On Sunday, November 9, a band of about 30 gays stormed a church in Lansing, Michigan. Some were well dressed and were stationed inside Mount Hope Church; others were outside dressed in pink and black. The group of self-described homosexual anarchists, Bash Back!, claims the evangelical church is guilty of “transphobia and homophobia.”

The protesters outside the church were beating on buckets, shouting “Jesus was a homo” on a megaphone and carrying an upside-down pink cross. Fire alarms went off inside the church, protesters stormed the pulpit and a huge rainbow-colored flag was unfurled with the inscription, “IT’S OKAY TO BE GAY! BASH BACK!” The church was vandalized, obscenities were shouted and worshippers were confronted. There were no arrests.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed this issue today:

“The real story here is the refusal of the mainstream media to cover what is surely one of the most disturbing events of 2008. If an organized group of gay bashers stormed a gay church, there is not a single sentient person in the United States who wouldn’t know about it.

“This is urban fascism come to America’s heartland. It must be quickly stopped before it gets out of control. We are contacting Mike Cox, the Attorney General of Michigan, calling for an investigation.”

Please contact Mike Cox at miag@michigan.gov

Francis Cardinal George, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, addressed his fellow bishops in Baltimore today at the annual fall meeting. At the plenary session, George spoke affectionately about the success of Barack Obama, the nation’s first African American to be elected president of the United States.

Cardinal George also said that “The common good can never be adequately incarnated in any society when those waiting to be born can be legally killed” via abortion. The bishops gave him a warm response.

Commenting on this is Catholic League president Bill Donohue:

“More bishops spoke up this past election season about the horrors of abortion than ever before. Predictably, they were hammered not only by those who are squarely in the pro-abortion camp, but also by apologists for abortion who ascribe to a ‘common ground’ approach: This group is comprised of men and women who feign an interest in pro-life issues, but who nonetheless work tirelessly for pro-abortion politicians. It is not certain whom they have fooled.

“Among those not fooled is Cardinal George. Nowhere in his magnificent address did he cite the need for an increase in the minimum wage or the welfare budget as an adequate response to ending abortion. Indeed, he picked up on the ‘common ground’ lingo only to say that the ‘common ground cannot be found by destroying the common good.’

“No one is against social and economic measures that might reduce the likelihood of abortion. But no one who is seriously interested in putting an end to killing in the womb would ever suggest that such policies are sufficient. That is why Cardinal George’s statement today is so important. It bodes well for what will happen this week in Baltimore.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on the role Catholics played in securing marriage and family rights in the election:

“Were it not for Catholics, the institutions of marriage and the family would have taken a hit in places like Arizona, Florida and California. Indeed, in Florida and California, their vote proved to be decisive.

“Arizonians rejected gay marriage by a vote of 56% to 49%, though the margin among Catholics was less—51% to 49%. In Florida, the Catholic vote proved to be controlling: overall, the ban on gay marriage won by 62% to 38%, but among Catholics it was 66% to 34%. Californians narrowly defeated gay marriage by a margin of 52% to 48%, but Catholics rejected it by an impressive 60% to 40% differential. A vote in California to support parental notification lost by 52% to 48%, but it won among Catholics by a hefty 58% to 42%.

“On both issues, Catholics and Protestants who are regular church-goers clearly supported a ban on homosexual marriage and affirmed their support for parental consent. Unmarrieds and those who don’t go to church overwhelmingly voted for the right of two men to marry; they also voted to deny mothers and fathers of their right to be notified in advance if their child is considering an abortion.

“Those who support traditional values, then, tend to be religious and married while those who sport a preference for moral relativism tend to be secular and single. The implications are clear: tax laws, and other public policy initiatives, which are both family-friendly and church-friendly, are critically important.

“Because those who reject traditional values and religion voted heavily for Barack Obama, it’s a sure bet the culture war will only get hotter. We expect to be quite busy.”

Running on TV stations today throughout California is an incendiary ad produced by a pro-gay marriage group, Courage Campaign Issues Committee; it depicts Mormons as intolerant crazies.

Two young men, who identify themselves as being from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, knock on the door of two lesbian women announcing that “We are here to take away your rights.” They walk into their house and literally take the “wedding rings” off their fingers, and then proceed to ransack their house looking for their “marriage license.” When they find it, they rip it up in front of them. They walk out saying, “That was too easy, what should we ban next?”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:

“Radical homosexuals have a long history of anti-religious bigotry, so it is not surprising that with a pro-marriage initiative on the ballot in California (Proposition 8 would secure marriage as a right between a man and a woman only), they would resort to gutter tactics. This group is not some fringe operation—it works closely with George Soros’ MoveOn.org, another organization that has not shied away from bashing people of faith.

“The Catholic League is proud to stand with the California Catholic Conference in condemning this bigotry. Bishop Stephen Blaire, the president of the Catholic group, is right to express his dismay at any media outlet that would air such intolerance. It does not matter that the persons of faith who are demonized in the TV ad are Mormons, not Catholics: What matters is that men and women of any faith who are pro-marriage—and who resist attempts to subvert it by relativizing it—be treated with respect.”

Contact Courage Campaign Issues Committee atinfo@couragecampaign.org