Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a statement by the National Organization for Women (NOW) attacking the Catholic Church:

NOW is calling on the authorities to investigate sexual abuse in the “male-dominated Catholic Church,” claiming that “girls as much as boys” are victims of sexual abuse. But the female-dominated organization is wrong as usual: homosexual priests, who commit most of the abuse, are not interested in girls. Indeed, the latest data show that the more priests have access to girl altar servers, the more the abusers in their ranks want the males.

It would be good if the female-dominated organization were to issue another news release correcting the record.

Contact: now@now.org

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 6 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Today I am writing to the U.S. bishops in the Northeast notifying them that Anthony Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, has decided not to overrule those who have chosen to deny a tribute to Mother Teresa: our request to have the towers shine blue and white, the colors of her congregation, on August 26th, the 100th anniversary of her birth (and the day the U.S. Postal Service is honoring her with a commemorative stamp), was denied without explanation. Yet the same persons who chose to stiff Mother Teresa decided to honor the Chinese Communist revolution last year, even though 77 million innocent men, women and children were murdered under Mao Zedong.

Everyone is being asked to sign our petition (click here), and to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Also contact Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building: mmaasch@esbnyc.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on who the league is contacting today regarding the Mother Teresa campaign:

Today I am writing to the top government officials in charge of the 28 states that comprise the nation of India. They are being notified about the decision by Anthony Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, not to overrule those who have chosen to deny a tribute to Mother Teresa: our request to have the towers shine blue and white, the colors of her congregation, on August 26th, the 100th anniversary of her birth (and the day the U.S. Postal Service is honoring her with a commemorative stamp), was denied without explanation. Yet the same persons who chose to stiff Mother Teresa decided to honor the Chinese Communist revolution last year, even though 77 million innocent men, women and children were murdered under Mao Zedong.

Last week, we contacted the leaders of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa, and yesterday we wrote to the 224 Catholic cardinals and bishops stationed in India.

Everyone is being asked to sign our petition (click here), and to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Also contact Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building:
mmaasch@esbnyc.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue released the following comment today:

The front-page article in yesterday’s New York Times on New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan was summarily ignored by the mainstream media. As I said yesterday in my release on the story, “No other newspaper in the nation would post a front-page story on a religious leader that led to nowhere, save for the Times.” Evidently, the media agreed. And to think that the Times spent a year looking for dirt, and all they got was dust.

We searched for news stories, and for television transcripts, accessing Google, Bing, Lexis-Nexis and Critical Mention, and found that aside from a few blogs, the media ignored the story. Even though the evening broadcast news uses the New York Times as a feeder, neither CBS, NBC or ABC picked up the Dolan story. Neither did the cable giants: the Fox News Network, CNN and MSNBC failed to report on it. That’s because they know a non-story when they see it.

There were two exceptions: KMOX radio in St. Louis, Archbishop Dolan’s home town, did an interview on the story, and so did Steve Malzberg on WOR in New York City. You can guess what was said—about Dolan and the Times—since I did them both.

Contact public editor Clark Hoyt: public@nytimes.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on who the league is contacting today regarding the Mother Teresa campaign:

Last week we began our petition drive protesting the decision by Anthony Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, not to overrule those who have chosen to deny a tribute to Mother Teresa: our request to have the towers shine blue and white, the colors of her congregation, on August 26th, the 100th anniversary of her birth (and the day the U.S. Postal Service is honoring her with a commemorative stamp), was denied without explanation. Yet the same persons who chose to stiff Mother Teresa decided to honor the Chinese Communist revolution last year, even though 77 million innocent men, women and children were murdered under Mao Zedong.

In less than a week, we have amassed over 21,000 signatures to our petition. We will continue the petition drive throughout the summer.

Last week, we contacted the leaders of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa, about our campaign. Today we are writing to the 224 Catholic cardinals and bishops stationed in India.

Everyone is being asked to not only sign our petition (click here), but to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Also contact Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building: mmaasch@esbnyc.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on an editorial in yesterday’s New York Times, “Justice for Child Abuse Victims,” that criticizes the Catholic Church:

The New York Times says “The Catholic Church is working against the interests of child abuse victims in state legislatures around the country,” citing as proof its attempt to block laws in states that would amend the statute of limitations for alleged victims of sexual abuse. It also urges New York lawmakers to pass a bill on this issue, noting opposition from the New York State Catholic Conference and Orthodox Jewish officials.

The editorial is deceptive and patently unfair. What the Catholic Church is doing is protecting itself from a vindictive campaign to settle old scores by looting the coffers of the Church. Interestingly, the Times, which is quick to demand constitutional rights for accused Muslim terrorists, has no such interest in protecting the rights of accused priests.

Last year, there were two bills introduced in New York State on this issue: one applied only to private institutions; the other applied to both the private and the public sectors. The Times endorsed the former, thus showing its preference for sticking it to Catholics and for (some) discriminatory legislation.

The Times editorial fails to note that in addition to Catholics and Orthodox Jews, those opposed to the New York bill include the New York State School Boards Association, the New York Council of School Superintendents, the New York Association of Counties, the New York Conference of Mayors, the New York Farm Bureau, the New York Medical Society and the New York Society of Professional Engineers. But to mention these groups would work against the Times’ agenda of convincing readers that the Church is “working against the interests of child abuse victims.” Evidently, the Times is incapable of being shamed these days.

Contact public editor Clark Hoyt: public@nytimes.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on today’s New York Times front-page article on New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan:

Times reporter Serge F. Kovaleski has been investigating Archbishop Dolan for a year, and today he gave it his best shot. Dolan has nothing to worry about—Kovaleski failed to lay a glove on him. But it wasn’t for lack of trying: unprofessionally, he allowed a professional victims’ group, SNAP, to drive his 3784-word story.

No other newspaper in the nation would post a front-page story on a religious leader that led nowhere, save for the Times. In classic fashion, the reader is teased at the beginning with this nugget: the professional victims were disappointed when they learned that Dolan, then the newly installed archbishop of Milwaukee, “had instructed lawyers to seek the dismissal of five lawsuits against the church.” Now the only question that really matters is whether Dolan made the right decision—not whether those reflexively inclined to believe the worst about the Catholic Church were disappointed. But the reader searches in vain to find an answer: the story never addresses this issue again. So we know Dolan was right.

Much coverage is given to a priest who sued his accuser. Interestingly, the accuser had a psychiatric history of lying and blaming others, and no one ever spoke badly about the priest. Largely unresolved, one wonders why this case was even mentioned, unless it was to put Dolan in a bad light for standing by the priest. Isn’t that what those who run the Times would do if a less than credible accusation were made against one of their reporters? Or would they throw the accused overboard?

The story makes a big deal about the fact that not all dioceses post the names of guilty priests, and that many do not list religious order priests. So what? Why should the Church be held to a different standard? Where are the names of all the public school teachers found guilty? In any event, the story on Dolan reveals more about the Times than the archbishop.

Contact public editor Clark Hoyt: public@nytimes.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue announces the start of a worldwide campaign protesting the decision by officials from the Empire State Building to deny Mother Teresa the honor of having her blue and white colors shine from the tower on August 26, the 100th anniversary of her birth; the U.S. Postal Service is honoring her that day with a stamp:

Today I am writing to the leaders of the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation of nuns founded by Mother Teresa, asking them to join with us in this campaign. It is the first of many such campaigns that will run through the summer, if necessary. Religious leaders, including those well beyond the Catholic community, will be asked to join with us; we will do the same with secular leaders. And we will remind everyone that the Empire State Building, owned by Anthony Malkin, had no problem honoring the Communist Chinese revolution on its 60th anniversary last year, even though 77 million innocent persons were murdered under Mao Zedong.

Accordingly, I am writing to the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, Rome, Paris, London, Toronto, San Francisco, Dallas and the Bronx. On Monday, I will announce who is next on our list. We have the time, the resources and the determination to get the job done. And our game plan will not be reserved to a worldwide letter-writing campaign. So stay tuned.

To sign our petition, click here

To register a protest, e-mail Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building, mmaasch@esbnyc.com

To contact Anthony Malkin, write to him at Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest developments regarding the decision by officials from the Empire State Building to deny Mother Teresa the honor of having her colors of blue and white shine from the building’s tower on August 26, the day the U.S. Postal Service is commemorating the 100th anniversary of her birth:

Daniel Hernandez, a PR specialist hired by the Empire State Building, has a nice job: he was hired to say he doesn’t know anything [click here]. When asked by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, an investigative journalist reporting for Fox News, about the decision to stiff Mother Teresa, he repeatedly said “there is no issue here.” Oblivious to the obvious—why would a reporter call about a non-issue—he continued by saying he has been directed not to comment. The reporter then noted, as we did earlier, that it is ironic that the Empire State Building paid tribute to the 60th anniversary of the genocidal Chinese Communist regime last fall, but won’t honor the saintly nun. Hernandez parroted, “I’m only telling you what I’ve been directed to say.”

Imagine a spokesman for the Vatican responding to a reporter about an indefensible decision made by a cardinal, and all he offers is, “there is no issue here.” Better yet, imagine him saying, “I’m only telling you what I’ve been directed to say,” and expecting the reporters to simply walk away disappointed.

One wonders what world the elites who run the Empire State Building live in. Besides siding with the Communists and dissing Catholics, they are just plain stupid. If they think they can ride this out, they have no idea what they are dealing with.

To sign our petition click here

Also, contact Melanie Maasch, the PR rep at the Empire State Building who hired Hernandez to say nothing: mmaasch@esbnyc.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

On August 26, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa. On February 2, I submitted an application to the Empire State Building Lighting Partners requesting that the tower lights feature blue and white, the colors of Mother Teresa’s congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, on August 26. On May 5, the request was denied without explanation.

Mother Teresa received 124 awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Medal of Freedom. She built hundreds of orphanages, hospitals, hospices, health clinics, homeless shelters, youth shelters and soup kitchens all over the world, and is revered in India for her work. She created the first hospice in Greenwich Village for AIDS patients. Not surprisingly, she was voted the most admired woman in the world three years in a row in the mid-1990s. But she is not good enough to be honored by the Empire State Building.

Last year the Empire State Building shone in red and yellow lights to honor the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Revolution. Yet under its founder, Mao Zedong, the Communists killed 77 million people. In other words, the greatest mass murderer in history merited the same tribute being denied to Mother Teresa. 

We are launching a nationwide petition drive protesting this indefensible decision (TO SIGN THE PETITION, Click here). We are petitioning Anthony Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, to reverse this decision. 

To protest this decision, contact: lightingpartner@esbnyc.com