed to the pope, determining that they were in fact Hawking’s impression of what the pope said. We then found the speech Hawking was referencing. Here is what John Paul II actually said about the beginning of the universe: “By itself science cannot resolve such a question…” (Our emphasis). We responded to Hawking’s words, saying the astrophysicist “should stop distorting the words of the pope.”

June 15

Las Vegas, NV — Foothill High School officials pulled the plug on a valedictorian’s commencement speech, because the speech contained references to God, “The Lord” and Christ. Brittany McComb was in the middle of delivering her speech, when she began delivering this content, which the officials had previously removed. In response to the action, McComb sued the school.

June 16

Greensburg, PA — A performance monologue titled “Immaculate Misconceptions,” by playwright and University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg professor Stephen A. Schrum, was presented at the University’s Ferguson Theater. A flyer advertising the performance said “Immaculate Misconceptions are the ‘simplistic explanations, half-truths, canonical misinterpretations, and outright disinformation’ received from the mouths of teachers by Catholic school students.” The play was also presented in October.

June 26

Newark, NJ — East Brunswick High School football coach Marcus Borden won a lawsuit against his school district. A judge ruled Borden’s 1st and 14th Amendment rights of free speech, academic freedom, association and privacy were violated by the school district’s policy prohibiting him from bowing his head and “taking a knee” during student-initiated prayer.

August

College Park, MD — The Catholic League contacted National History Day regarding a negative item about Pope Pius XII on the educational organization’s website. In 2005, the Catholic League contacted National History Day about the same item appearing in a flier about a student contest. We stated that it is slanderous to assume as a historical fact that Pius XII failed to oppose Hitler. In both cases, the officials at National History Day corrected the record to clear the good name of Pius XII.

August

Madison, WI — The University of Wisconsin, at its Madison campus, denied funds to a Knights of Columbus student group. The University said the group’s policy on admitting only Catholic men is against the state’s law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion or creed. On September 22, the University, at its Madison campus, informed the UW Roman Catholic Foundation that it had rejected its application to be a registered student organization. In this case, the University stated the reason for the rejection was that only three of the 12 Foundation board members were students. Also in question was the status of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The issue in that case was that the organization limits its leaders to only Christians.

August 23

Charlottesville, VA — The Cavalier Daily, the daily student newspaper of the University of Virginia, published a cartoon offensive to Christians. The cartoon showed Jesus on a mathematical graph. The title of the cartoon was “Christ on a Cartesian Coordinate Plane.” The following day, the paper published another cartoon of Mary and Joseph, with Mary holding the baby Jesus. Joseph asks, “Mary… I don’t mean to ruin this special moment, but how did you get that bumpy rash.” Mary replies, “I swear, it was Immaculately Transmitted.”

After the Catholic League requested an apology and the school was bombarded with 2,500 e-mails and 50 phone calls, the Cavalier Daily removed the offending comics from its website and issued a statement of regret. On October 16, the paper again ridiculed Jesus in a comic. In this comic, Jesus is shown carrying a cross, weeping, and then crucified. In the final panel, the cross is shown taking off like a rocket, with Jesus nailed to it saying, “Suckers!”

September 8

Minneapolis, MN — Bill Donohue wrote to the president of the University of Minnesota to ask that an anti-Catholic play by Dario Fo, to be presented at the University in March, be cancelled. Newspapers including the Albany Times Union and Newsday had, in the past, noted the anti-Catholic nature of the play, “The Pope and the Witch.” Even the University of Minnesota’s website summarized the play’s message as follows:

it is easy for a rich church to rage against abortion when millions are born into poverty, and become victims of the drug trade, from which people under the Vatican’s protection can fill their pockets.

Donohue presented these facts in the letter to university president Robert H. Bruininks.

Bruininks, in his reply, contradicted himself. He justified the University presenting the play while, at the same time, conceding that the school allows for “a broad diversity of points of view that are free from racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice, intolerance or harassment.”

September 30

Queensbury, NY — Adirondack Community College (ACC), part of the State University of New York (SUNY), sponsored Pagan Pride Day. Although an ACC news release said the purpose of the day was to, among other things, “support religious tolerance” and “eliminate prejudice based on religious beliefs,” this was not the case. Among the speakers at Pagan Pride Day was satanic priest John Allee, founder of the First Church of Satan. On the First Church of Satan’s website, Christians were instructed that they could “deprogram” themselves by “making fun of religious dogma.” On the site’s homepage, a short video popped up to the tune of Gloria Gaynor’s song, “I Will Survive.” In the video, a bearded man posing as Jesus, dressed in a white robe, starts miming the words to the song, disrobes and struts down a street in a diaper, before being hit by a bus. Among other videos is one that features a woman dressed as a nun in a black veil wearing a black bra, black slip and black panties; she is shown masturbating. The Catholic League told the press, “This isn’t higher education—it’s an obscene assault on Christianity.”

October

Williamsburg, VA — The president of the College of William & Mary ordered a cross be removed from the campus’ Wren Chapel. The cross had been in the chapel since the 1930s. An assistant director on the campus released a statement explaining the decision: “In order to make the Wren Chapel less of a faith-specific space, and to make it more welcoming to students, faculty, staff and visitors of all faiths, the cross has been removed from the altar area.” At a meeting before William & Mary’s Board of Visitors, college president Gene Nichol further defended his actions, saying the cross “sends an unmistakable message that the Chapel belongs more fully to some of us than to others.” In December, President Nichol, in an e-mail message, said a plaque would be placed in the chapel permanently to commemorate the chapel’s Anglican origins. In addition, the cross would be placed on the altar on Sunday “with expanded hours.”

October

Radford, VA — Radford University’s student-run “Whim Internet Magazine” featured an ongoing cartoon called “Christ On Campus.” During the week of Halloween, the comic showed Jesus attempting to go trick-or-treating and being mistaken for a pedophile. Subsequent editions of the cartoon show Jesus encountering a male prostitute and becoming addicted to a computer game.

October

Greenbelt, MD — The Rutherford Institute filed a lawsuit against Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School because an assistant principal warned a student not to read her Bible during her lunch break. The mother of the student said the assistant principal approached the student and told her to put the Bible away. The mother also said the assistant principal told the student she would be punished if “it happened again.”

October 24

Cypress, CA — A woman notified the Catholic League of offensive student artwork at Cypress College. In an area where students are allowed to display artwork, the woman saw sculptures of: a woman dressed as a nun in a short habit with a cross covering her crotch, a Blessed Mother figure dressed as Wonder Woman, an elephant dressed as a bishop, and Ronald McDonald dressed as a priest. When the woman brought this up with the Dean of Fine Arts, the dean told her that, although the art could be offensive, she was not going to tell the students what they could and could not display. The dean also said that the artwork was scheduled to be removed from display soon.

October 25

Chico, CA — On the website of the Center for Excellence on the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights and Tolerance, there was a lesson plan offered to teachers about the roles of various individuals in the Holocaust. Participants are asked to rate the level of guilt of these various individuals. One entry reads, “The Pope, who made no public statement against Nazi policy.” This statement is not true, as the New York Times, on Christmas Day 1941 and 1942, wrote that Pope Pius XII was “a lonely voice” among an otherwise silent and dark Europe.

October 31

Winter Garden, FL — Theater students at West Orange High School were preparing for their next production, “Agnes of God,” in which a nun gives birth in a convent, murders her baby, and flushes the corpse down a toilet. In the play, the Mother Superior of the convent attempts to cover up the crime. The students at West Orange High were planning to enter “Agnes of God” in the Florida Theatre Conference. The Conference describes itself as “a non-profit, educational theatre organization founded in 1956 for the purpose of providing programs and services to individuals and group membership.”