Chattem, Inc., maker of Gold Bond Foot Powder, has announced that it will no longer advertise on the ABC show, “Nothing  Sacred”; Gold Bond advertised on three previous episodes of the show.

Chattem is now the 34th company to withdraw sponsorship of the show.  Those who previously quit are: Isuzu, Weight Watchers, K-Mart, Benckiser, DuPont, Red Lobster, Ocean Spray, Sears, Glaxo Wellcome, Ponderosa, Dunkin’ Donuts, Scott’s Liquid Gold, Chrysler-Plymouth, Honda, Arm & Hammer, Home Depot, Borden, Alberto Culver, Montgomery Ward, Ovaltine, Dairy Queen, Mutual of Omaha, Telecom*USA, Cigna, McCormick, Pier 1, NordicTrack, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Meineke, Fantom Technologies Direct, A&M Products, Nissan and RadioShack.

League president William Donohue offered the following remarks on the latest news:

“Chattem, Inc. did the right thing: it sent a message to Disney/ABC that no respectable company wants to be associated with their propaganda.

“The ratings for last week’s episode demonstrate that a show with lousy ratings is capable of getting even lousier ones. But what is truly amazing is how many elitist, arrogant critics there are who continue to push ‘Nothing Sacred,’ even when it is obvious that the public gives the show two thumbs down.  For example, in today’s edition of USA Today and the New York Daily News, there are glowing reviews of tonight’s episode of the show, as if by flagging the program someone will be persuaded to tune in.  The public, however, is a lot smarter than the critics: they can spot a con job faster than the critics can spell Michael Eisner.”

The Catholic League is proud to announce that tomorrow, December 18, there will be a blessing of its creches on public property in New York and Philadelphia.  The New York creche, which will be erected tomorrow, will be blessed at 4:30 p.m. by Msgr. John Woolsey; it will be located on the comer of 59th Street and 5th Avenue, in Central Park.  The Philadelphia creche, which is already up, will be blessed at 5:00 p.m. by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua; it is located on the Judge Lewis Quadrangle of Independence National Historic Park, across the street from the Liberty Bell.  This is the third consecutive year that the league has erected a creche in New York and the first time that it has done so in Philadelphia.

League president William Donohue commented on the displays today:

“We are delighted to engage in the public expression of our religion, especially at this time of the year.  And I am particularly impressed with the determination of our chapter coordinator and Philadelphia/South Jersey chapter president, Arthur Delaney, in securing such a prestigious spot for the display of our creche.

“Predictably, some are already aghast.  Take, for example, the phenomenal reasoning of the PhiladelphiaDaily News: it opposes the display of creches and menorahs (interestingly, this is the first time in the 22 years that the menorah has been erected that the newspaper found reason to object) by saying,’ The multi-religious, multicultural nation born at that location [across from the Liberty Bell] is best served by an absence of religious symbols.’  It is hard to think of a more historically fatuous and intellectually dishonest argument than this.  No doubt if Andres Serrano displayed his ‘Piss Christ’ exhibition in the same spot, the editors would delight in saying what a grand affirmation of the First Amendment this is.

”By displaying creches on public property, the Catholic League hopes to galvanize those of every faith to proudly proclaim their religion in public.”

This holiday season, like those before it, is marked by the public display of Christmas trees and menorahs, the alleged symbols of the Christian holiday, Christmas, and the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, respectively.  But the Christmas tree is recognized, both in history and by the U. S. Supreme Court, as a secular symbol, while the menorah is recognized in history and by the U.S. Supreme Court, as a religious symbol.  (See the Supreme Court decision in County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 1989.)

William Donohue voiced his concerns about this matter today:

“It cannot be said too often that the natural analogue of a menorah is a creche, not a Christmas tree.  To make this point more strongly, no one would think for a moment of displaying dreidels alongside creches and decide that justice was done to Jews.

“We are at a serious juncture when I am told by a senior lawyer for the Board of Education of the City of New York that Chancellor Rudy Crew is correct to say that a menorah is a secular symbol. More astounding is the fact that I am told that the court decision upon which this ruling was made was the very one that said just the opposite!     No wonder the attorney told me that she would have to research this further: she can research it all she wants because in the Allegheny decision the high court explicitly said that ‘The menorah, one must recognize, is a religious symbol: it serves to commemorate the miracle of the oil as described in the Talmud.’ Indeed, the only reason the high court allowed the menorah to remain in front of the City­County Building was because it was surrounded by a secular symbol, namely the Christmas tree.

“It is high time that government officials started applying the law of the land instead of ignoring it.  Not to do so is to accord a second-class status to Christians at this holy time of the year.”

Radio Shack is the latest company to pull sponsorship of the ABC show, “Nothing Sacred.” A spokesman for the company said that “Radio Shack’s policy on programming is to not advertise on programs that might be politically or socially controversial or that promote any one individual’s agenda/point of view.”  Radio Shack is the 33rd

company to withdraw sponsorship of the show.

Those who previously quit are:  Isuzu, Weight Watchers, K-Mart, Benckiser, DuPont, Red Lobster, Ocean Spray, Sears, Glaxo Wellcome, Ponderosa, Dunkin’ Donuts, Scott’s Liquid Gold, Chrysler-Plymouth, Honda, Arm & Hammer, Home Depot, Borden, Alberto Culver, Montgomery Ward, Ovaltine, Dairy Queen, Mutual of Omaha, Telecom*USA, Cigna, McCormick, Pier 1, NordicTrack, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Meineke, Fantom Technologies Direct, A&M Products and Nissan.

Catholic League president William Donohue commented on #33 today:

“RadioShack’s unequivocal response to consumer concerns is heartening; we hope the company does well this Christmas season.

“It would be great if Disney chief Michael Eisner gave Catholics a Christmas gift by announcing that he is cancelling ‘Nothing  Sacred.’  But the only realistic chance that this will happen is if Eisner is visited by three spirits: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.”

Nissan has announced that it will no longer advertise on the ABC show, “Nothing Sacred.” Though not by design, Nissan ads did appear in New York, San Diego and St. Louis on a previous episode of “Nothing Sacred.”  Like most of the other companies that once advertised on the show, and then withdrew, Nissan bought air time on ABC only to learn later that some local stations placed its ad on the controversial program.  A spokesman for the automobile company confirmed that this was a mistake.

Nissan becomes the 32nd company to withdraw sponsorship of “Nothing Sacred.”  Those who previously quit are: Isuzu, Weight Watchers, K-Mart, Benckiser, DuPont, Red Lobster, Ocean Spray, Sears, Glaxo Wellcome, Ponderosa, Dunkin’ Donuts, Scott’s Liquid Gold, Chrysler­ Plymouth, Honda, Arm & Hammer, Home Depot, Borden, Alberto Culver, Montgomery Ward, Ovaltine, Dairy Queen, Mutual of Omaha, Telecom*USA, Cigna, McCormick, Pier 1, NordicTrack, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Meineke, Fantom Technologies Direct and A&M Products.

Catholic League president William Donohue greeted the news this way:

“The Catholic League commends Nissan for the sensitivity its corporate officials have shown for the sensibilities of Catholics.  May they have a robust market.

“It’s easy to gloat, so why resist?  After watching who’s left advertising on ‘Nothing Sacred,’ it’s a sure bet that there will soon be an (800) number that consumers can call to order those famous Japanese knives.  You know, the ones that cut tomatoes without smashing them to smithereens.  My only hope is that the knives don’t wind up bumping the John Denver ads; that’s the best part of the show.”

Here are William Donohue’s comments on last night’s “Nothing Sacred.”

“Those Catholics who dutifully accept the Church’s teachings are so obsessed with the external manifestations of Catholicism that they sorely neglect its internal dimension.  Give the traditionalists a church with lots of statues, stained glass windows and a good choir, and they will be as happy as a lark, saying by rote their daily prayers.     It does not matter to them that they are so grossly insensitive to others that they are living a life that is anything but Christian.  Quite naturally, the obverse is also true:  those who are bright enough to challenge the Church’s teachings (especially on women and sexuality) are also noble enough to care about the poor.  They don’t need ‘gilded crucifixes’ because they are living the life of Christ.  That’s the political message of the show and that’s what came through again last night.

“What also came through last night is that Father Ray is Superpriest.  He doesn’t need to abide by the antiquated rules of procedure regarding annulments, he simply invokes a prayer to ‘Mother’ asking her to ‘release’ the troubled couple from their marriage.  True to form, Father Ray finds himself unable to provide counseling to the obviously distraught husband, just as he earlier did when confronted with the obviously distraught young woman contemplating abortion.

“Father Ray didn’t provide counseling for Rachel because he himself doesn’t accept the Church’s teaching on abortion.  He couldn’t counsel Cabot last night against drinking and beating for a different reason: he decided that the marriage was as hopeless as were the Church’s teachings on divorce and that is why he spared the couple the agony of going through the annulment process.

“In short, Catholics who demonstrate compassion don’t need to follow the Catechism. All that is needed is good intentions and a Superpriest like Father Ray.”

When the Catholic League learned that the U. S. Postal Service was planning to advertise on the ABC show, “Nothing Sacred,” it contacted officials at the agency; the Post Office was to advertise its “Celebrate the Century Stamps” on an upcoming episode of the show.

A spokeswoman for Foote, Cone and Belding (FCB), the ad agency that the U.S. Postal Service uses, said that she was aware that there were “some issues” surrounding the program. Just yesterday, the league received confirmation that the U. S. Postal Service has accepted the advice of FCB and has decided not to advertise on the show.

William Donohue was pleased with the decision:

“It’s always good news to learn that another advertiser has dropped ‘Nothing Sacred,’ but in this case it’s even better news: prospective advertisers are now walking away from the show. Moreover, to think that it’s an arm of the federal government that is sending Disney/ABC a message is even more gratifying.

“An interesting sidenote: there are companies which previously advertised on ‘Nothing Sacred’ and have pledged not to do so again but are nonetheless reluctant to be identified as having ‘pulled’ their sponsorship.  Their cowardice notwithstanding, the fact remains that few companies are prepared to face the fallout that accompanies doing business with ‘Nothing Sacred.’

“This signals a new day in the history of lay Catholics-they are stepping up to the plate in a way never before seen. Those who have long clamored for more lay participation in the Church should be popping the champagne.     But for some strange reason I don’t think that’s the case.  Oh, well, who ever said that life is fair?”

A&M Products Inc. has announced that it will no longer advertise on the ABC show, “Nothing Sacred.” Maker of the kitty litter product, EverFresh, A&M advertised on the November 13 episode of the show. A spokesman for the company confirmed that “our ad ran once on Episode 8 and we have no plans to sponsor the show again.”

A&M Products is the 31st company to withdraw sponsorship of “Nothing Sacred.”  Those who previously quit are: Isuzu, Weight Watchers, K-Mart, Benckiser, DuPont, Red Lobster, Ocean Spray, Sears, Glaxo Wellcome, Ponderosa, Dunkin’ Donuts, Scott’s Liquid Gold, Chrysler­Plymouth, Honda, Arm & Hammer, Home Depot, Borden, Alberto Culver, Montgomery Ward, Ovaltine, Dairy Queen, Mutual of Omaha, Telecom*USA, Cigna, McCormick, Pier 1, NordicTrack, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Meineke and Fantom Technologies Direct.

William Donohue offered the following remarks on #31 today:

“Congratulations to the corporate officials at A&M Products.  They won’t regret what they’ve done.

“This is getting to be a joke.  There are few shows on TV less watched than ‘Nothing Sacred’ and none that has outraged so many Americans.  Moreover, no show in history has lost as many sponsors.  Yet the folks at Disney/ABC would like us to think that they remain unaffected by what is happening.  This is nonsense.

“No organization, no matter how big and profitable, wants to witness the attrition of its moral prestige, and that is exactly what is happening to Disney/ABC. Even on the score of money, things are beginning to kick in: the show’s producer, Twentieth Television, has expressed concerns that the show is virtually worthless in the syndicated market.  So keeping the show on the air is a Pyrrhic victory for Michael Eisner at best.  At worst, it’s a monumental blunder, one that he’ll pay for in many ways for years to come.”

The premier issue of a new magazine, Notorious, features an article by Sean Bosker that describes his experience of “going to confession” at four New York-area Catholic Churches.  In his piece, “I Confess: Gettin’ Off Easy,” Bosker instructs non-Catholics how to engage in a mock confession.  Himself a non-Catholic, Bosker details what it was like for him to confess to various sins-all of which involved sex-and then receive “penance” for his transgressions. He advises readers to “Remember that priests are probably as grateful for some discussion of T and A in the afternoon as anyone.”

Bosker “went to confession” at New York’s St. Brigid’s and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as well as Blessed Sacrament in Staten Island and Our Lady of Sorrows in New Jersey.

William Donohue had a few words to say about this issue:

“David Anthony, the publisher of Notorious, says that his magazine was conceived as a cross between GQ and Playboy on the one hand, and Cosmopolitan and Vogue on the other.  He failed: it is more like a cross between the Star and a Jack Chick publication.

“What Bosker did puts the lie to the notion that there is a strong inverse relationship between education and prejudice.  While it is true that those with high degrees of formal education tend to be less racist and less anti-Semitic than others, history shows that when anti-Catholicism is measured, those who are the doyens of the culture tend also to be the most bigoted.  Notorious is only the latest expression of that verity, demonstrating once again why anti-Catholicism has been labeled ‘the last respectable bias.”‘