Bill in the News (Epiphany Radio): Bill discusses his new book, Christianity in the Crosshairs: Ruling Class and Radicals Find a Common Enemy. To listen, click here.

Christianity in the Crosshairs: Ruling Class and Radicals Find a Common Enemy, by Catholic League president Bill Donohue, is now available. Published by TAN Books, it details how many of those who run our institutions have embraced the politics of the Left. But they can’t win unless they disable the family and Christianity.

The goal of the ruling class and radicals is the creation of a “compliant citizenry.” Nothing motivates them more than control: they are masters of thought control and behavioral control. Unlike the tyrants of old, they opt for democratic despotism, the soft version of totalitarianism. Christians, however, remain an obstacle to their ends, which is why they are caught in their crosshairs.

Praise for Christianity in the Crosshairs

“Secular elites have placed Christianity—and especially Catholicism—in the crosshairs for decades. Few have taken fire and flak like Bill Donohue. The bold Donohue and his fearless Catholic League have bravely taken on the ruling elites for decades. Now, you can, too. This book will help equip the faithful to fight back.”

—Paul Kengor, PhD, professor of political science, Grove City College, editor of The American Spectator

“Bill Donohue shows how cultural elites and activist networks often align in ways that marginalize the family and religious faith, with Christianity frequently in the crosshairs of the debate. His argument is carefully researched, lucidly written, and genuinely illuminating. It’s a valuable guide for Christians—and for anyone who wants to understand what’s driving today’s cultural conflicts.”

—Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council

“With his no-nonsense style, Donohue combines eye opening, real-life stories with solid research of the current decline of our culture. Readers will be encouraged as they see how in the end, despite the many storms that swirl around us, the ruling class and raging radicals are no match for deep faith and strong families.”

—Teresa Tomeo, host of EWTN’s Catholic Connection

“There is no better social scientist writing in America today than Bill Donohue. Writing in a bold, direct style, he lays bare how today’s ‘elites’—as they call themselves—and today’s radicals have formed an unholy alliance to destroy faith and family—and how those of us who treasure both must fight back.”

—Steven W. Mosher, President, Population Research Institute

Bill in the News (New York Post): Mamdani “not only wants nothing to do with Catholics,” he hires “vile anti-Catholic bigots,” Catholic League President Bill Donahue told The Post READ MORE HERE

Kyle Nazareth

As Presidents’ Day dawns, reminding us of the leaders who shaped our nation, it’s fitting to revisit the unparalleled legacy of George Washington, the holiday’s original honoree. Our first president was a monumental leader; he led the Continental Army through the Revolutionary War, unified the discordant states during the framing of the Constitution, and steadied a young nation. And unlike many in the Founding generation, Washington defied widespread anti-Catholic prejudice, establishing the religious liberty central to America today.

Anti-Catholic bias ran deep in early America. Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. called it “the deepest bias in the history of the American people.” Many of the first colonists were Puritans and Congregationalists; they came to America to escape persecution by the Church of England, whose doctrines they associated with Catholicism.

As a result, many early Americans linked their faith with liberty and Catholicism with tyranny. They believed Catholics could never be fully American because allegiance to the Pope and obedience to Church hierarchy seemed incompatible with republican self-government. Anti-Catholic rhetoric later framed the American War of Independence as resistance not only to Parliament but also to Rome. Colonial laws reflected this hostility.

Yet Washington championed religious liberty for Catholics, viewing it as the government’s “very first imperative,” according to scholar Michael Novak. In a 1785 letter to George Mason, Washington wrote that “no man’s sentiments are more opposed to any kind of restraint upon religious principles than mine are.” He insisted that good citizens be “protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of their own conscience.”

To Bishop John Carroll, the first U.S. Catholic bishop, Washington wrote that growing liberalism would ensure all worthy citizens are “equally entitled to the protection of civil Government.” He praised Catholic patriotism and Catholic France’s vital aid during the Revolutionary War, affirming their full and equal place in the American experiment.

Washington put these convictions into action. During the War’s 1775–1776 Quebec Campaign, he banned the anti-Catholic “Pope’s Day” (called Guy Fawkes Day in Britain) effigy burnings on November 5, calling them “ridiculous and childish” and “monstrous” whilst seeking alliances with Catholic France and Canada. He warned his forces against any disrespect or contempt toward the Catholic residents of Quebec.

Washington was also impressed by Catholics for their brave contributions to the cause of independence. Among them was Commodore John Barry (first U.S. Navy officer under Washington), aide Captain John Fitzgerald, French ally Marquis de Lafayette (highly esteemed by Washington), and Charles Carroll of Carrollton—the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence—who financed the war, served on the Board of War supporting Washington, and became his friend.

Personally, Washington showed warmth towards Catholicism. He occasionally attended Catholic Mass, led a delegation from the Constitutional Convention to a nearby Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, visited America’s first Catholic college, financially supported the construction of Catholic churches, and displayed religious paintings of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist at Mount Vernon. Reports from his aides and servants note he made the Sign of the Cross before meals and prayer, a distinctly Catholic gesture. Biographer Ron Chernow observed that Washington “believed in the need for good works as well as faith,” diverging from the typical Protestant emphasis on salvation through faith alone.

In a society that deemed Catholicism subversive, Washington treated Catholics as equals and friends.

Catholics returned the regard. Bishop Carroll praised Washington’s religious respect in 1790 and eulogized him twice after his death in 1799, calling him America’s truest friend and Providence’s instrument. Pope Leo XIII, in 1895’s Longinqua, cited the “well-known friendship” between Washington and Carroll as the model of harmony between the U.S. and the Church. Pope Pius XII in 1939’s Sertum Laetitiae called Washington and Carroll “close friend[s],” an example of the reverence for Christ that grounds America’s morality, prosperity, and progress.

America has always had competing impulses toward the Catholic Church: one generous and confident, another fearful and tribal. Washington is worth celebrating because he chose the better impulse. He was a true friend to the Church when Catholics needed it, paving the way for their emancipation from vicious laws and biases against them.

Bill Donohue

Radical left-wing activists associated with religious organizations have sued the Trump administration on the grounds that his Religious Liberty Commission lacks religious and ideological diversity. They are represented by two far-left entities, Democracy Forward and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The Religious Liberty Commission is charged with documenting incidents of religious bigotry and making recommendations to expand religious liberty. The Catholic League has turned over a trove of documents to the Department of Justice and to Commission members detailing prejudice and discrimination against Catholics.

The lawsuit is led by Rev. Paul Raushenbush, president of the Interfaith Alliance; he is a homosexual Baptist minister who claims to be married to a man, a status that is obviously in violation of Christian teachings.

Joining him are Muslims for Progressive Values, a group that is dedicated to the LGBTQ agenda, even though it is in clear violation of Islamic teachings. The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund is also party to the suit; it promotes transgender rights as part of the “liberation movement,” in flagrant violation of Sikh tenets on sexuality. Hindus for Human Rights is the fourth group; it is headed by a Columbia University professor who ignited a protest by Hindus who charged she is “anti-Hindu.”

In other words, these carping critics are not representative of the people they claim to represent. So much for respecting religious and ideological diversity.

Raushenbush, in particular, has no moral standing to lecture the Commission on excluding contrary viewpoints. The Interfaith Alliance excludes traditional Catholics, evangelical Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Orthodox Jews, and most Muslims and Mormons, all of whom are not supportive of the radical pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ worldview.

In short, there is nothing “Interfaith” about the Interfaith Alliance. It is worth noting that two years after it was founded in 1994, the Catholic League was named to its “Enemies List,” a badge of honor I continue to wear on my sleeve.

The biggest beef these activists have is the contention that members of the Commission “have promoted the primacy of a Judeo-Christian world view in the public sphere,” while also contending that “America was founded as a ‘Judeo-Christian’ nation and must be guided by Biblical principles.”

Guilty as charged. It is not an opinion to say that America was founded on Judeo-Christian values—it is an historical fact. Moreover, Christians took many of their moral teachings from the Hebrews, and together the heritage they bequeathed became the foundation of our freedoms. To put it differently, we would not be a free society today had we been founded on the tenets of any Eastern world religion—none has a history of respecting basic human rights. This may sound harsh. So be it. It is the harsh truth.

Christians are sixty-two percent of American society; Jews are two percent; Muslims and Hindus are one percent; Sikhs are less than one percent. Jews, though small in number, occupy a central place in American history given the Judeo-Christian ethos that informs the dominant culture. The same is not true of the other religions, and therefore their quest for equal recognition is unwarranted.

The two organizations that are representing these groups are tied to the politics of the Left. Democracy Forward is part of the Clinton machine. The chairman of the board is Marc Elias, Hillary Clinton’s former general counsel when she ran for president in 2016. It is funded by the Center for American Progress, an organization that is chaired by John Podesta; he was active in senior posts serving both Clintons. He has a history of anti-Catholicism.

Americans United was founded after World War II as Protestants and Other Americans for Separation of Church and State, one of the most anti-Catholic organizations in American history.

These are the people trying to kill the Religious Freedom Commission. Like a nasty fly, they just don’t go away. But unfortunately for them, neither do we.

Bill Donohue

At 9:57 a.m. I called for the ouster of Carrie Prejean Boller from President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. I just learned that the Commission chairman, Dan Patrick, gave her the boot at 10:03 a.m. Kudos to him.

Bill Donohue

A half-century ago, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, stunned the delegates when he condemned the 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism. He said the resolution “reeked of the totalitarian mind, stank of the totalitarian state.” He added, “What we have here is a lie.”

The same mindset was on display on February 9 when Carrie Prejean Boller, who sits on President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, told her fellow panelists and the audience that “Catholics do not embrace Zionism, just so you know.” She objected to definitions of anti-Semitism that equated opposition to the state of Israel as an expression of anti-Semitism.

To be sure, it is possible for someone to oppose Zionism yet not be anti-Semitic. But the fact is that those who are activists for the anti-Zionist cause invariably harbor an animus against Jews. And yes, this would include self-hating Jews.

Prejean Boller is a former Miss California and a convert to Catholicism. She does not run a Catholic organization, has no Catholic credentials as an author or instructor, and indeed represents no one but herself. For her to say, without qualification, that “Catholics do not embrace Zionism,” is presumptuous and arrogant.

In reply to Prejean Boller, fellow panelist Rabbi Meir Soloveichik said, “This is an incredibly diverse country, and the one thing we should be careful about is speaking on behalf of all members of a religious community, even if one is a member of that religious community. I certainly wouldn’t claim to speak for all Jews on all subjects.”

He is too kind. Her audacity is stunning. I have run the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization for over three decades, and never once have I said that I represent all Catholics. I represent the Catholic League, period. Hopefully, I also represent many others who share my convictions.

Zionism is a movement that promotes Jewish self-determination in a homeland. There are millions of Catholics like myself who, even if they do not identify themselves as Zionists, recognize the Jewish state of Israel. Prejean Boller apparently does not—she is more comfortable showing up at the Religious Liberty Commission wearing a Palestinian flag pin. So telling.

Prejean Boller asked a witness if we should censor 1 Thessalonians 2:15; it spoke about Jews who killed Christ. No, but that passage, like many biblical passages, needs to be put alongside other biblical references, as well as the teachings of the Catholic Church. Moreover, the quote she cites mentions, “The Jews who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets.” (My italic.) It does not say “the Jews killed Christ.”

English warriors killed Catholics in Ireland, but no one blames all the English. Indian tribes killed each other, but no one says all Indians are killers. Rapists are typically men who rape women, but not all men are rapists. Careful scholars recognize these differences—they are not nuances. Prejean is not careful and she is certainly not a scholar.

My good friend Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York, noted, “It should never be said that Christians were responsible for the Holocaust—Nazis were. Blaming Christians would be as unjustified as holding Jews accountable for the death of Jesus.” Well said.

The Religious Liberty Commission should have nothing to do with those who are publicly undermining its mission, nor should it become a platform for those who want to exploit it as a vehicle to further their own agenda. Trump should kick Carrie Prejean Boller off immediately.

Bill Donohue

Jimmy Lai, the 78-year-old British citizen and convert to Catholicism, was sentenced in Hong Kong on February 9 to twenty years in prison for protesting human rights abuses in China. He was accused of being the “mastermind” of protests against the Communist regime. He was arrested in 2020 under a new law that restricted freedom of the press, citing his “seditious” articles in Apple Daily, a newspaper he founded in 1995.

Chinese Communist chief Xi Jinping said the conviction has his “strong support.” But his voice was not echoed abroad.

Volker Türk, the chief human rights commissioner at the United Nations, said Lai was being punished for “exercising rights protected under international law.” Elaine Pearson, the Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said that trials like this send “a message to anyone who dares to criticize the Chinese Communist Party.”

Reporters Without Borders issued a statement saying, “Today the curtain falls on press freedom in Hong Kong.” The Committee to Protect Journalists maintained that “this egregious decision is the final nail in the coffin for freedom of the press in Hong Kong.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the sentence “an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case.” The European Union slammed what it called the “politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai.” Many leaders in democratic nations, including Taiwan, voiced similar comments. Nathan Sharansky, the former Soviet dissident who was imprisoned for his human rights protests, said Lai was an “heroic freedom fighter and my dear friend.”

The Vatican has said nothing.

It is not clear whether Pope Leo XIV will depart from Pope Francis’ policy of appeasement with Communist China. Hong Kong Watch had accused Pope Francis of turning a blind eye to the oppression of Catholics in China, a sentiment shared by Cardinal Joseph Zen, former Bishop of Hong Kong.

In 2024, Ed Pentin, senior Rome correspondent for the National Catholic Register, said that unlike many other countries, “the Vatican has continued its silence on Lai’s plight.” Last year, Anne Hendershott, a sociology professor at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, wrote that Lai’s tenuous condition “underscores the Vatican’s failure to exercise meaningful leadership in defending justice—serving as a stark reminder of the Catholic Church’s compromised role, with the Vatican retreating instead of defending Jimmy Lai….”

(Pentin and Hendershott serve on the Catholic League’s board of advisors.)

Jimmy Lai became a human rights advocate after the Communists squashed the pro-democracy movement in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. Appeals are now being made by influential heads of state to void his sentence. The Holy See should do the same.

Bill Donohue

Representatives of the clergy from several religions were present at the inauguration of Zohran Mamdani. But no Catholic priest was there.

Representatives of the clergy from several religions were present at Mamdani’s Interfaith Breakfast on February 6. But no Catholic priest was there. Significantly, the UJA-Federation of New York, the New York Board of Rabbis and the Anti-Defamation League, all of which had previously sponsored this meeting, declined to do so this year.

The mayor of New York City traditionally attends the installation of the new archbishop of New York, but Mamdani—who was invited—ghosted the event. The installation began a few hours after the Interfaith Breakfast at the New York Public Library; it is a short walk up Fifth Avenue to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

He could easily have been there. Instead, he attended to business as usual.

One in three New Yorkers are Catholic, making them the largest faith community in the city. Mamdani’s professed interest in diversity and inclusion obviously hits a brick wall when it comes to Catholics. He wants nothing to do with them.

He is already in trouble with Jewish New Yorkers. He blames Israel, not Hamas, for the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, and to this day he says Israel has no right to exist. This explains why he wants to cripple the Israeli economy by supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. To top it off, he is purging his administration of Jews who are pro-Israel, replacing them with Jews who are anti-Israel.

His animus against Catholics is not as clear cut. But given his rabid support for abortion, gay marriage and transgenderism (including the child abuse inherent in sex-reassignment surgery for minors), it makes sense that he wants nothing to do with Catholics either.

Mamdani has been in office for just over a month, and already he is signaling to Catholics that they are not welcome. He is also telling Jews that either they side with him in bashing Israel, or they, too, can take a walk.

This is shaping up to be something serious, the likes of which New Yorkers have never experienced. Stay tuned.

Contact Mamdani’s Deputy Communications Director, Lekha Sunder: [email protected]

Bill in the News (Lighthouse Faith Podcast): Bill discusses New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his first days in office on Lauren Green’s “Lighthouse Faith” podcast. To listen, click here.