The Catholic League is proud to announce that Michael Schwartz has assumed the duties as the Catholic League’s Washington Bureau Chief. No stranger to the Catholic League, Mike worked in the League in the 1980s, and has remained active in a variety of Catholic causes ever since. His office is located in the National Press Building, in close proximity to the White House. Mike is an accomplished author and media personality, and though the position is not a full-time one, it will provide the League with an important presence in the nation’s capitol. On Good Friday, Mike represented the Catholic League on CNN’s “Crossfire.”

Those interested in contacting Michael Schwartz may do so at the following address:

Catholic League
1187 National Press Building
Washington, D.C. 20045

Phone: (202) 638-4832
Fax: (202) 637-9550

The cover of the April 17 New Yorker shows a crucified Easter Bunny on an IRS tax form. According to the artist, Art Spiegelman, the drawing was meant to show how conservatives view tax cuts as an “article of faith.”

Responding to the cover illustration is Dr. William A. Donohue, president of the

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights:

“For the New Yorker to lambaste conservatives for treating tax cuts as a sacred entity is one thing, but it is quite another to play fast and loose with Christian symbols. The placement of a crucified Easter Bunny on an IRS tax form is insulting to Christians, and it is particularly outrageous that this should occur at the start of Holy Week. The New Yorker could have engaged in legitimate criticism of those pundits who treat tax cuts reverentially without simultaneously offending Christians. That it chose not to do so shows not merely poor taste, it shows flat disregard for the sensibilities of Christians.

“We are confident that even those who are not believers will join with the Catholic League in denouncing this cheap shot. The cover of the New Yorker might well be popular with the trendy types, but it will surely be regarded as a low-class version of Mad magazine by everyone else.”

The Catholic League is the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization. It defends the right of Catholics-lay and clergy alike–to participate in American society without defamation or discrimination.

On April 7, while discussing the Disney-Miramax movie “Priest,” shock jock Howard Stem said that he couldn’t wait to make a movie of his own about priests. Speaking of priests as moral degenerates, Stern’s remarks were characteristically obscene and designed to insult.

Catholic League president William A. Donohue made the following statement in response to Stem’s remarks:

“The station manager at WXRX-FM has said that yesterday’s so-called apology by Howard Stern to Latinos wasn’t meant as an apology, but rather as a clarification. That is why the Catholic League is not asking for an apology for Stern’s latest outburst. If we demanded an apology, I suppose someone would write one for him, but it really wouldn’t matter as no one would take him seriously anyway.

“Ribald humor is part of the stock and trade of morning talk radio, and there’s nothing wrong with that, just so long as elementary standards of decency aren’t jettisoned altogether. For example, Lionel, whose show competes with Stern’s on WABC, is occasionally brash but he is never vulgar. Maybe that’s because Lionel is bright and Stem is dumb. Whatever the reason, Stern should listen to Lionel once in a while to find out what real talent sounds like.”

The Catholic League is the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization. It defends the right of Catholics-lay and clergy alike-to participate in American life without defamation or discrimination.

The Catholic League’s 1994 Report on Anti-Catholicism has just been published. It is the first time that the League has issued such a report; it expects that the report will be an annual publication.

Copies of the report have been mailed to many in the media.  Those who have not received a copy, but would like one, should contact us immediately.

Listed in the report are over 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. A section addressing criminal behavior is also included.

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 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.

Dr. Donohue, president of the Catholic League, offered the following comment on the report:

“As the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, we are disturbed by the extent to which the nation’s elites seem to show unending tolerance for some segments of society while foregoing 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.”

Time Warner has taken to the airwaves offering two free tickets to the movie “Priest.” The movie is being released by Miramax, a subsidiary of Disney. The Catholic League has lodged a protest against the movie and a nationwide revolt against Disney for standing behind the offensive film. It will have more to say about Disney on April l0 in an Op-Ed ad in the New York Times.

The action by Time Warner led Catholic League president William A. Donohue to make the following remarks:

“It is not for nothing that U.S. News and World Report columnist John Leo recently exposed Time Warner as the nation’s ‘leading cultural polluter.’ Now it is adding to its gutter reputation by offering free tickets to the movie ‘Priest.’ What this action shows is that greed alone cannot account for the sustained assault on the moral order of our society that some elites are wagering. There are those in the entertainment industry, and elsewhere, whose ideological constitution is so opposed to the teachings of Catholicism that they are willing to spend money on ventures that promise no financial return on investment. What they are counting on, of course, is a cultural return, one that drives one more stake into the ethos of American society.

“The Catl1olic League will spread the word about Time Warner’s irresponsibility but will not be distracted from its attack on Disney. Right now our target is Disney, Disney, Disney.”

The Catholic League is the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization. It defends the right of Catholics-lay and clergy alike-to participate in American life without defamation or discrimination.