Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Beto O’Rourke’s attack on a heckler and CNN’s response:

Those who heckle a candidate for public office deserve to be removed from the venue where the incident takes place. When they are, it is to be expected that the candidate’s fans respond with applause. What is not expected is for the candidate to call the heckler a “mother******.”

That’s what Beto O’Rourke did. The fans of the candidate for Texas governor—there weren’t too many in attendance—cheered him on. No one was more supportive than John Avlon, a CNN commentator.

“It speaks to a need,” Avlon said, “a desire right now for a fiery liberalism that fights back.” Indeed, it goes beyond that. “It speaks to an unmet need in the Democratic base.”

What is that need? Avlon didn’t say. And why did it have to be filled by calling the heckler a “mother******”? If O’Rourke had called the guy a jerk, why wouldn’t that have met the “unmet need in the Democratic base”? Is there something perverse about the base of the Democratic Party that only a vulgar man like O’Rourke can fulfill?

Reporters who have covered O’Rourke have long noted what a filthy mouth he has. He likes hurling F-bombs so much that every time he loses a race for office—which is every other year—he drops it again.

In 2020, Politico said O’Rourke is “apparently hoping that vulgarity will be an engine of his political revival in the Democratic presidential contest.” It obviously didn’t work.

No matter, Avlon thinks it may work this time around. When CNN panelist Errol Lewis questioned whether O’Rourke’s obscene attack on the heckler will help him politically, Avlon shot back, “I can make a counter case.” That’s when he spoke about the “unmet need in the Democratic base” for politicians who use obscenities in public.

Is that what the public wants, or just the base of the Democratic Party? In 2016, a survey of Americans found that 70 percent said incivility in politics was at a “crisis” level.

In his Inaugural Address, Joe Biden spoke of the need for civility in politics. When he appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon in December last year, he lamented the lack of civility in politics. In 2011, PBS ran a headline, “President Obama’s Call for Civility,” and in 2016 The Hill featured a story, “Obama Calls for Increased Civility in Politics.”

But did they mean it? Speaking about O’Rourke’s penchant for vulgarities, Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s 2012 deputy campaign manager, said in 2019 that “It’s good for him to show a little emotion and get angry so that people can see exactly where he stands and that he will fight for what he believes in.”

Somehow Ronald Reagan managed to tell the American people “exactly where he stands” and “what he believes in” without getting crude. Perhaps that’s because there was no “unmet need” to speak like a tramp to the base of his party.

When O’Rourke loses again, it remains to be seen how long it will take before he meets the “unmet need in the Democratic base.”

Contact O’Rourke: info@betoorourke.com

Bill in the news (Religion Unplugged): “Most of those who work in the mainstream media are pro-abortion, and enthusiastically so,” Catholic League President Bill Donohue said. “As such, they have little interest in flagging the violence that marks protesters on their side. We will continue to track these incidents at the Catholic League and will contact the authorities — we already have — about the need to take action.” READ MORE HERE

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the way the Biden administration is treating different demographic groups:

On August 4, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared monkeypox a national public health emergency. This decision was not based on medical conditions; rather, it was purely political.

On August 10, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported there were 9,492 cases of monkeypox in the United States. On August 6, a news story on CDC data reported that “fewer than 1 in 10 (8%) needed hospitalization due to monkeypox.” That means there were 759 hospitalizations.

A study published July 21 by the New England Journal of Medicine found that 98 percent of those infected with monkeypox were homosexual or bisexual men and that 75 percent where white.

Now contrast these numbers with what we know about respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an infection that primarily affects young children during the fall and winter; there has been an uptick this summer.

“Each year in the United States,” the CDC reports, “RSV leads to an average approximately 58,000 hospitalizations with 100-500 deaths among children younger than 5 years old and 177,000 hospitalizations with 14,000 deaths among adults aged 65 years or older.”

No one has died of monkeypox in the United States.

Why has the Biden administration declared a national public health emergency for monkeypox, when only 759 have been hospitalized, while failing to do the same for RSV when 58,000 children are hospitalized each year for the virus?

In the New England Journal of Medicine study of men with monkeypox, it found that “the median number of sex partners in the previous 3 months was 5 partners” and that 20 percent had attended large gatherings, such as Pride events. The researchers also learned that 32 percent “were known to have visited sex-on-site venues within the previous month,” and that 20 percent had engaged in “chemsex,” meaning “sex associated with drugs such as mephedrone and crystal methamphetamine in the same period.”

Monkeypox is preventable—all it takes is for homosexual men to act responsibly and slam on the brakes, but for some unexplained reason,  many refuse to do so.

Biden is privileging monkeypox because it is a mostly white gay man’s disease. In other words, those who won’t alter their behavior get the benefits of an emergency declaration, but innocent children suffering from RSV do not. It’s a national disgrace. Whatever happened to health equity?

Contact HHS Office of Civil Rights: OCRMedia@hhs.gov

Over the past few years, beginning with the urban riots that took place in 2020, there was a rash of anti-Catholic crimes across the nation. Monuments were destroyed, iconic statues were bludgeoned, gravesites were desecrated, Masses were interrupted, graffiti was spray-painted on church walls, windows were smashed, churches were torched, schools were vandalized, chalices were stolen, etc.

We put together a representative list of these incidents. In some cases, messages were left indicating that the offenses were a payback to Catholics for their strong pro-life stand. Many wild-eyed charges were levied against the Church, seeking to justify the violence.

In some cases, the guilty were caught and charged with a hate crime. In most cases, they were either not apprehended or were not prosecuted.

The violence was a one-sided phenomenon: Catholics and pro-life Americans did not respond in kind.

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January 27, 2024: Group broke into church, broke stained glass and damaged crucifix (St. Columba Roman Catholic Church, Brooklyn, NY)

January 7, 2024: Nativity scene vandalized, statues broken (Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Overbrook, PA)

November 29, 2023: Statue of St. Joseph toppled and broken in half, steps damaged (St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church, Indianapolis, IN)

November 22, 2023: Stained glass window broken, church ransacked (Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, Irwindale, CA)

November 11, 2023: Crude images spraypainted on exterior of church (St. Andrew Catholic Church, Eagle River, AK)

November 5, 2023: Paint splattered on front doors and signs (Cathedral of the Annunciation, Stockton, CA)

November 1, 2023: Stained glass front doors smashed, satanic graffiti (Holy Family Catholic Church, Eastmoreland, OR)

November 1, 2023: Statues of Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Francis of Assisi broken (Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Staten Island, NY)

October 31, 2023: Over a dozen incidents, including pro-life signs stolen, church and school front doors vandalized, signs spray-painted, ahead of vote on abortion-related proposition (Archdiocese of Cincinnati)

October 30, 2023: Statue of Blessed Virgin Mary broken (St. Andrew Avellino Church, Flushing, NY)

October 24, 2023: Large, historic Crucifix damaged by man hanging and swinging from it (Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, MA)

October 16, 2023: Cross stolen from main altar (St. Patrick Roman Catholic Parish, Bisbee, AZ)

October 10, 2023: Damage to two statues outside of church (Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Broussard, LA)

October 6, 2023: Fire set to altar cloth, tabernacle cloth, and lectionary by two 12-year-olds (St. John the Evangelist Church, East Bridgewater, MA)

October 2, 2023: Pipe organ, marble walls, and plate glass windows damaged (St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Madawaska, ME)

October 2, 2023: Pro-life sign defaced (St. Paul Catholic Church, St. Louis, MO)

October 1, 2023: Crosses for pro-life display pulled up from lawn (Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Church, Elmhurst, IN)

September 16, 2023: Graffiti multiple times over three-week period (Prince of Peace Parish, Lewiston, ME)

September 16, 2023: Statues stolen and damaged (Holy Family Church, Lewiston, ME)

September 13, 2023: Statue of Jesus beheaded (Holy Savior Catholic School, Lockport, LA)

September 10, 2023: Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary stolen (Cathedral of St. Mary, Fargo, ND)

September 7, 2023: Crucifix stolen from gravesite of Charelene Richard, Servant of God (St. Edward Catholic Church, Church Point, LA)

September 2, 2023: Classrooms trashed, desks broken, computer screens smashed, and windows shattered (Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Santa Clarita, CA)

August 31, 2023: Fire started in dumpster on church property, moved to roof and sanctuary causing significant damage (St. Joseph Catholic Church, Salem, OR)

August 23, 2023: Sacred items, including a Crucifix, desecrated and non-sacred items damaged inside church (Holy Family Catholic Church, Grand Blanc, MI)

August 12, 2023: Man used snow shovel to break statues, vases, candles, and other items, attempted to set carpet on fire (Immaculate Conception Church, Willoughby, OH)

August 7, 2023: Window broken (Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul, Lewiston, ME)

July 29, 2023: Stained glass windows broken (Notre Dame Church, Ogdensburg, NY)

July 17, 2023: Holy oil poured out, crosses turned upside down, satanic imagery written on items inside church (Most Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, El Paso, TX)

July 15, 2023: Man broke into church through window, chased staff out of building, damaged Crucifix (Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, New York, NY)

July 8, 2023: Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary spray-painted (Resurrection Church, Brooklyn, NY)

June 28, 2023: Attempted break-in, damage to historic structure including Rose Window (Mission San José, San Antonio, TX)

June 28, 2023: Cross sawn down (Santiago Retreat Center, Silverado, CA)

June 16, 2023: Satanic messages spray-painted on exterior of school (Annunciation Catholic School, Denver, CO)

June 10, 2023: Woman spray-painted messages on church walls, damaged altar (St. Timothy Catholic Church, Miami, FL)

June 5, 2023: Man smashed photographs in rectory, spread paint thinner in rectory basement, smashed himself in the head with monstrance, and threw consecrated hosts from the Tabernacle on the ground (St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Queens, NY)

May 23, 2023: Woman set fire to outdoor chapel (Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Des Plaines, IL)

May 14, 2023: Multiple statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary broken, knocked down (Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Goose Creek, SC)

May 2, 2023: Furniture toppled, inscriptions defaced (Chapel of St. Ignatius at Seattle University, Seattle, WA)

May 2, 2023: Brick thrown through glass door (Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, Brooklyn Heights, NY)

April 16, 2023: Interior of church vandalized (Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Churubusco, NY)

April 10, 2023: Exterior graffitied with satanic symbols (St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church, Johnstown, PA)

April 8, 2023: Statues of Holy Family vandalized (St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park, CA)

April 1, 2023: Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe smashed (Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Corona, CA)

April 1, 2023: Altar overturned and broken, statue and other objects broken (St. Paulinus Catholic Church, Syracuse, NE)

March 20-April 24, 2023: Over the course of three nights man toppled statues and defiled altar (St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, Metairie, LA)

March 23, 2023: Statue of angel destroyed (Holy Family Parish, Fresh Meadows, NY)

March 11, 2023: Vandalism to Crucifix and interior of church, smashed windows (Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Gales Ferry, CT)

January 26, 2023: Pro-life signs defaced (St. Stephen Catholic Church, Riverview, FL)

January 25, 2023: Statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus vandalized (Good Shepherd Church, Fall River, MA)

January 23, 2023: Woman overturned potted plant, smashed statue of Jesus Christ (St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fargo, ND)

January 20, 2023: Front doors vandalized (St. Boniface Catholic Church, Cincinnati, OH)

January 20, 2023: Baby Jesus stolen, statues damaged (San Pablo Catholic Church, Marathon, FL)

January 18, 2023: Pro-life memorial defaced (St. Rosalia Church, Greenfield, PA)

January 17, 2023: Glass door shattered, image of Our Lady of Guadalupe slashed, statues and other religious items stolen, walls graffitied (Mary Queen of Peace, Billings, MT)

January 16, 2023: Statues for outdoor nativity set smashed, stolen (St. Patrick Co-Cathedral, Billings, MT)

January 13, 2023: Man threw brick through window of front door, attempted to set flagpole on fire (St. Agnes Catholic Church, Blackwood, NJ)

January 13, 2023: Man attempted to throw rock through window (St. Teresa Church, Runnemede, NJ)

January 13, 2023: Cross set on fire on church lawn (St. Patrick’s Church, Woodbury, NJ)

January 10, 2023: Glass windows of front door shattered by thrown object (St. Mary Catholic Church, Escondido, CA)

January 9, 2023: Bottle thrown at statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe (St. Mary Catholic Church, Escondido, CA)

January 8, 2023: Statue of Blessed Virgin Mary smashed (All Saints Catholic Church, Ft. Worth, TX)

January 5, 2023: Altar smashed with sledgehammer, reliquaries stolen (Subiaco Abbey, Subiaco, AR)

January 5, 2023: Nativity scene vandalized (St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church, Jamaica, NY)

December 30, 2022: Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Grand Island, NE—Brick thrown through window, woman entered church and threatened priest

December 25, 2022: Cathedral of St. Peter, Scranton, PA—Satanic symbolism etched into wooden doors of cathedral

December 11, 2022: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Downington, PA—Three statues vandalized

November 26, 2022: St. Bernard Catholic Church, Weston, WV—Stained glass windows broken, grounds damaged by vehicle

November 23, 2022: St. Andrew Catholic Church, Eagle River, AK—Phallic symbols spray-painted on church exterior

November 20, 2022: St. Peter Catholic Parish, Kenosha, WI—Graffiti spray-painted on outdoor Divine Mercy shrine

October 31, 2022: Calvary Cemetery, Rochester, MI—Cemetery vandalized with satanic graffiti

October 30, 2022: St. Pius X Catholic Church, Mountlake Terrace, WA—Satanic symbols spray-painted on church

October 28, 2022: Archdiocese of New York—Someone threw a wrench through the door of the Archbishop’s residence

October 25, 2022: Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Colusa, CA— Interior of church vandalized, including damage to tabernacle and baptismal font; obscenities written on altar and Eucharist desecrated

October 17, 2022: St. Patrick’s Parish, Watsonville, CA—Fire started inside church, causing damage to stained glass and stations of the cross

October 9, 2022: Church of the Resurrection, Lansing, MI—Church vandalized with pro-abortion messages

October 5, 2022: Holy Family Cathedral, Tulsa, OK—Man attacked desk attendant with a sword, threw incendiary device at buildin

September 25, 2022: Bella Health + Wellness, Englewood, CO—Exterior of Catholic pro-life medical clinic graffitied with satanic messages and imagery

September 24, 2022: St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Arcata, CA—Political messages and satanic symbols spray-painted on exterior

September 18, 2022: St. Thomas Aquinas Pastoral Center, Palo Alto, CA—Office graffitied

August 30, 2022: St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church, Gibbsboro, NJ—Statue of Our Lady of Fatima stolen

August 19, 2022: St. Mary Catholic Church, Glen Falls, NY—Statues and outdoor event tent and shed vandalized

August 15, 2022: St. Anthony Catholic School, Washington, DC—Vandal broke into school, smashed statue of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph and stole security cameras

August 11, 2022: St. Anthony Catholic School, Washington, DC—Vandal toppled and decapitated statue of St. Anthony and pulled up benches from school playground

August 8, 2022: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, Denver, CO—Drive-by shooting damages windows

August 6, 2022: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, Denver, CO—Drive-by shooting damages front door

August 2, 2022: San Clemente Mission Parish, Bakersfield, CA—St. Clement statue decapitated, satanic alter found behind church

August 2, 2022: St. Joseph Catholic Church, Bakersfield, CA—Stained glass windows smashed

July 23, 2022: Kingsburg Holy Family Catholic Church, Kingsburg, CA—Statue of Blessed Virgin Mary smashed, statues of St. Joseph and baby Jesus decapitated

July 14, 2022: St. Thomas Aquinas Parish School, East Lansing, MI—Windows shattered, statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary toppled

July 14, 2022: Lansing Catholic High School, Lansing, MI—Multiple windows broken with rocks

July 9, 2022: St. Jane Frances de Chantal Church, Bethesda, MD—Multiple fires set inside church building, statues pulled down, Stations of the Cross torn from walls, books torn

July 9, 2022: Church of the Ascension, Overland Park, KS—Church building vandalized with pro-abortion messages, statue of Blessed Virgin Mary defaced

July 5, 2022: St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Oakdale, CA—Windows broken and sprinkler system damaged repeatedly over 2-month period

July 4, 2022: St. Bernard Catholic Church, Madison, WI—Pro-abortion message spray-painted on building

July 3, 2022: Holy Family Catholic Church, Hillsborough, NC—Pro-abortion, anti-Christian messages spray-painted on building

July 1, 2022: St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Tilden, WI—Sidewalk spray-painted outside church building

July 1, 2022: Notre Dame Catholic Church, Chippewa Falls, WI—Sidewalk spray-painted outside church building

July 1, 2022: Holy Ghost Parish, Chippewa Falls, WI—Sidewalk spray-painted outside church building

July 1, 2022: St. Charles Catholic Church, Chippewa Falls, WI—Sidewalk spray-painted outside church building

June 30, 2022: St. Anthony of Padua School, Lorain, OH—Fire suspected as arson caused estimated 1 million dollars in damages to school

June 28, 2022: St. Louise Catholic Church, Bellevue, WA—Man spray-painted anti-religious messages on building, damaged doors with rocks, and threatened people at the church building

June 27, 2022: Ascension Roman Catholic Church, New York, NY—Church defaced with graffiti

June 25, 2022: Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church, New Orleans, LA—Statue memorializing children who died of abortion defaced

June 25, 2022: St. John Neumann Catholic Community Church, Reston, VA—Pro-abortion messages spray-painted on church building; mulch set on fire

June 25, 2022: St. Colman Catholic Church, Shady Spring, WV—Historic church burned to ground in suspected arson attack

June 25, 2022: All Saints Parish, Portland, OR—Sign vandalized with pro-abortion messages

June 25, 2022: St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, Harlingen, TX—Two statues of angels stolen, statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary toppled

June 25, 2022: St. Anthony Parish, Renton, WA—Pro-abortion messages spray-painted on walls, stained glass windows broken

June 25, 2022: St. Patrick Catholic Church, Philadelphia, PA—Church defaced with pro-abortion messages

June 25, 2022: St. Therese of the Little Flower Catholic Church, South Bend, IN—Church’s memorial to the unborn vandalized

June 23, 2022: St. Margaret’s Roman Catholic Church, Buffalo, NY—Religious statues and garden pots smashed

May 29, 2022: St. Augustine Catholic Church, Brooklyn, NY—Tabernacle stolen, Holy Eucharist thrown on floor, statues of angels on the altar decapitated and destroyed

May 22, 2022: St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Olympia, WA—Pro-abortion messages spray-painted on church building

May 19, 2022: Notre Dame de Lourdes, Swarthmore, PA—Pro-abortion messages spray-painted on front doors of church building

May 17, 2022: Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, New York, NY—Statues of Lúcia dos Santos and Jacinta Marto, two of the children who witnessed the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, smashed and decapitated

May 9, 2022: St. Bartholomew the Apostle Catholic Church, Katy, TX—Theft of Tabernacle containing Body and Blood of Jesus Christ

May 9, 2022: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, Katy, TX—Building vandalized with pro-abortion messages, attempted desecration of Eucharist

May 9, 2022: Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Houston, TX—Pro-abortion messages painted on front doors

May 9, 2022: St. Louis Catholic Church, Louisville, CO—Vandalized with pro-abortion messages

May 8, 2022: Loreto House, Denton, TX—Pro-abortion messages spray-painted on door and sign

May 8, 2022: Oregon Right to Life, Keizer, OR—Offices set on fire using incendiary devices

May 8, 2022: Wisconsin Family Action, Madison, WI—Offices set on fire using incendiary devices

May 8, 2022: First Care Women’s Health Manassas, VA— Pro-abortion messages spray-painted on the building

May 7, 2022: St. John Paul XXIII Catholic Church, Fort Collins, CO—Pro-abortion messages spray-painted on front doors, glass panels broken

May 5, 2022: Saint Joseph’s Church and Academy, Armada, MI—Satanic symbols messages spray-painted on door and sign

May 5, 2022: Portland, OR Pregnancy Resource Center—Antifa extremists broke windows and defaced property

May 4, 2022: Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Boulder, CO—Pro-abortion messages spray-painted on front doors

May 3, 2022: Trotter House Pregnancy Resource Center, Austin, TX—Vandalized

April 8, 2022: Cristo Rey Catholic Church, Austin, TX—Thirty windows and front door broken by rocks

April 1, 2022: St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, North Beach, MD—Sanctuary vandalized, crucifix and stained glass window damaged

March 8, 2022: St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Royal Oak, MI —Interior and exterior of church vandalized, statue damaged

March 1, 2022: Holy Family Catholic Church, Jacksonville, FL—Statue of the Holy Family defaced with blasphemous words and imagery

February 28, 2022: St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church, Baltimore, MD—Tombstones at Ukrainian Catholic cemetery defaced

February 23, 2022: St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, San Antonio, TX—Statue of the Holy Family stolen from parking lot

February 17, 2022: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Milledgeville, GA—Two statues of angels knocked down

February 14, 2022: St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Catholic Church’s Shrine of the Little Flower, Albuquerque, NM—Stained glass windows smashed

January 27, 2022: Greenwood Catholic Church, Greenwood, MS—Interior of church vandalized

January 26, 2022: Church of the Nativity, Burke, VA—Statues of Our Lady of Fatima and children who witnessed apparitions decapitated

January 14, 2022: St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Fresno, CA—Tabernacle vandalized, money stolen

December 29, 2021: Mary Mother of God Catholic Church, Hillsborough, NJ—Christmas decorations damaged and stolen

December 23, 2021: Mary Mother of God Catholic Church, Hillsborough, NJ—Christmas decorations damaged and stolen

December 12, 2021: Mary Mother of God Catholic Church, Hillsborough, NJ—Christmas decorations damaged and stolen

December 7, 2021: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC—Statue of Our Lady of Fatima vandalized

November 29, 2021: St. Peter’s Catholic Church, DeLand, FL—Windows smashed and statues toppled

November 28, 2021: Catholic Charities, Knoxville, TN—Fire at Catholic Charities, causing destruction of roof and one fifth of the building

November 9, 2021: St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, Chicago, IL—Graffiti painted on exterior walls

November 5, 2021: Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA—Graffiti spray-painted on exterior of Catholic mission

November 1, 2021: St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Fargo, ND—Statue of St. Anthony of Padua decapitated

October 24, 2021: St. Charles Borromeo, Tacoma, WA—Fire set to parish office

October 22, 2021: Annunciation Catholic Church, Washington, DC—Swastika painted on a pillar in church parking lot

October 21, 2021: American Martyrs Catholic Church, Manhattan Beach, CA—Hateful messages spray-painted on exterior wall of church

October 11, 2021: Arrupe Jesuit Residence, Seattle University, Seattle, WA—Graffiti painted on exterior wall of residence

October 11, 2021: Los Angeles, CA, St. Peter Italian Catholic Church—Paint splattered over the exterior of the church

October 10, 2021: Denver, CO, Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception—Hateful messages and other graffiti found spray painted on exterior wall and door

October 10, 2021: St. Edward Church, Seattle, WA—Windows broken and exterior vandalized with spray paint

September 29, 2021: Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Boulder, CO—Windows broken and exterior spray painted with pro-abortion messages

September 29, 2021: Miami Shores, FL, St. Martha Catholic Church—Statues of Jesus vandalized

September 23, 2021: St. Peter Armenian Apostolic Church, Van Nuys, CA—Stained glass windows smashed

September 5, 2021: St. Louis Catholic Church, Louisville, CO—Graffiti found on church’s door, sign, and garden sign

September 2, 2021: St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Jay, ME—Exterior of church and parish hall vandalized with white paint

August 29, 2021: Miami Shores, FL, St. Martha Catholic Church—Statues of Jesus vandalized

August 17, 2021: St. Michael’s Church, Flushing, NY—Statue of the St. Bernadette knocked down

August 9, 2021: Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mary, Bronx, NY—Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary vandalized

August 6, 2021: St. Benedict Catholic Church, Seattle, WA—Doors vandalized with black paint

July 17, 2021: Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Forest Hills, NY—Woman seen on camera smashing statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Thérèse of Lisieux

July 12, 2021: St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Parish, Portland, OR—Church vandalized by fire and graffiti

July 12, 2021: St. Patrick Catholic Church, Portland, OR—Church vandalized by fire and graffiti

July 12, 2021: St. Andrew Catholic Church, Portland, OR—Church vandalized by fire and graffiti

July 12, 2021: Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Portland, OR—Church vandalized by fire and graffiti

July 7, 2021: Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville, NC—Statue of Jesus covered in red paint

July 4, 2021: St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Merced, CA—Man seen on camera using red paint to vandalize church buildings and statues

July 2, 2021: St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA—Front doors of church vandalized with red paint

July 1, 2021: Holy Rosary Church, Jersey City, NJ—Statue of Blessed Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus vandalized and stolen

June 30, 2021: Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Denver, CO—Graffiti painted on exterior of church

June 19, 2021: St. Veronica’s Catholic Church, Philadelphia, PA—Fire started at front door of church

June 8, 2021: Immaculate Conception Church, Queens, NY—Graffiti spray-painted on exterior of church

June 4, 2021: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Port Charlotte, FL—Man caught on camera vandalizing doors and stained glass

May 27, 2021: Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, Leavenworth, WA—Audio equipment stolen and multiple fire extinguishers deployed inside the church

May 17, 2021: Diocese of Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY—Statue of baby Jesus decapitated

May 15, 2021: Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta-St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Staten Island, NY—Statues of Our Lady of Carmel and the Sacred Heart of Jesus vandalized

May 14, 2021: St. Athanasius Catholic Church, Brooklyn, NY—Large crucifix toppled and smashed, American flag burned

May 9, 2021: St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Narragansett, RI—Statue of Jesus Christ vandalized

May 8, 2021: Our Lady of Grace, Everett, MA—Rocks thrown through stained glass windows

May 6, 2021: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Riverside, CA—Stained glass windows broken and statue of San Juan Diego vandalized

May 5, 2021: McCarren Park, Brooklyn, NY—Statue of Polish priest vandalized

May 3, 2021: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Waltham, MA—Statue of Jesus Christ decapitated

April 26, 2021: St. Elisabeth Catholic Church, Van Nuys, CA—Man smashed face of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a sledgehammer

April 18, 2021: St. John Vianney, Rancho Cordova, CA—Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary spray painted

April 18, 2021: Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Woodland, CA—Statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. John, spray painted

April 17, 2021: St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fargo, ND—Face of statue of Jesus vandalized

April 15, 2021: Holy Rosary Church,Woodland, CA —Statues of three female saints vandalized

April 1, 2021: Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus, Gower, MO—Gunshots fired at abbey of Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles

March 22, 2021: St. Charles Catholic Church, Spokane, WA—Fire at St. Charles Catholic School is being investigated as possible arson

March 12, 2021: St. Teresa of Calcutta Church, St. John Paul II Academy, and St. Monica-St. Augustine Catholic Church, Boston, MA—Unkown substance inserted into locks, statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary knocked down

March 2, 2021: St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Ft. Worth, TX—Vandals damaged statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Thomas the Apostle

February 27, 2021: Basilica of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Youngstown, OH—Several statues vandalized

February 25, 2021: St. Mary of the Knobs Catholic Church, Floyds Knobs, IN—Chapel doors and statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary vandalized

February 16, 2021: St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Denver, CO—Statue and flower pots around altar damaged

February 10, 2021: St. Pius X, El Paso, TX—Three angel statues toppled and broken

January 29, 2021: Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Houston, TX—Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe shot six times

January 19, 2021: Rosary Cathedral, Toledo, OH—Graffiti and arson at Cathedral

January 1, 2021: St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, NY—Cathedral tagged with anti-police graffiti

December 28, 2020: Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, Fall River, MA—Stained glass windows vandalized

December 25, 2020: St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Indianapolis, IN—Nativity scene vandalized on Christmas morning

December 6, 2020: St. Louis Catholic Church, Houma, LA—Church buildings and bathroom spray-painted

December 11, 2020: Mission San Juan Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, CA—Front entrance to site graffitied

December 2, 2020: St. Joseph Catholic Church, Derry, PA—Multiple incidents of vandalism including topping of statues, tearing down stations of the cross

November 23, 2020: St. Bernard Catholic Church, FL—Statue of Jesus smashed with rock, two other statues decapitated and pushed into sewer drain, garden set on fire with accelerant

November 15, 2020: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Brewster, WA—Apparent arson attack

November 10, 2020: St. Gabriel Elementary School, Milford, CT—Portrait of St. Pope John Paul II defaced

November 9, 2020: St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Chicago, IL—Statue of Mary graffitied, “God is dead” spray-painted on church exterior

November 8, 2020: Mother Cabrini Catholic Church, Shamokin, PA—Head of Jesus stolen from crucifix

October 25, 2020: St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, Louisville, KY—Altar vandalized

October 22, 2020: St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Scranton, PA—Statue of Mary toppled

October 21, 2020: St. Germaine Catholic Church, Prescott Valley, AZ—Statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ found toppled; gardens surrounding the statues were also damaged

October 20, 2020: Resurrection Roman Catholic Church, Brooklyn, NY—Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary found vandalized; left hand was cut off, and there was a crack along her head

October 19, 2020: Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Magnolia, AR—Pro-life display vandalized.  The display consists of 150 small white crosses and a banner, which were knocked down

October 12, 2020: Mission San Rafael Arcángel, San Rafael, CA—Statue of Junipero Serra defaced and pulled down

September 29, 2020: Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, Fall River, MA—Rocks, cinderblocks thrown through windows of Catholic church, decapitated heads of holy family statues found on site

September 29, 2020: St. Joseph Cupertino Catholic Church, Fall River, MA—Statues of Joseph, Mary, and infant Jesus decapitated, heads carried away

September 26, 2020: St. Peter’s Chaldean Catholic Cathedral and Our Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, El Cajon, CA—Churches graffitied with swastikas, “White Power,” upside down crosses, “BLM,” and “Biden 2020”

September 24, 2020: Assumption Seminary, San Antonio, TX—Man with baseball bat damages crucifix, doors at Catholic seminary

September 23, 2020: Incarnation Catholic Church, Town ’n’ Country, FL—Man breaks church windows, sets pews on fire

September 15, 2020: St. Patrick Cathedral, El Paso, TX—Statue of Jesus topped, beheaded

September 14, 2020: St. Therese of the Child Jesus Catholic Church, Midvale, UT—Statue of St. Therese toppled, beheaded; parish office burglarized

September 11, 2020: Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace, Brooklyn, NY—Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe toppled

September 9, 2020: Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Tioga, LA—Statues damaged and beheaded, windows broken

August 25, 2020: St. James Church, Kenosha, WI—Anti-religious graffiti spray-painted on Catholic Church site during protests over police shooting of Jacob Blake

August 24, 2020: Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Allentown, PA—Attempted beheading of statue of Mary

August 17, 2020: Holy Family Parish, Citrus Heights, CA—Statue of Mary beheaded, swastika spray-painted on Ten Commandments

August 9, 2020: Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, Denver, CO—Statue of St. Jude beheaded

August 8, 2020: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Wounded Knee, SD—Deconsecrated church destroyed in suspected arson

August 3, 2020: Sacred Heart Church, Weymouth, MA—Fires set at church entrance

July 19, 2020: Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, Bloomingburg, NY—Abortion monument toppled

July 15, 2020: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, New Haven, CT—Satanic and anarchist symbols painted on the front door of the church

July 15, 2020: Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Miami, FL—Outdoor statue of Jesus knocked over and beheaded

July 14, 2020: St. Mary’s Cathedral, Colorado Springs, CO—Statue of St. Mary painted red

July 13, 2020: St. Stephen Catholic Church, Chattanooga, TN—Statue of St. Mary beheaded

July 12, 2020: St. Peter’s Parish, Dorchester, MA—Outdoor statue of St. Mary burned

July 11, 2020: Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, San Gabriel, CA—Fire at 249-year-old church destroyed the roof, pews, and more

July 11, 2020: Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Ocala, FL—Man crashed minivan through church door, poured gasoline on the foyer and lit it on fire. People were inside the church, preparing for Mass.

July 10, 2020: Cathedral Prep School and Seminary, Elmhurst, NY —Outdoor statue of St. Mary spray painted with word “IDOL”

July 5-6, 2020: St. Bernadette Catholic Church, Rockford, IL—Crucifix at roadside shrine smashed

July 3, 2020: St. Ann Catholic Parish, Gary, IN—Outdoor statue of St. Mary beheaded and hands severed

June 22, 2020: Providence College, Providence, RI—At a Catholic college’s on-campus cemetery for deceased priests who taught at the school, a man defaced gravestones by painting swastikas and anti-Catholic language, burned some American flags that were next to the graves, and assaulted a college security guard

May 31, 2020: Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver, CO—Church exterior damaged over multiple nights, including smashed gates, grafitti with messages such as “God is dead” and “There is no God,” and windows shattered by rocks

May 30, 2020: Our Lady of Mt. Lebanon-St. Peter Cathedral, Los Angeles, CA—Church exterior graffitied with “prosecute killer cops,” “ACAB” [All Cops Are Bastards], “Kill all cops,” and “Make America pay for its crimes against Black lives”

May 29, 2020: St. Jude Chapel, Dallas, TX—Exterior damaged, including thrown rocks shattering windows

May 29, 2020: Cathedral of the Assumption, Louisville, KY—Thrown rocks shattered rectory windows

May 28, 2020: Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis, MN—Someone broke into the church and poured flammable liquid under the pews, lighting a fire that damaged pews and the floor

May 6, 2020: St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, Casper, WY—Pulpit, altar, and statue damaged

 

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on an increase in anti-Catholicism:

The recent flurry of anti-Catholic incidents at home and abroad is a disturbing reminder of how deeply entrenched this genre of bigotry is. The incidents are not in any way a coordinated attack, though some commonalities are evident, the most obvious being that they are all driven by left-wing players.

It was reported in Canada last week that there has been a huge increase in anti-Catholic hate crimes: between 2020 and 2021, they shot up by 260 percent. Churches have been burned to the ground, stained-glass windows have been smashed and acts of desecration have taken place.

Some of this is a reaction to news reports alleging the discovery of “mass graves” of Indigenous children on Catholic grounds. Those stories have been proven to be totally false—not a single corpse has been found in these “mass graves.” But the damage that these lies have caused is considerable.

Communist countries have a long history of plundering the Catholic Church, which is why recent anti-Catholic incidents in China and Nicaragua come as no surprise. In both cases, the offenses were launched as a payback against those who challenged the authorities.

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, over the objections of the Chinese Communist Party, she became the object of scorn. The Chinese Embassy in France tweeted a political cartoon that showed a witchlike picture of Pelosi crowned with a ring of stars, resembling Our Blessed Mother. She was shown trying to steal a baby from its crib, an apparent reference to her wanting to steal Taiwan from China.

The Communist regime in Nicaragua has taken aim at Bishop Rolando Álvarez of the diocese of Matagalpa. According to Thomas D. Williams, he is a vocal opponent of Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, and for that he has been subjected to harassment. He has been denied entrance to his church. The riot police have closed off the road outside his house, forcing him to say Mass at his residence.

In the United States, pro-abortion protesters crashed a big Catholic event in California. The Napa Institute held a conference that attracted demonstrators who interrupted the proceedings screaming, “Get your rosaries off our ovaries.” When those in attendance drowned them out by singing “Salve Regina,” they left.

On August 6, pro-abortion protesters showed up at the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in downtown New York City. At least five were arrested for harassing church-goers.

Many are responsible for fueling these incidents, and this includes those who affect the pop culture. Bill Maher showcased his anti-Catholic bigotry on Friday when he once again smeared homosexual priests for molesting minors.

Worse are those in a position to do something about these offenses. In June I wrote to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for his intervention in dealing with domestic terrorists who have attacked Catholic churches and crisis pregnancy centers. He has done absolutely nothing to combat these incidents.

Bigotry against any demographic group, religious or secular, should be condemned by everyone. Regrettably, members of the ruling class appear to be selectively interested in doing so.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on an op-ed in the Daily News:

No one I know reads the Daily News. Indeed, I never see anyone reading the New York newspaper anymore, either on the train or in pubs. In fact, most places that carry newspapers don’t even stock it. This explains why I didn’t read an article by J.T. Barbarese attacking Catholics, until a friend of mine brought it to my attention.

The New York Times has published many essays that are highly critical of the Catholic Church, but it doesn’t allow writers to simply vent, spouting the kind of vitriol we would expect from an angry adolescent. That’s why Barbarese found a home in the Daily News.

What is it that Barbarese doesn’t like about the Catholic Church? Its teachings on contraception, natural family planning, abortion, priestly celibacy, women priests, etc. He opposes the tax-exempt status of the Church and says we have too many Catholics on the Supreme Court.

It’s hard to take someone serious when he knows nothing of what he says. Who is Barbarese? A poet who works at Rutgers, a tax-exempt institution.

My guess is that as many people read his screed, which was dead on arrival, as read his poems. Praise the Lord.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on remedies for monkeypox:

Imagine if those who drink too much alcohol and wind up damaging their liver were to band together demanding a cure for their malady, without first pledging to change their behavior. What would we say? What would we say to heavy smokers if they demanded a cure for lung cancer without first pledging to change their behavior?

Yet when it comes to homosexuals and monkeypox, or AIDS before that, gay leaders demand that we find a cure for their disease without first pledging to change their behavior.

When Covid hit, we locked down the economy, closed schools, and banned church services. So why didn’t health officials cancel the “Pride” events in New York City at the end of June? A predictable surge in monkeypox followed.

Why didn’t health officials ban the Dore Alley gay festival at the end of July in San Francisco? Those who attended this event said there were no warnings posted anywhere.

The Washington Post interviewed people at the Dore Alley event and noted that some were quite worried. “Many revelers kept their clothes on or donned full latex outfits inside crowded bars.” In other words, had they not been afraid of catching monkeypox, they may have not have kept their pants on. This is not normal. What kind of people act this way?

Scott Wiener is a California state senator and a gay activist. He says the monkeypox vaccine “can’t come fast enough.” What about gays changing their behavior? “If people want to have sex, they are going to have sex.” He just doesn’t get it. Vaccines are no panacea for behaviorally induced diseases.

The August 5 edition of the New York Times has an op-ed by Kai Kupferschmidt advising gays what to do before the vaccine is widely available. “That includes talking about reducing the number of sexual partners, creating ‘pods’ of sex partners (where people can keep sexual activity within a group) and other strategies to reduce the risk.”

Why the compulsion on the part of so many homosexual men to have multiple sex partners with anonymous men? This is not normal. And why is it that the best Kupferschmidt can do is recommend that gays have sex with multiple partners whom they know?

One voice of sanity in the medical profession is Don Weiss, the top epidemiologist at the New York City Department of Health. His advice is seminal.

In an email he sent to other health officials, he said, “We cannot vaccinate our way out of this, nor can we isolate our way out of this. The only way out is to abstain. I know I sound like a bible thumping preacher, but this is the exposure we need to PREVENT.”

Weiss added that “This disease is entirely preventable had we the courage to send out prevention messages. We seem paralyzed by the fear of stigmatizing this disease while we totally ignore the epidemiology. If we had an outbreak associated with bowling, would we not warn people to stop bowling.”

We need to send Catholic moral theologians and doctors into the gay community to advise them of the merits of Catholic sexual ethics. Agreeing to temporarily keep one’s pants on in public is not a strategy that works.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest threat to religious liberty:

The Biden administration has already proven to be a radical advocate of abortion-on-demand and transgender rights. Worse, these policies almost always come at the expense of religious liberty. Its latest iteration is a proposed rule change from the Trump years that would threaten the rights of Catholic doctors and the autonomy of Catholic hospitals.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wants to amend Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. ObamaCare) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex to include “sexual orientation and gender identity.” The public has until October 3rd to comment on the proposed rule change.

The effect of this change would be dramatic. To begin with, there is a profound difference between discriminating against a biological female and a man who claims to be female, and vice versa. No one supports discrimination against real women, but to force Catholic doctors and hospitals to perform genital mutilation surgery on men who want to “transition” to a woman is a violation of their First Amendment right to religious liberty.

Roger Severino, who ran the HHS Office of Civil Rights under Trump, and who now works at The Heritage Foundation, tells us what to expect.

“This rule will mandate that insurance companies cover the full menu of gender identity interventions such as mastectomies, hysterectomies, breast augmentation, hair removal, and a lifetime of cross-sex hormones, including for minor children. It would also force doctors to perform cross-sex surgeries and to administer puberty blockers to children if they believe such intervention ‘can never be beneficial.'”

In other words, this rule would prevent Catholic doctors and hospitals from abiding by the tenets of their faith, in essence forcing them to violate their conscience rights or go out of business.

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York chair important committees of the bishops’ conference, and they released a statement denouncing the proposed rule change as being inimical to religious liberty.

They did not buy the idea, floated by the Biden administration, that claims the new rule would not impact on religious liberty. “Assurances that HHS will honor religious freedom laws offer little comfort when HHS is actively fighting court rulings that declared HHS violated religious freedom laws the last time they tried to impose such a mandate.”

The proposed rule change not only infringes on the First Amendment rights of Catholics, it threatens the well-being of children. The Biden administration’s support for puberty blockers is dangerous. The Food and Drug Administration recently said these hormones and drugs can cause brain swelling and vision loss. This is child abuse.

The Biden administration is intentionally making it difficult for the public to sound off about its proposal. We have written a step-by-step guide to facilitate the process. Click here to access it. Please hone in on the threat to religious liberty as the responses will be grouped by subject matter.

While it will not count as part of the commentary on the proposed rule change, you can at least let the Biden team know what you think about it. Contact: 1557@hhs.gov

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on remarks made by an MSNBC writer:

It is possible to make bigoted remarks without being a bigot: no one seriously thinks Mel Brooks is a bigot because he dabbles in stereotypes—he treats all demographic groups the same and he never hits below the belt. We’ve all heard ethnic jokes, and most who tell them are well-meaning people who cannot realistically be called bigots. Then there are those who mean what they say. However, even there degrees of culpability are evident.

I never heard of Zeeshan Aleem until now. Is he an anti-Catholic bigot? No doubt about it. Is he someone Catholics need to worry about? Not at all. He is a lost soul, an addlepated bigot if there ever was one.

Aleem is a left-wing atheist who writes for MSNBC. He wrote a piece this week for his employer complaining about the specter of a “Christian theocracy” that is “not far-off.” As evidence, he notes that we have “a radically reactionary Supreme Court that is two-thirds Catholic,” and it is these Justices—the ones who overturned Roe v. Wade—who are holding women “hostage” to a “Christian conception of life.”

When Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer were on the high court, they were later joined by Elena Kagan. Jews are approximately two percent of the population, yet at that time they made up one-third of the Supreme Court. Was that a problem? For bigots it was. Ditto for those like Aleem who think it is a problem when we have too many Catholics on the Supreme Court.

Do we have too many blacks playing basketball? Do we have too many whites playing hockey? If no one is being denied the opportunity to play—or to compete as a candidate for the Supreme Court—then those who get the job can hardly be called bigots. The bigots are those who complain about the composition of the teams or the high court.

In my 2009 book, Secular Sabotage, I detailed all the recent accusations emanating from left-wing circles about the nefarious “Christian theocracy” that was allegedly taking hold. Perhaps Aleem is too young to have noticed but it is not accurate to say that the specter of Christian theocracy is not “far-off”—according to those of his ilk, it’s been here for some time. So how bad could it be?

The Justices who overturned Roe v. Wade did not usher in a “Christian conception of life.” No, they made a jurisprudential decision that invalidated a ruling that was never grounded in the Constitution. Besides,  Biology 101 agrees with Catholic teaching: the DNA that makes us unique individuals occurs at conception, when life begins, and not a moment after.

What makes Aleem an “addlepated bigot”? His biography.

He was raised a Muslim but became an atheist after his grandfather asked him why Islam was different from other religions. He could not answer. “I froze.” He said, “I could not know or prove which god was the right one—I quickly confessed that my religiosity was a mere accident of birth.” He also said that his grandfather “delighted in trashing me in chess and asking me vexing questions,” though he did not say if he became an atheist immediately after being trashed in chess. It could have been a week later.

Aleem likes Quakerism. Indeed he enjoys going to their meetings where everyone sits “in silence for around an hour, lost in thought about what a more fulfilling society would look like.” Much to ponder there.

He also likes Buddhism. “I found that when I was going through rough patches (there seems to have been many), there was nothing like the practice of mindful meditation, derived from Buddhist practices, that helped me find my footing and feel connected to the world.” Even more to ponder.

Aleem also likes Judaism. He notes that “I found myself chanting Hebrew and joining hands with septuagenarians after group meditation sessions in my local Jewish community center.” The opportunities to ponder appear to be limitless.

After he pondered with elderly Jews, he returned to Quakerism. “I started Googling ‘Quaker meeting houses near me.'” But why? “This was not a search for god—my atheism was not wavering—but a desire to commune toward the end of something greater.” The pondering never ends.

Too bad Aleem never took the time to ponder with Catholics. We do our pondering at events like “Theology on Tap” where Catholics like me speak to young people in bars. To be honest, we don’t ponder as much as we pound—the beers that is. And when it’s over we feel a whole lot better. Ponder that, Mr. Aleem.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the Canadian Report on the residential schools for Indigenous people:

There has been much recent discussion about the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. It found that 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their homes and forced to attend schools that would assimilate them into the dominant culture.

It was the Canadian government that made the decision to suppress the culture of Indigenous persons, sending children to residential schools operated by the government, Catholic religious orders, and Protestant denominations. The majority of the schools were not run by Catholics.

The central criticism of these arrangements holds that Canada’s policy of forced assimilation resulted in “cultural genocide.” In essence, government leaders destroyed the culture of Indigenous persons, imposing on them Western norms and values.

When Pope Francis was in Canada, he was highly critical of the residential schools, but he never used the term “cultural genocide.” When returning to Rome, he was asked about this on the papal plane.

Brittany Hobson of the Canadian Press mentioned that the Report “described the residential school system as ‘cultural genocide,'” and asked him why he didn’t call it that. Before he could answer, she made an important qualification. “This has since been amended to just ‘genocide.'”

The pope replied that “it didn’t come to mind, but I described it. It is true; yes, it’s genocide.”

Who did the amending? How did “cultural genocide” become  “genocide”? Those who wrote the Report? The government? The media? Activists? Are we now to believe—she succeeded in entrapping the pope—that the residential schools were genocidal?

The truth is Canada never witnessed “cultural genocide,” never mind “genocide.” Don’t take my word for it—read p. 6 of the Report.

“Despite the coercive measures that the government adopted, it failed to achieve its policy goals. Although Aboriginal peoples and cultures have been badly damaged, they continue to exist.” That is a true statement and it undercuts what was said on p. 1 about residential schools being an example of “cultural genocide.” True genocides allow for few, if any, survivors.

The Report accurately notes that “The residential school system was based on an assumption that European civilization and Christian religions were superior to Aboriginal culture, which was seen as being savage and brutal.” Without justifying anything the schools did, there were very good reasons for thinking this way.

Charles Murray tallied approximately four thousand first-time accomplishments in history. He found that nearly 100 percent of the scientific and technological breakthroughs in history originated in Europe or North America. He came to the conclusion, which he did not anticipate, that the key to understanding this phenomenon is Christianity.

What Murray said is incontestable, making absurd the statement in the Report that “there is no hierarchy of societies.” This is morally and historically indefensible. Are we to believe there is no difference between a society run by Norwegians and one run by Nazis?

In his book, Genocide, historian William D. Rubenstein writes that “Genocide is normally carried out against an ethnic or religious minority, and entails the deliberate killing of most or all members of a collective group for the mere fact of being a member of that group.”

The Report cites not a single person who was killed in the residential schools. So where was the genocide? There are two testimonials about killing in the 535-page Report. One was made by an Indigenous woman who said she witnessed her older brother kill one of her other brothers when she was nine.

The other cites a 2014 document that claims that “1,017 Aboriginal women and girls were killed and 164 were missing.” If this is genocide, then it has nothing to do with the residential schools. These killings took place between 1980 and 2012. The residential schools were closed in 1969.

If the residential schools were guilty of genocide, surely the Report would find instances of torture, if not whipping. But no incidents of torture were cited. One instance of whipping was mentioned and it was committed by a government teacher in 1895.

Did the children suffer from hunger or starvation? Two incidents of hunger are noted, one in an Anglican school and the other in a government school. There is one mention of starvation, and it was attributed to the federal government. The one testimonial on molestation cites a girl who was molested by older girls in a hostel.

Rubenstein notes that between 1910 and 1970, the Australian government acted in a similar fashion toward Aboriginal children. It may have been unethical, but it does not qualify as genocide.

He argues that “the use of the term ‘genocide’ to describe a policy, however wrong-headed, in which no one is killed and whose aim is to enhance the life-chances of those affected…seems to fly in the face of common sense. So, indeed, there should be profound dissatisfaction with the use of the term ‘genocide’ in this way.”

If we don’t distinguish between cultural imperialism and cultural genocide—never mind “genocide”—we are belittling what happened to Jews in Hitler’s Germany. We need to stop with the drama and the hyperbole—there was no genocide, cultural or otherwise, in the Canadian residential schools.