On December 25, WCBS-TV aired a story about a menorah that was vandalized on Christmas Eve in Pearl River, New York.  In the course of the story, reporter Lou Young mentioned that “the menorah shares the small park here with a nativity scene and a Christmas tree in a town that is heavily Irish Catholic.”  He also said, “It is probably worth noting that there are a half-dozen bars within a hundred yards of this park.  That by way of explanation, not an excuse.”  He managed to also say, “Last month it was a statue of Jesus Christ in nearby Monsey that was knocked over and destroyed at St. Zita’s Convent there.”

Catholic League president William Donohue commented as follows:

“It’s those damn drunken Irish Catholics again.  Every time they get bombed, their latent anti-Semitism surfaces.  That is why Lou Young’s ‘explanation’ is so valuable—it puts the blame where it belongs without directly saying so.  But what Lou failed to do was to tell us who lives in Monsey.

“Could anyone imagine a CBS affiliate airing a report that said, ‘The statue of Jesus Christ in Monsey that was knocked over and destroyed at St. Zita’s Convent took place in a town that is heavily Jewish’?  Or one that said the town is ‘heavily African American,’ and then noted there are ‘a half-dozen crack houses within a hundred yards of the convent’?  And to top it off, imagine closing the report saying, ‘That is by way of explanation, not an excuse.’

“I have faxed a letter to Dianne Doctor, News Director at WCBS, with a copy to Lew Leone, VP and GM, asking for an explanation.  I don’t want any excuses, just an explanation.”

* On Dec. 30, Dianne Doctor spoke with William Donohue and apologized for this news report.  Donohue accepted the apology, and this settled the issue.

Catholic League president William Donohue reacted today to news that New York State Governor George Pataki has posthumously pardoned New York comedian Lenny Bruce:

“Lenny Bruce was a talented comedian who knew how to push the envelope.  His opposition to racism was commendable, and he certainly knew how to make good copy satirizing white racists.  But he was also a notorious anti-Catholic bigot.  When HBO released ‘Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth’ in 1999, his friend Paul Krassner correctly observed that ‘Bruce’s offense was blasphemy, not obscenity.’  Too bad no one told this to Governor Pataki.

“Pataki’s comment that his posthumous pardon represents ‘a declaration of New York’s commitment to upholding the First Amendment,’ not only smacks of self-righteous grandstanding, it is insulting to Catholics who had to endure Bruce’s unrelieved hostility to their religion.  ‘Amos and Andy’ were funny, too, but CBS won’t even air their reruns for fear of appearing insensitive to African Americans.  In short, Pataki didn’t endear himself to Catholics with his silly pardon.  That Pataki is himself Catholic is doubly embarrassing.”

Town officials in Glenview, Illinois, a northern Chicago suburb, have ordered all Christmas decorations removed from the inside of a firehouse.  Some residents complained that they could see Christmas lights, a Christmas tree and a Santa Claus inside Glenview’s Station No. 7 when they drove down Glenview Road.  Village officials declared that they want “to make sure that our public buildings remain neutral.”  They pointed out that they also banned a menorah from public property.

Catholic League president William Donohue commented as follows:

“Glenview’s town officials are free to develop their own policies, but no one has to accept their lies.  This has nothing to do with remaining neutral—it has everything to do with deliberately seeking to snuff out Christmas.  Everyone knows that Christmas lights, Christmas trees and Santa Claus are secular symbols, but because they are obviously associated with a religious holiday, it is enough for those who hate Christianity to ban them.  Moreover, to say that the policy is neutral because it also bans menorahs from public property is another lie: a menorah is a religious symbol.

“In Castro’s Cuba, Catholics celebrate Christmas with their curtains drawn.  This is exactly what the cultural fascists would like to do in the U.S.  It is not sufficient that they avert their eyes when they see something that reminds them of Christmas—now they literally peer in the windows of firehouses in their annual search and destroy operation.  And make no mistake about it, all of this is done because they are offended by any reference to Jesus.”

Soon after the Boston Globe broke the story of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in 2002, a website dedicated to journalism began to post stories in a section titled, “Clergy Abuse Tracker.”  The website, Poynter Online, typically posts articles found in newspapers that deal with clergy abuse.

Effective January 1, 2004, the Tracker will find a new home: it will be on the webpages of the National Catholic Reporter.  In making this announcement yesterday, an employee from Poynter, Bill Mitchell, admitted that he has been a member of the board of directors of the National Catholic Reporter since 1999.  Anticipating charges of a conflict of interest, Mitchell said, “I’ve invited scrutiny from Poynter colleagues on the situation, and we haven’t come up with any conflicts.”

Catholic League president William Donohue was amused:

“It is so utterly predictable.  Those who rail against corruption in the Catholic Church have no problem compromising elementary standards of ethics themselves.  Poynter alleges to track clergy abuse in all religions, but over the past couple of years the Catholic League has noticed an almost total fixation on the Catholic clergy (note: there is a story by AP today about a former Protestant youth minister arrested again for molesting another boy, but you won’t see it on Poynter).  Moreover, we have brought stories to the attention of Poynter several times—stories about clergy sexual abuse committed by non-Catholic clergy.  We have also been struck by the posting of stories that have nothing to do with sexual misconduct, but nonetheless are unflattering to the Catholic Church.

“Now the cat’s out of the bag.  This has been a inside job all along.  The National Catholic Reporter is home to the most dissident Catholic views of any media source.  Moreover, its refusal to tell the truth about the homosexual scandal in the Catholic Church is shameful.

“It’s so reassuring to know that Mitchell’s buddies at Poynter have given him a clean slate.  They all deserve a Jayson Blair award for integrity.”

Yesterday, the Catholic League issued a news release regarding the decision of Simmons Elementary School Principal Karen Davis to remove a nativity scene from the school.  Parents had put the nativity scene in the suburban Philadelphia school, but Davis had it removed because she said it was promoting Christianity.  However, she allowed a Jewish religious symbol to remain in the school, namely the menorah.  This inspired Catholic League president Dr. William A. Donohue to contact Dr. William A. Lessa, Superintendent of Schools for the Hatboro-Horsham School District.  Donohue said that unless Lessa reversed Davis’ decision, there would be a lawsuit.

Dr. Lessa ordered the nativity scene to be restored last night.  “To even begin to imply that the acknowledgment of a nativity is inappropriate doesn’t sound right to me,” he said.  He said he would revisit the whole question of religious symbols in the school after the holidays.

Catholic League president William Donohue was pleased:

“Dr. Lessa did the right thing by putting back the nativity scene.  He could have chosen to take out the menorah and thereby relieve the Catholic League’s objection that Simmons Elementary was guilty of religious discrimination.  But instead he chose to put a Christian religious symbol alongside a Jewish religious symbol.  In short, he prefers, as do we, to practice government neutrality by being tolerant.

“What Dr. Lessa did is in sharp contrast to what left-wing religious bigots do: they prefer to show their neutrality by banning all religious symbols from the schools.  And in doing so they do what comes natural to them—they practice intolerance.

“The Catholic League takes no great joy in threatening lawsuits at Christmastime.  But what we like less is to tolerate cultural pogroms every December.”

Karen Davis, principal of a suburban Philadelphia school, Simmons Elementary, has removed from the school a nativity scene that was put there by parents.  “I felt that the nativity scene was definitely promoting Christianity,” she said.  When asked why she is allowing the Jewish menorah, also a religious symbol, she opined, “Judaism is not just a religion, it’s a culture.”

Catholic League president William Donohue says the school is setting itself up for a lawsuit:

“I am notifying Dr. William A. Lessa, Superintendent of Schools for the Hatboro-Horsham School District, that one of his schools, Simmons Elementary, will be sued if he doesn’t intervene to reverse the decision by Principal Karen Davis.  The inane comments made by Davis make us wonder how someone this badly educated could ever be appointed a principal, but that is not our beef.  Our beef is religious discrimination.  The ball is in Dr. Lessa’s court.”

Catholic League president William Donohue issued the following remarks today on word that Pope John Paul II has given his approval to the Mel Gibson movie, “The Passion of the Christ”:

“Pope John Paul II has seen Mel’s masterpiece and, like virtually everyone else, likes what he has seen.  He expressly said, ‘It is as it was.’  The immediate fallout on Mel’s critics—the ones who hate the film without having seen it—is not known.  That is because they are divided into two camps: Jewish activists who are genuinely concerned about anti-Semitism, and an ad hoc group of Catholic and Jewish theologians who have an agenda.

“In the first camp are people like Dov Hikind, a Jewish state legislator from New York.  Hikind worries that the film might incite anti-Semitism.  Having seen the movie twice myself, I have tried to convince him that his fears are unfounded.  He has, quite correctly, said that this is something he must determine for himself.  It is my hope that he will reach the same conclusion I have.  But even if he does not, he commands my respect and support.  As I have said many times over the past few months, I can certainly appreciate why there may be a certain degree of apprehension in the Jewish community over this movie—I, too, would be wary if I were Jewish.  Fortunately, the film engenders sacrifice and love, not hate.

“The other camp is a different story altogether.  Some members of the ad hoc committee, like Paula Fredriksen, have accused Gibson of promoting violence.  Another, John Pawlikowski, has blasted the Catholic League for defending Mel, calling him ‘a heretic.’  Moreover, Philip Cunningham and Sister Mary Boys have joined the other two in denouncing Gibson for allegedly violating their own trumped up rules governing depictions of the Passion.  Acting like the proponents of a neo-Hays code, they arrogantly think Mel should have had to run the film by them for approval.  He doesn’t need to—the pope’s on board.

“This latter group has two choices: they can either find a spider hole and crawl in it, or they can just keep on talking.  Call it a Hobson’s choice.”

Catholic League president William Donohue spoke today on the way diversity specialists in the corporate world are responding to Christmas:

“The Diversity Despots are once again seeking to gut Christmas from the workplace.  Fraser Nelson, executive director of the Disability Law Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, is against any religious holiday in the workplace.  Nelson, who is Jewish, says she is ‘personally offended’ when she sees a Christmas tree in the rotunda of the Utah State Capitol.  Ergo, she censors Christmas for her employees.

“Susan Dunn is known as an internationally recognized Emotional Intelligence Coach.  Though we have no idea what this is, what matters is that she warns against linking December with Christmas, counseling not to forget about Bodhi Day (for those with a low Multicultural IQ, this is a Buddhist holiday, a.k.a. Rohatsu).  She also advises that in a true multicultural holiday party, employees should be encouraged to bring various ethnic foods: ‘But remember,’ she wisely observes, ‘it’s counterproductive to ask the Hungarian to bring goulash, etc.’

“Myrna Marofsky is perhaps the nation’s foremost Diversity Despot.  She runs ProGroup, a diversity firm in Minneapolis.  Like the ADL, she speaks of the ‘December Dilemma.’  Having herself created the dilemma for the rest of us, she is ever so kind to fix it for us.  ‘Consider scheduling celebrations or sending cards before or after the holiday season,’ she says.  She adds that ‘Santa Claus can be surprisingly divisive,’ and suggests that employers ‘invite a magician instead.’  The recommended tune to sing is ‘Frosty the Snowman.’  Why?  ‘There’s a lot of nice Christmas songs that don’t have anything to do with Baby Jesus.’  So that’s what this is all about—censoring Jesus.  Her honesty is much appreciated.

“We’re thinking about sending Marofsky a Happy Hanukkah card, but not until the Fourth of July.  For a Hanukkah treat, we’ll send her some corned beef and cabbage, with a side of meatballs and spaghetti.  And for holiday music, we’ll send her a CD by Marilyn Manson.”

Catholic League president William Donohue addressed today the claim that there is a December Dilemma in the schools:

“When people say there is a December Dilemma, what they mean is that school officials are in a bind: how can they allow the celebration of Christmas without offending others?  The answer?  Censor Christmas.

“The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is so worried about Christmas that it issues an annual document, ‘The December Dilemma,’ on how to deal with this problem (in response, the Catholic League offers, ‘The December Celebration’).  In a Q&A section, the ADL comments on what is excessive when it comes to Christmas decorations.  After admitting that the courts have said Santas and Christmas trees are secular symbols, it warns, ‘Nevertheless, their inordinate usage is inappropriate.’  It does not say what constitutes an inordinate number, nor does it say why secular symbols of any kind should be censored, regardless of their volume.  But it does tell us a lot about how the ADL views Christmas.

“Janet Jones is Principal of Adler Elementary in Southfield, Michigan.  Scott Finnegan is Principal of Memorial and Burke Elementary in Medway, Massachusetts.  Michael Ransaw is Principal of Powell Middle School in Spring Hill, Florida.  All three have resolved the December Dilemma by taking a page from the ADL—they censor it.

“In every instance, school officials say they must censor Christmas because the holiday is not inclusive.  But if they were advised to censor Martin Luther King Day celebrations—on the grounds that it is not inclusive (it represents only a small minority)—they would respond by saying that white kids who feel left out should respect diversity.  Why, then, should not those who are not Christian (a small minority) be told to respect the diversity that Christmas offers?  There is a game being played here: in one instance, those who complain are rewarded; in the other, they are denied.  Such is the game of multicultural madness.”

On December 3, the Catholic League issued a news release regarding the decision of the Meriden Public Library in Meriden, Connecticut, to ban portraits of Jesus from an artist’s exhibition.  The artist, Mary Morely, was told she could not show her reverential paintings of Jesus because it violated a library policy that disallows “inappropriate” and “offensive” fare.  Catholic League president William Donohue immediately sent a letter to Keith Michael Fiels, executive director of the American Library Association in Chicago, requesting an end to any future grants to the library.  On December 15, the library’s board of directors voted unanimously to allow Morely to display her paintings of Jesus.

On December 12, the Catholic League issued a news release on the decision of the affirmative action office at Central Michigan University to put out a “Warning” document regarding campus celebrations of Christmas.  The document, which was not targeted at celebrations of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Las Posadas, warned Christians that their holiday “may be offensive to others within a place of employment.”  Christians were told, “It is inappropriate to decorate things with Santa Claus or reindeer or other ‘Christmas’ decorations.”  Later in the day, after the Fox News Channel was going to do a story on this, the “Warning” document was withdrawn.  Now there is an innocuous three line statement about showing sensitivity to others, and it is not specifically targeted at Christmas.

Catholic League president William Donohue was pleased:

“What both of these cases have in common is the tendency of well-educated people to engage in thought control.  The cultural fascists in the U.S. are more likely to be found in salons than in saloons; more likely to be intoxicated with ideology than booze.  Given a choice between dealing with old-fashioned rednecks and the Multicultural Gestapo, I’ll take the former any day—at least they’re capable of sobering up once and a while.”