One of our favorite websites is www.petersvoice.org. It features Catholic Video/Audio Broadcasting on the Internet, providing up-to-date information on Catholic issues. League members will be happy to learn that they can access speeches by William Donohue from this site.
For more information, contact Kathleen Hunt at PetersVoice, 1390 Chain Bridge Road, Suite 200, McLean, VA 22101. Or phone her at (703) 532-1585.
Mike in the News (National Catholic Register): Arriving on moviegoers’ screens this Friday, the new movie Conclave bills itself as a star-studded mystery-thriller centered on the selection of a new pope for the Catholic Church. The film, which opens Oct. 25 in the U.S., is poised to make a splash at the box office and is already generating awards-season buzz.
In the weeks leading up to its release, however, the film has already garnered considerable controversy [https://www.catholicleague.org/new-catholic-film-conclave-to-debut/] and biting criticism — with much of the ire from Catholics centered on the film’s twist ending. READ MORE HERE
The news media and the pundits are wading through another fog trying to figure out why the latest mass murderer went on a rampage. As a sociologist who has written on this subject before, I can attest that mass murderers have much in common, and this is especially true of young killers.
To begin with, let’s dispense with a popular myth about the latest tragedy. Contrary to what most are saying, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the killer who shot his victims at Sante Fe High School, did evince warning signs.
Soon after 10 innocent persons were shot dead, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, “the red-flag warnings were either nonexistent or imperceptible.” He was fed the wrong information.
A few weeks before the shooting, there were at least three perceptible signs of trouble: Pagourtzis made two alarming changes on his Facebook page, and, more importantly, he threatened to kill someone.
For example, he posted a picture of a black T-shirt on his Facebook page with the words “BORN TO KILL” on it. On the same day, he posted a picture of a jacket with genocidal symbols on it: the hammer and sickle of the Communist Party, and the Nazi Iron Cross of Germany’s Fascist regime. These two postings were obvious signs that something was wrong.
Then there is the tragic case of Shana Fisher. Two weeks before Pagourtzis shot her, he told the 16-year-old student that he was going to kill her. She told both of her parents. According to her father, who did not live with either his daughter or his ex-wife (he had remarried 13 years earlier), “He [Pagourtzis] had told her himself he was going to kill her. He was walking around planning this in his head for weeks.”
The father blamed Shana’s teachers, saying, “If they are smart enough to teach our kids, they should be smart enough to see when something is badly wrong with someone.” He did not say why he wasn’t smart enough to do something, even though he, unlike the teachers, knew of the threat on his daughter’s life.
When analyzing mass murderers, it is important not to miss telltale signs. There are plenty of them. While any one of them, standing alone, may not be cause for concern, they become worrisome when spliced together. The fact is that mass murderers evince a pattern of behavior that clearly defines who they are. Consider Jeff Weise.
In 2005, when Weise was 16, he killed his grandfather, his grandfather’s companion, and nine of his classmates in the Minnesota massacre; he then killed himself. He was a loner whose father had committed suicide four years earlier, and was hostile to religion. In addition, he posted many messages on the Internet site of www.nazi.org, loved heavy metal music, and was told by his classmates that he dressed like the Trench Coat Mafia who killed 12 students and a teacher at Columbine. In fact, he wore a black trench coat and combat boots.
What do we know of Pagourtzis? Besides his affection for Communist and Nazi symbols, the 17-year-old was known as a “weird loner” by his classmates; he lived in a mostly elderly neighborhood where children were almost nonexistent. As one young person who knew him put it, “He stuck to himself. He had a few friends but never really talked to many people.” He also loved playing videogames and listening to heavy metal.
Pagourtzis did not see his father too often; he was typically overseas, working in the maritime business. Like Weise, Pagourtzis wore a trench coat (even when it was 90 degrees) and military boots. Similarly, his classmates liked to joke that he looked just like the Columbine shooters. He planned to kill himself but was apprehended by the police before doing so. He was also a professed atheist.
It goes without saying that if any of these mass murderers had been a practicing Christian, the media would make sure the whole world knew about it.
The pattern is there for all to see: young mass murderers are loners; they have a dysfunctional relationship with their father; they sport an affection for terrorist symbols; they wear military apparel; they imitate other mass shooters; they are drawn to the solitude of videogames; they love the crashing sounds of heavy metal; and they are either atheists or have no room for God in their lives. Sadly, they also have a wicked desire to kill themselves after finishing their victims.
Why do we have so many mass killers? It is true that they suffer from psychological disorders, which are made manifest in their traits. But unless we appreciate the role that boredom plays in their lives—killing excites them—we will never be able to figure them out.
“Among the forces that have shaped human behavior boredom is one of the most insistent and universal.” That was the conclusion the esteemed sociologist Robert Nisbet came to in his assessment of human history.
Boredom, Nisbet argued, could be relieved by “migration, desertion, war, revolution, murder, calculated cruelty to others, suicide, pornography, alcohol, narcotics.” He added that “the pains and the results of boredom are everywhere to be seen, and nowhere more epidemically than in Western society at the present time.”
He wrote that in 1982. For many sociological reasons, the curse of boredom has only worsened since then, finding relief in murder, calculated cruelty to others, and suicide.
In response to the demagogic remarks made by some critics of the Mel Gibson movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” Catholic League president William Donohue has written “An Open Letter to the Jewish Community.” The six-page missive offers Donohue’s thoughts on the anti-Christian remarks of ADL director Abraham Foxman and others.
The letter has been sent to major Jewish organizations throughout the U.S. and to prominent Jewish individuals. It has also been sent to a select group of American bishops and Catholic and Protestant leaders.
The letter is available online at www.catholicleague.org.
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has released a special report on sexual abuse; it has been sent to every bishop in the U.S. and to many in the media. The report, “Sexual Abuse in Social Context: Catholic Clergy and Other Professionals,” was written by Catholic League president William A. Donohue.
The report was written to facilitate the discussion that will inevitably follow the February 27 release of two reports by John Jay College of Criminal Justice. At the behest of the bishops, professors from John Jay undertook a national study on the extent of sexual abuse of minors by priests since 1950; they will also release a report on the causes and consequences of the abuse crisis.
Donohue says in the Preface of the report that “to discuss the incidence of sexual abuse committed by Roman Catholic priests without reference to the level of offense found among the clergy of other religions, or to that of other professionals, is grossly unfair.” He emphasizes, “It is the belief of the Catholic League that no meaningful conversation can take place on this issue without having some baseline data regarding the incidence of abuse that occurs outside the Catholic Church.”
The central finding of the report is that the sexual abuse of minors is most likely to take place in the home. Among professionals, the incidence of sexual abuse is slightly higher among the Protestant clergy, and it is significantly higher among public school teachers, than among the Catholic clergy.
Another problem that may surface once the John Jay study is released is the possibility that members of religious orders may be counted twice: once by their local diocese, and once by their own report.
Those in the media who would like a copy of this report should contact the Catholic League at 212-371-3191. It is also available online at www.catholicleague.org.
Catholic League president William Donohue explained why a report on Newsday and Voice of the Faithful was sent to every pastor on Long Island (the report is available atwww.catholicleague.org):
“The Catholic League tracks anti-Catholicism in all 50 states. In doing so, we learn where Catholic bashing is most rampant and who is responsible. Of particular concern to us is the situation on Long Island. The local daily, Newsday, has been on a tear against the Catholic Church for the past two years. Moreover, it has led an attack against Diocese of Rockville Centre Bishop William F. Murphy that is scurrilous. Working in tandem with Newsday is the Long Island chapter of Voice of the Faithful (some who write for the newspaper are active in Voice).
“All pastors on Long Island are now in possession of a packet of information that the Catholic League mailed on January 9. It includes a report on Newsday and an article on Voice of the Faithful. The report offers excerpts from Newsday columnists and contributors in 2002 and 2003 that demonstrate a profound animus against both the Catholic Church and Bishop Murphy. The article, available in the current edition ofCrisis magazine, is a whistle-blowing piece written by the co-chairman of the communications committee of the Long Island chapter of Voice of the Faithful; it shows the ideological agenda of this supposedly neutral group.
“The Catholic League is not walking away from this battle. Moreover, it is up to Newsdayand Voice of the Faithful to reverse course. If they do not, we will take further steps to checkmate their efforts.”
In November, Bill Donohue was one of 145 religious leaders across the U.S. that signed the Manhattan Declaration, a document of Orthodox Christians, Catholic and evangelical Christians which commits them to the defense of human life, marriage and conscience rights. It is unwavering in its opposition to abortion, gay marriage and violations of religious liberty.
The product of Catholic League board of advisor member Robert George and two prominent Protestants, Timothy George and Chuck Colson, the Manhattan Declaration drew significant media coverage, especially that part of the document which sanctions civil disobedience as a last resort. It was signed by many cardinals and bishops.
Those who would like to read the Manhattan Declaration, and sign it, can do so by going to www.manhattandeclaration.org.
A new television promo for “Angels & Demons” features actor Tom Hanks, who plays Harvard professor Robert Langdon, discussing “the 400 year myth of the Illuminati”; he says they “have come for their revenge” against the Vatican. Commenting on the video, and some recent comments by Hanks, is Catholic League president Bill Donohue:
“Tom Hanks is on record saying he doesn’t believe in conspiracy theories. Yet that hasn’t stopped him from playing the lead role in two back-to-back conspiracy tales, both of which target the Catholic Church. ‘Conspiracy theories, I think…conjured up by people who can then sell their books about conspiracy theories,’ says Hanks. People like Dan Brown, author ofThe Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons?
“Here’s more doublespeak. On Brown’s website he addresses the conspiratorial Illuminati: ‘It is historical fact that the Illuminati vowed vengeance against the Vatican in the 1600s.’ Wrong. It is an historical fact that there was no Illuminati until 1776; it folded in 1787.
“Were it not for savaging Catholicism, few would care about the duplicity of Brown and Hanks. But they are obviously not content to spin mysterious tales absent an anti-Catholic animus. That is why the Vatican denied them the opportunity to film on its grounds. It also explains the Catholic League’s on-going campaign to educate the public about their agenda.”
To learn more about the agenda of “Angels & Demons” seewww.catholicleague.org