In February, the firm of Fabrizio, McLaughlin and Associates conducted a nationwide survey of 800 Adult Catholics. The survey, which was commissioned by the Catholic League, has an accuracy of +/- 3. 5% at the 95% confidence interval.

Key Findings

• Over half (51. 8%) of Adult Catholics attend Mass once a week or more and 68.2% attend once a month or more; 10.4% never attend.

• Practicing Catholics (as determined by Mass attendance and number of sacraments received) are significantly more supportive of Church teachings than their non-practicing cohorts.

• By a margin of almost 2-1, Catholics prefer a Church that sticks to its positions on issues (62.5%) to one that changes its positions “to reflect current opinion or modern day beliefs” (33.5 %).

• Overall, a plurality of more than four in ten Catholics (42.5%) said that the Catholic Church has made “just about the right amount of changes” since Vatican II (i.e. since 1965). Another 18.0% said that the Church has made “too many changes and gone too fast” while 32.8% said that the Church has made “too few changes and gone too slow.”

• There is wide support for the Church’s teachings on abortion (63.6%) but not on birth control (58.4% favor a change in Church teachings). A clear majority think that the Church should not change its teachings on homosexuality (55.8%), and by a margin of almost 2-1 (64.9%), Catholics think it would be a mistake to ordain known homosexuals.  But on the question of allowing priests to marry, 66.5% favor it and 55.0% think women should be ordained (6 in 10 men favor a change but only 5 in 10 women).  66.4% agreed that if more people practiced the teachings of the Catholic Church, our country would be better off, while only 25.1 % disagreed. Among Catholics with children under 18, there is very strong support for the Church’s teachings on pre-marital sex (92.3%); choosing to have a child over having an abortion (70.3%); and choosing marriage over cohabitation (72.3%).

 •••    The central finding is this: an astonishing 82.9 % said they would be as committed to the Church, if not more so, if the Church DID NOT change its positions. Among those who attend Mass once or more a month the figure jumps to 90.3%.

Those who want the full report can obtain a copy at the League’s press conference, to be held on Monday, May 22, 1995 at 1011 First Avenue in rooms 920 & 921.  If you are unable to attend, please contact the Catholic League for a copy.

The April edition of Criminal Politics reprints, without permission, the Catholic League’s New York Times Op-Ed ad of April 5 against Disney and adds to it commentary that is anti-Jewish. Criminal Politics, which has offices in Cincinnati, Ohio and Zurich, Switzerland, begins its statement by selectively quoting from the Catholic League ad and then offers the following statement: “…Disney is now controlled by various corporate stockholders including Seagrams, Time Warner, and CBS owner Lawrence [sic] Tisch. Disney is now run by a Jewish staff, including its chairman Michael Eisner. It’s time people stood up and demanded Disney back off.”

This statement is preceded by the heading “HATE CRIME LAWS-PROTECT JEWS (NOT CHRISTIANS!)” Interestingly, the word “Christian” is twice added to the part of the commentary that selectively quotes from the ad, yet only the word “Catholic” was mentioned in the ad itself.

In a congratulatory letter to Dr. William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League, Lawrence T. Patterson, founder and publisher of Criminal Politics, complained about “our Christian traditions and morality being mocked,” adding that “All this negativism is perpetrated at the hands of the larger forces who seek to control and suppress our religious freedoms.”

Dr. Donohue responded to Mr. Patterson with the following statement, and sent a copy of this news release along as well.

Dear Mr. Patterson:

Thank you for sending a copy of Criminal Politics. Although it is nothing but a paranoid anti-Jewish publication, I would appreciate it if you would put us on your mailing list. It is my job to monitor anti-religious bigotry, and being that you are a master of this genre, I would be very disappointed if I couldn’t track your work.

Sincerely,

William A. Donohue
President

Catholic League member Paul McCarthy of Massachusetts has submitted a resolution to be presented at the November meeting of the Walt Disney Company. McCarthy, who owns 22 shares of Disney stock, is asking shareholders to ratify a resolution that calls for the establishment of a religious advisory committee. The resolution, which comes in the wake of the Disney-Miramax movie “Priest,” states that films which express religious bigotry “could have a negative impact on the Disney operations because of consumer boycotts and stock holder divestiture.”

The concluding statement is as follows: “Therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Directors establish a committee to review current filmed entertainment policies. Said committee will consult with religious leaders of various faiths and develop guidelines to assist film production and distribution operations on way to avoid religiously bigoted material. The guidelines formulated by this committee should be made available to all shareholders within six months of the completion of this meeting. Information deemed proprietary may be omitted and the cost may be limited to a reasonable amount.”

William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League, offered the following remarks:

“The Catholic League vigorously supports the shareholder resolution submitted by Paul McCarthy. It is our hope that this will send a much needed wake-up call to Disney officials. Religious bigotry, like all forms of hate, not only foments ill-will, it corrodes the fiber of the social order. It is regrettable that stockholders in the Disney company have to recall the organization to its founding principles. But it would be more than regrettable-it would be a travesty-if Disney officials were to ignore the resolution altogether.”

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.