Bill Donohue comments on the link between religion and suicide:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently found that suicide rates in the U.S. spiked between 1994 and 2014. While women are less likely to kill themselves than men, their rate of suicide jumped by 80 percent over this period. But not all women are at risk.

A study released this week by JAMA Psychiatry, an American Medical Association journal, reported that “Frequent religious service attendance was associated with substantially lower suicide risk among U.S. women compared with women who never attended religious services.” To be exact, the researchers studied approximately 90,000 nurses, mostly women, and found that Catholic and Protestant women had a suicide rate that was half that for women as a whole.

Of the nearly 7,000 Catholic women who went to Mass more than once a week, none committed suicide. Overall, practicing Protestant women were seven times more likely to commit suicide than their Catholic counterparts, suggesting there really is a Catholic advantage. Indeed, my 2015 book, The Catholic Advantage, substantiates this finding.

Today, those without a religious affiliation have the highest suicide rates, illustrated most dramatically in San Francisco: someone jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge to his death every two weeks. It is not the faithful who are waiting in line to jump—it’s the non-believing free spirits.

On a related note, Gallup released a survey yesterday that shows approximately 9 in 10 Americans believe in God. But as we learned from the JAMA Psychiatry study, only those who regularly attend religious services are less likely to commit suicide.

In other words, mere belief, and amorphous expressions of spirituality, aren’t enough to ward off the demons that trigger suicide. And no group is more at risk than atheists.

Bill Donohue comments on the nation’s conflicted approach to abortio

The FBI is on the hunt for a Milwaukee woman, Shanika Minor, who murdered two of her neighbors: a mother and her unborn child. Here is a selection of the story as printed online by the Washington Post:

• “Tamecca Perry was nine months pregnant. Her baby was due within the week.”
• “The brutal murder of a mother and her unborn child is reprehensible.”
• “Perry…retreated back into her house, where she and her unborn child died, the FBI said.”
• “Police issued an arrest warrant for Minor, charging her with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide—one for Perry’s death, and one for her unborn child’s death.”
• “An obituary…said services were held for Tamecca Perry, 23, and her unborn child 10 days after the shooting.”
• “Family and friends told WITI [TV station] that Perry’s unborn child was a girl.”
• “Shemeeka Pirtle, Perry’s friend…told WITI, ‘You took her life as well as her unborn child. That’s so unfair.'”

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a restrictive Texas abortion law was unconstitutional. The majority and dissenting opinions combined totaled 107 pages: There was one mention, by Justice Clarence Thomas, of the term “unborn child.” The word “baby” was never cited.

So here is the way it works. Had Ms. Perry asked a doctor to kill her unborn child, he could have done so legally, and would have been paid for doing so. But because she did not give permission to Ms. Minor to kill her unborn child, the FBI wants to arrest her for murder.

Only the living are entitled to an obituary. That one was posted for Ms. Perry’s baby girl is all the proof we need to verify her humanity.

Bill Donohue comments on remarks made by Pope Francis aboard the papal plane from Armenia to Rome on Sunday:

The following media outlets reported, either in the headline or in the story, that the pope said the Catholic Church owes gays an apology:

New York Times, AP, Washington Post, ABC News, CNN, USA Today, New York Magazine, Slate, NPR, Daily Beast, Huffington Post, BBC, Daily Mail, Reuters.

They are all wrong.

After the pope initially said, “I think that the Church must not only ask forgiveness…to the gay person who has been offended,” he quickly clarified what he meant. He pointedly said that “when I say the Church, I mean Christians! The Church is holy, we are sinners.”

In other words, the teachings of the Church are not the problem—the Church is “holy”—it is the words and deeds of those Christians who have sinned that is the problem.

Why is this important? The headline in today’s New York Times says it all: “Gay Catholic Groups Want Vatican to Act After Apology.” This is a game: The media, led by the New York Times, misrepresents what the pope said, thus teeing it up for dissident and ex-Catholics to demand reforms. This is dishonest—the premise is false to begin with. The pope drew a distinction between the institution of the Church and the individuals who comprise it. Ergo, no action is required.

In most cases, both the news headline and the text of the story got it wrong. In some cases, the story correctly offered the pope’s clarification, but the headline was wrong. No matter, the public is being deceived and the truth is being distorted.

Bill Donohue comments on last night’s “Daily Show”:

When Jon Stewart left the “Daily Show,” we thought Trevor Noah might not stoop to the anti-Catholic lows that Stewart descended to on occasion. Last night, he proved us wrong.

After Noah made some humorous, and inoffensive, cracks about the pope’s quips aboard the papal plane, he referred to him as that “mother******.”

This cannot stand as the “new normal” at Comedy Central. Noah would never refer to President Obama this way, nor should he invoke such a vile obscenity to describe Pope Francis.

Though Noah’s remark was not made in a malicious tone, it clearly crossed the line. He should apologize to the Holy Father and to Catholics.

Contact Steve Albani, Comedy Central Communications: steve.albani@cc.com

Bill Donohue details how a Harvard professor’s “unequivocal” claim that Jesus was married has now been definitively proven to be a hoax. To read his piece on CNSnews.com click here.

Bill Donohue comments on Bill Maher’s latest assault:

There is nothing that Bill Maher can say about Catholics that will elicit a rebuke from his guests. When he occasionally attacks Muslims, there is some blowback. He never goes after others—gays, for instance—so he has nothing to worry about. Here is what he said on Friday night in front of his compliant guest, political operative and Roman Catholic Paul Begala:

“I see that liberals, they talk about guns—I’m not a gun expert but I see a lot of people talking about guns who don’t know s*** about guns. I know a little. It’s like when the pope talks about vaginas.”

“Three weeks later [after the Keebler elves got a Twitter account], look at some of the tweets from this guy @popefrancis: ‘at least my big dumb hat gets me p***y.'”

The bar has been dropped so low in this country that there are few standards left. Not so in the Caribbean. 50 Cent performed Saturday night at the St. Kitts Music Festival, spouting his usual profanities. But this time his repeated use of the word “motherf*****” got him arrested for using “indecent language.”

That’s what happens in countries that draw a distinction between the sacred and the profane. In this country, we used to ban blasphemy and celebrate Christianity—now we ban crèches and celebrate Maher. Only the morally destitute would argue we are better off.

Contact Keith Cocozza, senior VP communications, Time Warner: keith.cocozza@timewarner.com

Bill Donohue comments on a bill that would undermine religious colleges in California:

The California State Assembly is considering a bill that would gut the religious identity of faith-based colleges and universities in the state.

SB 1146, which has already been passed by the state Senate, is sponsored by Sen. Ricardo Lara, one of seven members of the legislature’s LGBT caucus. It’s ostensible purpose is to protect LGBT students against discrimination. In reality, however, it is a heavy-handed exercise in anti-religious discrimination.

The bill would severely constrict religious exemptions from federal Title IX regulations. Previously applicable to all students in religious colleges, these exemptions would now be restricted to only those educational programs in such colleges that prepare students for clerical ministry or other religious vocations, or for teaching theological subjects pertaining to religion.

For all other students, religious colleges and universities in California would no longer be able to require theology or religious studies classes, attendance at worship services, or corporate prayer in convocations or classes. The schools’ ability to include religious ideas in regular course work could be threatened. And of course, maintaining separate male and female bathrooms and dormitories would be prohibited.

“SB 1146 is a direct and blatant attack on the religious freedom of Catholic and Christian citizens of California advanced by the state’s LGBT legislative lobby,” said Dr. Derry Connolly, president of John Paul the Great Catholic College in Escondido, California. “It severely impacts citizens’ constitutionally protected right to freedom of religion.”

This bill should be defeated, and religious freedom upheld in California for all faith-based institutions of higher learning.

Bill Donohue comments on a New York abuse bill that failed:

The bill was sold as justice for the victims of sexual abuse, when, in fact, it was a sham: the proposed legislation that failed to make it to the floor of the New York State legislature in the wee hours of Saturday (the session that began on Friday ended at 5:00 a.m. the next day), was a vindictive bill pushed by lawyers and activists out to rape the Catholic Church.

The principal enemy of the Church, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, was confident that her bill would pass. On May 30, she told her allies at the discredited Daily News—the paper broke every tenet of journalism in its war on Catholicism—that “there is a strong movement in our house to bring [the bill] to a vote in the next few weeks.” On June 5, she told her buddies, “I really think we have a chance of getting this bill passed.”

If the statute of limitations were lifted on offenses involving the sexual abuse of minors, the only winners would be greedy and bigoted lawyers out to line their pockets in a rash of settlements. The big losers would be the poor, about whom the attorneys and activists care little: When money is funneled from parishioners to lawyers, services to the needy suffer.

The Catholic League is proud of its role in this victory. On March 31, we contacted Assemblyman Brad Hoylman requesting that he amend his bill to cover public institutions, and not just private ones. On April 1, we wrote to all members of the legislature asking them not to allow the public schools a pass. We won on this request.

On May 2, the Albany Times Union published a full-page ad exposing the agenda of those out “to stick it to Catholics.” On May 25, we unmasked activist lawyer Michael Dowd. On June 7, we called for the resignation of Markey after she slandered Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. On June 8, we called for an investigation of Markey for violating the public trust. On June 13, we named seven liars in the victims’ lobby. On June 18, the bill failed. While this was a win for justice, more needs to be done: Markey needs to be censured for her recklessness.

On CNSnews.com, Bill Donohue takes on anti-Christian hate mongers who blame Christians for the ISIS-inspired murders in Orlando. To read his article, click here.

Bill Donohue comments on Samantha Bee’s monologue on the Orlando killings:

She is being heralded as some kind of Minister of Love, when, in fact, she is best known for promoting hatred. After the ISIS-inspired Muslim madman killed 49 homosexuals in Orlando, TV celebrity Samantha Bee launched into a lengthy rant “about how love wins, about how love conquers hate.” Here are some examples of her love for Catholics.

In February, Bee obscenely ridiculed St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson for raising concerns about the pro-abortion ties of the Girl Scouts. She attacked him for not being the “best person to judge what you do with your body,” instructing him that “if you don’t want girls getting knocked up, and you won’t let them have contraception, you better teach the Boy Scouts to use some of those fancy knots on their d****.”

When cardinals assembled to elect a new pope in 2013, Bee called the gathering a “grope,” likening it to a “molestation,” saying that the process was not complete until the cardinals reached a “fellatio,” or an “oral consensus” culminating in “white smoke rising from the chimney.”

In 2010, Bee told NPR that she went to a Catholic school [her father is an atheist and her mother practices Wicca] but it “didn’t have big gory Jesuses everywhere….you couldn’t see the blood dripping from the wounds.” She boasted that she had “a crush on Jesus,” and that “he was designed that way for young girls to find him sexy and attractive.” When asked what it is like to mock Catholicism, she said, “That is pure pleasure for me.”

So this is how the Minister of Love shows her affection for Catholics. Yet she expects us to believe that she is sincere when she spews empty platitudes of love for others. If she now wants to pivot, let her say something loving about Catholics, treating us as if we were Muslims.

Contact Bee’s publicist, Brad Bernstein: brad.bernstein@turner.com