The following attacks on crèches have come to our attention:

Figures from nativity scenes were stolen or vandalized in Tucson, AZ ; Millbrae, CA; Mission Viejo, CA; Moorpark, CA; San Francisco, CA; Naugatuck, CT; Waterbury, CT (Jesus was taken, but one of the arms was left behind); Fort Walton Beach, FL; Des Moines, IA; Sioux City, IA; Ammon, ID; Chicago, IL (32 figures of baby Jesus were nabbed—they were later dumped on the lawn of a Catholic church); Jackson County, IL (two incidents); Tinley Park, IL; Floyd County, IN; Fort Wayne, IN; Montgomery County, IN; Wichita, KS; Hardin, KY; Lafayette, LA (two incidents); Youngsville, LA; Fitchburg, MA; Southborough, MA; Winthrop, ME; Portage Township, MI; Fayettville, NC; New Bern, NC; Columbus, NE (12 baby Jesus figures were stolen in one day); Plaistow, NH; Dover, OH; Utica, OH (three incidents); Artemis, PA; Bucks County, PA; Greenfield, PA; Hilton Head, SC; Halom City, TX; Santa Fe, TX; Salt Lake City, UT; Winfield, WV and West Allis, WI.

Some of these attacks were clearly motivated by malice.  The baby Jesus figure stolen in Plaistow, NH was later returned, having been defiled by a pair of devil horns.  The hooligan who stole the manger from Southborough, MA left the surrounding secular decorations standing.  In Sioux Falls, SD, someone crushed the face of the statue of Jesus.  What’s worse, the creep in Des Moines, IA burned Jesus’ face, doused the statue with red nail polish, and twisted the electrical cord around its neck.  The incident in Kansas occurred outside the clinic of late-term abortionist George Tiller.  After a member of a pro-life group placed the crèche on a public strip of land, one of Tiller’s employees deemed it “offensive” and moved it behind a fence on the clinic’s property where it would no longer be visible.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed Hollywood’s latest assault on Christians and Christmas:

“On Christmas Eve, Comedy Central is featuring ‘Sacrilicious Sunday,’ a series of non-stop shows designed to offend Christians. It opens at midnight with ‘Carlos Mencia,’ the standup comedian who this past year did a show on the sex life of Pope John Paul II in heaven. At 1:00 a.m., ‘Bad Santa’ will be shown: the R-rated film stars a Santa character who is ‘a bitter, foul-mouthed and perpetually grouchy alcoholic who doesn’t care for kids.’ Then there are five showings of ‘MADtv,’ a comedy that ran an offensive portrayal of the Nativity on Christmas Day, 1999. At 10:30 a.m., ‘40 Days and 40 Nights’ will be shown: the R-rated movie features a Catholic young man who during Lent ‘decides to observe the 40-day tradition by abstaining from all sexual contact, including self-gratification.’ Then comes ‘Dogma’ at 2:30 p.m., an R-rated comedy described as follows: ‘Would you believe that the last living descendant of Jesus Christ is a woman working at an abortion clinic in Illinois?’ At 7:00 p.m. is ‘Superstar,’ a film about a ‘mildly hyperactive Catholic school student convinced that she smells bad.’ The evening ends with two episodes of ‘South Park,’ the show that likes to depict the Virgin Mary spraying blood from her vagina in the pope’s face.

“The ADL recently issued red flags about the Sacha Baron Cohen movie ‘Borat,’ and two years ago objected to his ‘Da Ali G Show’ that aired on HBO; Comedy Central, however, showed no interest in featuring the latter on Yom Kippur.  Earlier this year, Muslims objected to an inoffensive cartoon of Muhammad, yet Comedy Central showed no interest in airing it at any time, never mind during Ramadan.  Of course, Comedy Central could try to air some reruns of the ‘Amos “n” Andy’ show on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, except CBS won’t allow anyone to air any of the episodes.

“Doug Herzog of Comedy Central just likes to feature anti-Christian fare. Especially at Christmas. Ask him why.  doug.herzog@comedycentral.com .”

Here’s what Catholic League president Bill Donohue said today about the upcoming movie, “Black Christmas”:

“It is not uncommon for theaters to host dark comedies or tear-jerkers during the most fun time of the year, namely Christmastime. Psycho-type films have also been released in December. But when it comes to blood and gore flicks, they never open on Christmas Day. Unless, of course, the men behind the movie are Harvey and Bob Weinstein.

“It’s not so much the plot of ‘Black Christmas’ that bothers us—a wacko who terrorizes college girls at Christmas—it’s the fact that the Weinstein boys are back again, choosing a title and an opening date to make their latest statement.

“Even in Hollywood, a town where bashing Christians is sport—and Catholics are the target of choice—the Weinsteins stand out. In 1995, they treated us to ‘Priest,’ a film where the audience is introduced to totally dysfunctional priests, all of whom are made screwy because of the Catholic Church. ‘Dogma’ hit the big screen in 1999, and this time viewers were treated to a descendant of Mary and Joseph who works in an abortion clinic, a foul-mouthed 13^th apostle and a comment comparing Mass to lousy sex. In ‘40 Days and 40 Nights,’ which opened during Lent of 2002, a Catholic is ridiculed for giving up sex for Lent. And in the 2002 film ‘The Magdalene Sisters,’ the only nuns the audience meets are sadistic.

“It makes sense, then, that the Weinstein tag-team would return in 2006 with their latest contribution. The fact that they chose Christmas Day to open is not by accident: They scheduled ‘Priest’ to open on Good Friday, until, that is, I pressured them to change the date (it opened three weeks earlier). Unlike ‘Black Christmas,’ that film engendered a strong response from the Catholic League—the script was anti-Catholic.

“Make no mistake about it, the Weinstein boys want ‘Black Christmas’ to be their Christmas present to Christians.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke to some disturbing events this Christmas season:

“Anti-Catholic art is offensive any time of the year, but it is doubly so when it occurs at Christmastime. The Art Center of Corpus Christi is the venue this December of the K-Space exhibit, a collection of pieces representing the work of artists from K-Space Arts Studio in this Texas city. Included is ‘an acrylic painting showing the womb of a nude virgin mother, who’s holding a crucifix linked by rosary beads to the unborn son’s umbilical supply’; a painting that ‘appears like a black and white version of the Last Supper,’ but is really a man ‘wearing a costume, eating dinner with rats’; a painting that ‘shows men, dressed in different costumes, one as a member of the Vatican, all drinking from a keg of beer’; and a drawing called ‘Communion’ that ‘depicts three people, all completely naked, holding hands.’

“Jessica Delfino is taking her ‘Merry S–tmas Tour’ on the road. Described as ‘rife with Christmas-themed debauchery,’ Delfino worked last night in New York City, appears in Washington, D.C. tomorrow and travels to South Durham, North Carolina on Thursday. Her performance includes the showing of an obscenely-titled video banned from YouTube that features her rapping about her vagina, complete with obscene pictures flashing in the background. Rapping about her genitals, she sings, ‘it will become your true religion.’

“None of this is without malice. And at a time when radical Muslims are accusing Americans of harboring a depraved understanding of liberty, it only provides ammunition to the enemy.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on the display of crèches on public property:

“Today, the Catholic League erected a nativity scene in Central Park; it is located on the corner of 59^th Street and Fifth Avenue, right near the Plaza. As we do every year, we obtained a permit from the New York City Parks Department; next to our crèche is the world’s largest menorah. We would like to be able to put a crèche in the New York City schools as well—the menorah is allowed—but unfortunately the educrats have chosen to practice religious discrimination by denying us the right to do so. Which is why the Catholic League and the Thomas More Law Center have sued the City; we are awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether it will hear this case.

“Ignorance and intolerance abound on this issue. For example, on December 9, theCourier-Post ran an editorial saying, ‘Putting religious symbols on government property violates the law and challenges the constitutional right of religious freedom.’ The New Jersey daily is twice wrong. As we showed today, it is not unconstitutional to put a religious symbol on public property. Furthermore, it doesn’t challenge religious freedom to display a manger scene or a menorah—it demonstrates it.

“In Briarcliff Manor, village officials put up a Christmas tree and a menorah, but they balked at a request by an 80 year-old man to add a crèche (paid for by him). So he sued. In federal court, a judge ruled on Friday in his favor. Instead of adding the nativity scene to the display, officials in the Westchester, New York town took everything down. ‘The Village erected a Menorah and a Christmas tree display in a spirit of inclusion,’ officials said. They did nothing of the sort: they gave Jews a religious symbol and Christians a secular one, and when they were told to treat both groups equally they elected to demonstrate intolerance towards both. That’s their idea of neutrality—censor everyone equally.

“These battles are so unnecessary. If only the secularists learned to inculcate the virtue of tolerance, all would be well.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue released these remarks today on the latest round of anti-Christmas incidents:

“Like most Jews, Olympic skater Sasha Cohen is not offended by Christmas carols. But that didn’t stop a government employee from trying to protect her. While Cohen was skating at a rink in Riverside, California, a high-school choir started singing ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,’ immediately sending Michelle Baldwin into orbit. She summoned a cop and got him to institute a gag rule: he ordered the choir to stop singing. Baldwin maintained that because Cohen was Jewish, she would be upset by the carol. But she never bothered to ask the skater if she objected. As it turns out, Cohen couldn’t have cared less. As usual, those who say we must be careful not to offend non-Christians at Christmastime are the ones who object to Christmas—not those whom they falsely claim to represent.

“Like Baldwin, Sandra Byrne, principal of an elementary school in Delray Beach, Florida, has a need to show how inclusive she is. That’s why she has no Christmas tree, nativity scene or menorah in her office. Instead, her spot is adorned with teddy bears wearing sweaters. Moreover, only ‘winter parties’ and ‘winter celebrations’ are tolerated. ‘We’re very careful about this,’ she says. No doubt she is.

“Here’s another example of anti-Christmas fever. In a Detroit suburban school district, they’ve instituted a quota system on religious songs that can be sung at school concerts. That’s right, only 30 percent of the songs at Howell Public Schools can be religious. It’s not certain whether the choir director will be fined or imprisoned if a multicultural monitor finds that 31 percent of the songs are religious. We recommend incarceration.

“After Pope John Paul II visited Cuba in 1998, Castro made a good-faith gesture by allowing Cubans to celebrate Christmas again. Maybe we should hire Fidel to talk to these madmen.”

At Brandeis Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky a teacher asked her students to make a Christmas tree out of paper; it was put on her bulletin board. But when a Jewish teacher said she was offended, she complained to the principal, Shervita West-Jordan, and got her wish. According to a news report, “She, and the teacher who complained, were bothered by the fact that the tree was made up of hands which represented all the students in the class.”

Both the teacher and the principal were angry over the words, “Santa’s Helpers,” that were placed over the tree. “Of course, the children in her classroom that were Indian and Muslim probably did not believe in Santa Claus,” Jordan said. They were not “Santa’s Helpers” she insisted. She said the tree could stay but the words had to go. She suggested “Holiday Helpers” or “Winter Helpers,” because that would “make it a little more inclusive.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented as follows:

“Instead of instructing the teacher who was offended on her need to practice tolerance, the principal rewarded her for her intolerance. That’s because she’s cut from the same cloth. We have entered a new day when those on the public payroll are spending their time worrying if some non-Christian kid’s hands helped to make a secular symbol. Their selective interest in inclusion, which just happens to bud every December—and just for Christmas—is nothing but a ruse to disguise their bigotry.

“This smacks of the kind of totalitarian mindset that defines multiculturalism, and which has unfortunately penetrated education from K-graduate school. Instead of telling some children they can’t put their hands on a Christmas tree, educators would do well to adopt a hands-off policy and let kids be kids.”

Don Feder of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation (JAACD) and Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious And Civil Rights today issued the following joint statement:

“We are appalled by the decision of the Seattle Airport (Sea-Tac) to remove the Christmas trees which have graced the airport for 25 years.

“We are saddened that this was in response to a local rabbi, who threatened to sue the Port of Seattle if an eight-foot menorah wasn’t erected to ‘balance’ the Christmas trees.

“Courts have held the Christmas tree is a secular symbol (though associated with the celebration of Christmas). The menorah is clearly a religious symbol. While it would have been nice for the airport to erect a menorah, it wasn’t necessitated by the presence of the trees.

“To the rabbi’s threat, officials at the airport reacted the way bureaucrats usually do—by choosing the path of least resistance. In this case, taking down the trees—thus depriving the majority of travelers of a little holiday cheer.

“The rabbi should withdraw his threat of legal action if he doesn’t get his way. The airport should put the Christmas trees back up—whether or not any other symbol is added.  And we should all recall this is supposed to be the season of peace on earth—not animosity on earth and litigation toward man.”

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, and Don Feder, president of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, have launched a “Why I Hate Christmas” contest today. Donohue explains as follows:

“On December 6, a Zogby Poll disclosed that 95 percent of Americans are not offended by being greeted with a ‘Merry Christmas’ while shopping. Don Feder and I would like to know more about the 5 percent who object and have thus launched our ‘Why I Hate Christmas’ contest.  Contestants must answer the following questions:

1)     Explain relationship with father

2)     Explain relationship with mother

3)     State what religion, if any, were you raised in

4)     List all phobias, e.g., fear of God

5)     List all superstitions, e.g., belief in global warming

6)     State which historical figure is most like you: (a) Hitler (b) Stalin

  (c) Mao (d) Pol Pot (e) Rosie O’Donnell

      7)     State last time you hallucinated

8)     State last book you read before crashing

9)     State how many times you’ve laughed in the past 10 years:

  (a) once (b) more than once but not more than thrice (c) more than thrice but not

  more than five times (d) can’t recall

    10)     List all prior mental disorders

“Please send us a photo so we can post your picture on our website, along with your response. The winner will receive a free copy of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Finally, we will send your statement to Jackie Mason for a free psychological evaluation.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue released the following statement today on the Christmas wars:

“The secular crusaders who want to neuter Christmas say ad nauseam that the reason why we have to give more attention to holidays other than Christmas is due to the increasingly diverse composition of our nation and the world. But it is a hoax: the evidence is just the opposite.

“According to Boston University professor Stephen Prothero, America now has more Christians than any other nation in history (Christian Science Monitor, 12-23-03). ‘In terms of religious background,’ writes Hoover Institution scholar Dinesh D’Souza, ‘America is no more diverse today than it was in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries’ (The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11). Indeed, Penn State professor Philip Jenkins maintains that the U.S. is becoming more Christian (The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity). As for the world’s religious population, we are also becoming less diverse: in 1900, 50 percent of the world was either Catholic, Protestant, Muslim or Hindu; in 2000, these groups constituted 64 percent, in 2025 they are projected to make up 70 percent (Shah and Duffy, “Why God is Winning,” Foreign Policy, 7-1-06).

“Hanukkah, which is a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar, is not being celebrated today more than ever before because there are more Jews: in fact, only 1 percent of America is Jewish (Newsweek, 9-5-05); in 1955, the figure was 4 percent (Will Herberg,Protestant, Catholic, Jew). Nor are we celebrating Kwanzaa more than ever before because African Americans have rallied to this African holiday: only 2 percent of Americans, or about 15 percent of blacks, celebrate the holiday (Fox News Poll, 12-9-03); and Kwanzaa has nothing to do with Africa—it was invented in 1966 by an ex-con.

“The diversity hoax is being sold as a rationale to nullify Christmas. It’s also because the multicultural industry is big business.”