Catholic League president William Donohue commented today on Saturday’s rally at the Brooklyn Museum of Art:

“On October 2, Catholic League personnel will distribute vomit bags to the first 500 attendees of the ‘Sensation’ exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art; we will commence our protest at 11:00 a.m. The distribution of vomit bags—all of which are labeled ‘Vomit Bag: Compliments of the Catholic League’—is in direct response to the exhibit’s warning that seeing it may induce vomiting. On this score the Catholic League readily agrees, and that explains our desire to facilitate the process. Barf is not easily cleaned up, and it also has a terrible odor, so it should be deposited in a biodegradable receptacle.

“We have been overwhelmed with calls from Catholics, as well as non-Catholics, seeking information about our protest. We are urging all of them to bring a vomit bag and drop it on the steps of the museum. In addition, the Catholic League is contacting dozens of allied organizations asking them to join us in our protest.

“Now that art has been reduced to dung and puke, there is no better time for public officials to stop all funding of the arts.”

In the November issue of Playboy, Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura is quoted as saying the following: “Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people’s business.”

William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, opined this way:

“The Minnesota Governor has now proven himself to be Jesse ‘The Bigot’ Ventura. Liberty shorn of its religious underpinnings is the real sham, as the Founders and most students of freedom have long understood. But according to the erudite Mr. Ventura, they all got it wrong.

“Fully 94 percent of all Americans profess a belief in God and most of them belong to an organized religion. It is important for them to know exactly what Ventura thinks of them, and that is why the Catholic League will act as the Minnesota Governor’s PR team: we want everyone to know his sentiments.

“What Ventura is saying is that organized religion has an intrusive, and therefore deleterious, effect on American society. To that end, it is only logical that he might seek to check its influence. This bears watching as that is the position of an anti-religious bigot.

“The Catholic League is interested in knowing whether Ventura’s hostility to religion represents the position of the Reform Party. We would like to hear from Pat Buchanan and Donald Trump on this subject. We also want to know if Buchanan and Trump will denounce Ventura for his bigotry.

“The Catholic League recommends that Ventura go back to professional wrestling where he belongs. He’s boxed himself in on this one.”

On Saturday, October 2, the Catholic League will lead a rally protesting the “Sensation” exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The rally will take place outside the museum and will begin at 11:00 a.m., when the museum opens.

Catholic League president William Donohue expressed his views on the rally today:

“No one has ever said that Catholic-bashing artists do not have a constitutional right to insult our religion. What the Catholic League has been saying, and what Mayor Giuliani has been saying, is that no one has a constitutional lien on the public purse to finance bigotry. Our protest is directed at two elements of this exhibit: the use of public funds to bash Roman Catholicism and the anti-Catholic depiction of Our Blessed Mother by Chris Ofili.

“No teacher who bashed his black, Jewish, or gay students could ever argue persuasively that he was engaged in free speech. Indeed, he would be summarily fired for promoting hate speech. Similarly, any artist whose work is being publicly funded cannot hide behind the First Amendment when he promotes hate speech.

“We hope that New Yorkers of all religions will join us in our protest on Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Since the museum expressly warns that seeing the exhibit could induce vomiting, we will distribute vomit bags to the first 500 attendees.

“We are especially grateful to the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization for their support on this matter.”

According to New York Post film critic, Thelma Adams, the movie “Julien Donkey-Boy” features “masturbating nuns,” a man who wears “a large image of Christ around his neck while he rubs himself during an erotic phone chat with his sister” and other “blasphemous” elements. Also included are “incest, insanity, murder, sexual abuse and circus side-show freaks.” The movie opens tomorrow at Lincoln Center as part of the New York Film Festival.

Catholic League president William Donohue commented on this today:

“As we get close to the new millennium, the Catholic bashers are coming out of the woodwork. It is appropriate that they do so: hiding in the closet does no one any good and that is why the Catholic League, while deploring the bigotry, welcomes the outing. The pus is now coming to the surface, a sure sign that Catholicism will triumph in the long run.

“‘Donkey-Boy,’ according to Thelma Adams, ‘joins a lengthening list of profane and sacrilegious art testing First Amendment rights, including the Brooklyn Museum’s ‘Sensational’ [sic] art exhibit and the forthcoming festival film ‘Dogma.’

“Adams forgot to add that the entire list is targeted at Roman Catholicism (not that it would matter to her.) ‘John Cardinal O’Connor is going to be very busy this fall,’ she says with glee. ‘So much to protest. So little time.’ No doubt many film critics feel the same way; it’s just that Adams isn’t afraid to advertise her bigotry.

‘Donkey-Boy,’ Adams readily admits, ‘surely will play to sold-out crowds at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall….’ She’s right: the appetite for anti-Catholicism, especially among the pampered class, is downright insatiable.”

The decision of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to oppose funding of the Brooklyn Museum of Art—unless it cancels its offensive “Sensation” exhibit—was greeted with applause today by many Catholics. Catholic League president William Donohue outlined the league’s new strategy:

“The Brooklyn Museum of Art has offended Catholics by rationalizing its decision to host ‘Sensation,’ an exhibit that features a painting of the Virgin Mary laced with elephant dung and surrounded by pictures of vaginas and anuses. Along with the dismembered animals that the exhibit displays, the only term that can be used to describe this monstrosity is ‘snuff art.’

“Catholics salute Mayor Giuliani for his courage and decency in opposing funding of the Brooklyn Museum of Art for its obstinacy on this issue. Now Catholics need to know the position of Hillary Clinton, and to that end, we have asked her to state her position on this issue. We have noted for her that the museum is accessible by the number 2 and 3 subway lines.

“Every member of the City Council has been sent a letter requesting that the museum be defunded. In addition, in this weekend’s edition of the Tablet, the newspaper of the Brooklyn diocese, the Catholic League has placed a half-page ad asking all Catholic school teachers to boycott the museum during the academic year 1999-2000.

“It is nothing short of amazing that some constitutional attorneys are questioning the right of the mayor to defund the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It cannot be said too strongly that no one has a constitutional lien on the public purse, and that certainly includes snuff artists. There is no shortage of private philanthropy around, and that is why those who like this stuff should find some fat cat bigot to foot the bill.”

Beginning October 2, the Brooklyn Museum of Art will feature “Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection.” The exhibit contains the work of 42 artists that have been furnished by Charles Saatchi, a leading collector of contemporary art. Among the displays is one by Chris Ofili, “The Holy Virgin Mary.” This collage shows a Black Madonna surrounded by pictures of female genitalia and anuses with elephant dung splattered all over the linen. Other displays feature dead animals and sexually mutilated bodies. Christie’s is a sponsor of this exhibit. No one under 16 is allowed to see it unless accompanied by an adult.

Catholic League president William Donohue sounded off on this today:

“I know of no other enterprise, profession or industry that allows as many frauds to be perpetrated on it than the artistic community. No wonder Hitler was accepted as an artist: all he had to do was proclaim himself to be one and that was enough for the creative-types to welcome him.

“This exhibit is designed to shock, but instead it induces revulsion. What is even more revolting than the art is the mentality of Arnold L. Lehman, the director of the Brooklyn Museum of Art: ‘This is truly a defining exhibition,’ he said. That it is, but for reasons he’ll never figure out. ‘I think New Yorkers are incredibly sophisticated,’ said Lehman, ‘and believe like I do that they should be exposed to works that are emotionally engaging and ones that make us think.’ So here we have it: the scatological is a tonic for the brain, something the sophisticated can imbibe along with their bottled water.

“We are calling for New Yorkers of every religion to boycott the Brooklyn Museum of Art. We will also seek to defund the institution of public money by writing to the appropriate public officials.”

In the October edition of Vanity Fair, there is an excerpt from a new book by the British author, John Cornwell. The book, Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII, will be published by Viking Press in October.

Catholic League president William Donohue commented on the Vanity Fair article today:

“Scholarship which purports to be ground-breaking must offer evidence that is ground-breaking. On this score, John Cornwell fails miserably. His article is laced with conjecture and innuendo of the most scurrilous kind. Not satisfied to advance the old canard that Pius XII was ‘silent’ during the Holocaust, Cornwell now wants us to believe that the pope was an active agent servicing Hitler. Make no mistake about it, all of this is being done in an attempt to derail the beatification of this saintly man.

“In 1945, when the war was over, and again in 1958, when Pius XII died, the world Jewish community rightly acknowledged his heroism. They knew that no one did more to save Jews than Pope Pius XII. Cornwell offers no evidence that these Jews were fooled.

“Just last month, Lorenzo Cremonesi, Jerusalem correspondent for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, went public with a document that he found in the Israeli archives: in a letter dated October 27, 1945, Msgr. Montini (the future Pope Paul VI) gave a detailed account of a private audience between Pius XII and Leo Kubwitsky, then-secretary general of the World Jewish Congress (WJC). On behalf of the WJC, Kubwitsky gave Pius XII a gift that would be worth more than one million dollars in today’s currency; Kubwitsky expressed ‘his gratitude to the august pontiff for his work in support of persecuted Jews.’

“As for Vanity Fair, it is a sure bet that its editors would never publish an excerpt from a book that defends Pius XII.”

On September 3, a group of activists representing a diverse section of New Yorkers will assemble at Sylvia’s restaurant in Harlem to denounce the bigotry of Khalid Muhammad. Led by Beth Gilinsky of the Jewish Action Alliance, the press conference will start at 10:00 a.m. at  Sylvia’s (328 Lenox Avenue).

Catholic League president William Donohue will attend the press conference. He addressed the importance of the meeting today:

“It is important that New Yorkers of every demographic group speak out against the hatred that Khalid Muhammad represents. His motives and actions are that of a thug. Indeed, his repeated attacks on Jews, Catholics and whites put him in a class with the most malicious elements in American society. Muhammad has far more in common with the David Dukes of  this world than with the Martin Luther Kings, and that is why it is imperative that his call for hatred be challenged by those who seek amity, not enmity.”

Tamara Collins, a research analyst at the Catholic League, has previewed the MGM movie “Stigmata.” She describes the film, which opens September 10, as an attempt to use a supernatural thriller as a vehicle for making a political attack on the Catholic Church.

“The thrust of the plot,” says Collins, “is that there exists a lost gospel of Christ, whose message—that the kingdom of God is inside us and all around us, not in buildings made of stone—would thoroughly undermine the legitimacy of the Catholic Church. Naturally, Church officials, hell-bent on preserving their power, will stop at nothing (including violence, if necessary) to suppress this gospel.”

Collins adds that “Particularly insidious are the references to such Catholic figures as Padre Pio and St. Francis of Assisi, in order to give credence to the film’s outlandish exploitation of supernatural phenomena.”

William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, viewed the trailer of “Stigmata,” and issued his own take on the movie today:

“MGM risks attenuating its prestige by backing such an outlandishly gory and insidious film as ‘Stigmata.’ The idea that salvation can best be achieved by rejecting the Catholic Church is an old and very tired idea. The good news is that there exists a small audience for such an exploitative film, and all the hype and technical effects in the world can do nothing to redeem this bomb of a movie.”