The Catholic League’s 1994 Report on Anti-Catholicism has just been published. It is the first time that the League has issued what it expects will be an annual publication.
The need for such a report is clear to all Catholic League members, even if it is not so clear to others. Listed in the report are approximately 200 of the most egregious incidents of Catholic-bashing that occurred in 1994. In addition to republishing several of the most offensive cartoons that were published last year, there are seven categories where offenses have been noted: activist organizations; the arts; commercial establishments; education; government; media; and the workplace.
The report does not purport to be an exhaustive study of the degree of anti-Catholicism that occurred in 1994. But it is an important barometer of what is happening nationwide. The purpose of the report is to educate the public and influence decision-makers in government, education and the media.
The Catholic League is disturbed by the extent to which the nation’s elites seem to show unending tolerance for some segments of society while forgoing such tolerance when the subject is the Catholic Church. While we want to resist the fashionable exercise of claiming victim status, we also want to be accorded the same degree of respect for our heritage that is presently given to others. It is our hope that this report will help to accomplish that goal.
The report is being distributed to all members of Congress, the White House, the Equal Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and to prominent members in the fields of the media and education.
