Veteran CBS producer Bruce Rheins crossed the line recently when he sought a patent for a wine he dubbed “Jesus Juice.” This is the name that pop-singer Michael Jackson allegedly used when he served wine to his young accuser. On the label of the Merlot wine is a picture of Jackson in the image of Christ on the cross.

The gossip page of the New York Daily News asked Bill Donohue what he thought of Rheins’ creation. “This is offensive on many levels,” Donohue said. “Not only are they ripping off Jesus to make a cheap political point, but a man who is a senior producer at CBS is doing it. This seriously compromises his integrity on all matters religious.”

When confronted, Rheins apologized and said he would drop any plans he had to market his wine.

A TV producer asked us to comment further, but having won an apology, we declined.

In the last issue of Catalyst, we ran a story on education wherein we mentioned an ugly incident attendant to National History Day. No sooner was the November issue printed when we learned that the dispute ended amicably.

On August 1, William Donohue wrote to Cathy Gorn, executive director of National History Day (NHD), about the contents of a flier promoting its 2006 program. He objected to the following remark: “The student might choose an NHD topic involving a situation where a person or group failed to take a stand when they might reasonably have been expected to act. For example, what were the circumstances leading to Pope Pius XII’s decision not to oppose Adolph Hitler before and during World War II?”

Donohue labeled this comment “outrageous.” He provided evidence from two wartime editorials from the New York Times that singled out Pope Pius XII for being “a lonely voice” in a world marked by “silence” over Hitler’s genocide.

To be specific, on Christmas Day, 1941, the New York Times had this to say: “The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe this Christmas. One year later, the Times wrote: “This Christmas more than ever he [Pope Pius XII] is a lonely voice crying out of the silence of a continent.”

Donohue also noted the new book by Northwestern University professor Laurel Leff, Buried by The Times, that is highly critical of the Times for its nonresponse to the Holocaust. And he mentioned the new volume by Rabbi David Dalin, The Myth of Hitler’s Pope, that defends Pius against his harshest critics. “Interestingly,” Donohue said, “the students were not asked to consider ‘what were the circumstances leading to the New York Times’ decision not to oppose Adolph Hitler before and during World War II?'”

Professor Gorn, who teaches at the University of Maryland, wrote to Donohue on October 26 apologizing for what happened. “I most sincerely regret that a leading statement found its way into the information for our 2006 program,” she said. She further stated that the remark in question has been deleted from NHD’s website.

Dr. Donohue commented to the press on Dr. Gorn’s letter as follows: “This settles the matter. How such an irresponsible statement found its way into the 2006 NHD program in the first place, I do not know. But what matters at this juncture is that Dr. Gorn responded to our complaint without being at all defensive. Indeed, her response is nothing if not professional.”

Bill Donohue went on NBC’s “Today” show in mid-October to discuss the sexual-abuse scandal in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, and the next day he was attacked by the president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Donohue then challenged the president, Neil Giuliano, to a debate on TV, but the gay leader declined. So here is what Donohue told the media on October 28:

“Two weeks ago today, GLAAD president Neil Giuliano issued an alert asking his members to contact NBC’s ‘Today’ show protesting its decision to invite me on the program on October 13. Giuliano accused me of defaming gays and using ‘malicious smear tactics.’ My ‘malicious smear tactics’ included saying that ’79 percent of the victims [of priestly sexual abuse] in Los Angeles are male,’ and that ’81 percent, according to the John Jay study a few years ago [of victims nationwide since 1950] were male.’ I also said that, according to the study, ‘almost 80 percent are post-pubescent.’ My conclusion? ‘It’s homosexuals.’ I added, ‘I’m not saying homosexuality causes someone to be a predator, that would be malicious. But I am saying this: We have a problem within the Catholic Church of some homosexual men who are putting their hands on the kids. They’ve got to be thrown out.’

“There is nothing defamatory or malicious about anything I said, but there is something malicious about Giuliano’s attempt to defame me. So when I was called by a CBS producer to appear on Viacom’s gay cable network, Logo, I told him on October 24 that I would go on providing he could arrange a debate between Giuliano and me. GLAAD has been called by CBS several times this week asking for Giuliano to debate me, but he refuses to do so.

“It’s time for gays to demand that Giuliano resign. The man is not a leader. He is a rip-off artist getting rich by exploiting gays: he wants them to think that he’s their hero, when in fact he runs away from a fight.”

You can contact Giuliano by e-mail: giuliano@glaad.org.

GLAAD not only went after Donohue, it criticized the “Today” show for inviting him to appear. Indeed, Katie Couric was condemned for being too deferential to Donohue. What GLAAD wants is to censor Donohue. All the more reason Giuliano’s refusal to debate him is irresponsible.

But this is what we’ve come to: the leader of an advocacy group attacks the leader of another advocacy group and then runs when challenged.

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan likes to honor the holidays of Hispanics, Jews, Muslims and African Americans, but not of Christians.

For example, in October the museum featured Hispanic Heritage Month, as well as aRamadan in New York City Festival; the latter event meant that children were read stories about Islamic traditions. But there were no Columbus Day events for the city’s Italian Catholic community.

In November, there was an Eid in New York City Festival for Muslims, but Christians got nothing for Thanksgiving. Jewish and African-American holidays will be celebrated in December when the museum honors Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. But there will be nothing for Christians at Christmas. Well, not quite: there will be a “Festive Fruity Fondue.” For the uninformed, this means the kids will learn how to melt chocolate fondue berries sprinkled with shredded coconut.

The following exchange of letters says it all.

October 26, 2005

Dear Dr. Donohue:

I am in receipt of your fax of October 25, 2005 regarding the programs of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan.

The museum provides extensive programming about many different traditions, cultures and faiths for an extraordinary diverse audience. Please allow me to inform you about some of the programs past, present and future of which you are clearly not aware.

For example, people of all backgrounds and faiths will enjoy the upcoming a capella performance of traditional Christmas music at the Museum on December 30. On January 16, visitors will enjoy a lively performance by the Harlem Gospel Choir, and two days of Easter programming will take place on April 14 and 15. In addition, I am sure you would have enjoyed the two-day Easter basket making workshop last Easter and our celebration of St. Patrick’s Day with the Marie Moore School of Irish Dancing (who also performed at out annual benefit last May). Last Christmas visitors to the Museum had a lot of fun making Christmas Ornaments and Gingerbread Houses.

Further, it is disappointing that you had not read our information more carefully. You lead your press release with “Fruity Fondue for Christmas,” a misleading and unfortunate characterization of an important program series at the Museum. As you are no doubt aware, there is a serious issue among the youth of today in regard to obesity. This program is part of a larger “Healthy Living Series” (clearly so delineated in the brochure), and the activity suggests healthy treats during the holiday season. This is a response to many families who have asked us to help suggest alternatives to the unhealthy treats available at holiday time.

Finally, many of our programs allow visitors to express their own religious traditions in open ended workshops where they make cards or create other artwork with themes that bespeak of their own family holidays and traditions. We find that this allows for free expression and for parents to work with their own children to celebrate their holidays.

It would be appropriate and kindly for you to update the information on your website to let your readers know the full and accurate story.

Sincerely,

Andrew S. Ackerman

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

October 26, 2005

Dear Mr. Ackerman:

Thank you for your speedy reply to my letter that was faxed to you yesterday.

Your website lists only events for the last quarter of this year, so I cannot pass judgment on what might have happened prior to this time or what might be planned for next year. But from what you have said, the Harlem Gospel Choir scheduled for January 16 seems appropriate: that is the day when the nation will honor Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Honoring African Americans, however, is not something I contested: the museum does that very well.

You do not say what will happen during the two days of Easter programming, but if it is anything like this year’s event—when for two days the kids learned how to make Easter baskets—then this would hardly relieve my concerns. (The Irish dancers that performed for St. Patrick’s Day are not an issue.)

My principal concern, of course, is that children learned “stories about Islamic traditions” at the start of Ramadan and on Hanukkah they will learn songs “that celebrate the traditions of the holiday,” but for Christmas there is no such analogue. To be explicit, why aren’t the children, especially those who are not Christian, learning about the meaning of Christmas as understood by Christians?

Having an “a capella performance of traditional Christmas music” the day before New Year’s Eve is nice, albeit belated (and does “traditional Christmas music” include songs like “Silent Night,” or just ones like “Frosty the Snowman”?). Matters are made even worse when the Christmas concert is renamed the “Winter Wonderland Holiday Singers” performance, thus sanitizing the religious meaning of Christmas even further. More important, citing this event misses the point about the lack of an instructional element to Christmas.

As for your comment on “Fruity Fondue for Christmas,” it’s wonderful to learn that you are worried about obesity in children. But that doesn’t get to the issue I am raising: Why is Christmas being dumbed down when Muslim and Jewish religious holidays are being treated as a learning opportunity?

Finally, why is the fondue made of chocolate? Chocolate is loaded with sugar and there is a direct link between sugar and obesity.

Pop-singer Madonna used to be known as “The Material Girl.” But now she says she’s changed. However, her new documentary, “I’m Going to Tell You a Secret,” which is a behind-the-scenes account of her “Re-Invention Tour,” contains more than a flash from her past. One part of the film, in particular, caught our eye. Here’s what we had to say about it:

“Madonna is a mess. The same woman who brags about her journey from Catholicism to Kabbalah, and who warns young people that they will ‘go to hell’ unless they renounce their ‘wicked behavior,’ makes a film that not only takes a stab at Catholics and Jews—it delivers an attack on diversity. That it took her an entire year to make this movie suggests that her creative talents have dissipated: some in the asylum could have done it in a week.

“The scenes that touch on religion are more pathetic than offensive. The film opens with Madonna reading from the Book of Revelation, and she later tells us that our modern culture is the ‘Beast’ of Revelation. For Catholics, this is at least an improvement: Catholic-hating Christians have long told us that we’re the Beast. Then there is the scene that caricatures Orthodox Jews and that shows a woman dressed as a nun revealing her undergarments. Worse still is the man dressed as a Cardinal grabbing his crotch and giving the finger with both hands.

“It is not Madonna’s quip about ‘most priests are gay’ that is the most telling commentary in this documentary. No, it is what she says to men and women wearing various religious garb: She informs us that ‘religion breeds fragmentation’ and that ‘these religious costumes, for most people, end up separating everybody.’ She then endorses getting rid of religious garb ‘so you can be one consciousness, OK?’

“In other words, Madonna hates pluralism (a.k.a. diversity) and loves uniformity (a.k.a. inclusion). She belongs at a local college teaching multiculturalism; her increased nuttiness would make her a sure bet to win tenure.”

Just prior to the release of the film, Bill Donohue was asked by a reporter from the celebrity page of the New York Daily News what he thought about Madonna’s purported interest in turning over a new leaf. He was asked to comment on her alleged interest in finding morality.

Here’s what the column had to say: “Catholic League president William Donohue likes Madonna’s new morality: ‘For her to have this sudden wakeup call—that the kind of behavior for which she is infamous is not salutary for young people—is refreshing.'”

The column continued, “But he doesn’t like her proclamation, also made in the documentary about her 2004 Re-Invention tour, that ‘most priests are gay.’ Donohue adds, ‘We’re glad to see she is no longer with us. Jews will have to make up their own mind about whether they’re going to welcome her. Lots of them don’t want to.'”

In late October, the Nevada Board of Pharmacy considered the issue of allowing pharmacists the right to deny a prescription for medication they cannot in good conscience fill.

“At stake is the right of patients to obtain prescribed medication from their local pharmacist versus the right of pharmacists to abide by their moral or religious convictions,” we said in a news release.

We drew attention to the constitutional issue involved: “Justice demands that the rights of pharmacists be honored. It is one thing to be inconvenienced by having to shop around, quite another to have one’s religious convictions violated by the state. Put differently, there is no constitutional right to being conveniently serviced, but there is a constitutional right to religious liberty. And all religious liberties begin with the right of conscience.”

We contacted the Nevada Board of Pharmacy on October 24 about our concerns. The next hearing is December 8 in Reno.

The decision by the Bush administration to help rebuild those areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina includes awarding public monies to parochial schools and other religious institutions (exclusive of houses of worship). We commended the administration in a statement released to the media on October 19:

“On both moral and legal grounds, the Bush administration made the right decision to provide federal funds to parochial schools in those areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Morally, it makes sense to help all institutions affected by a natural disaster, but constitutionally it could prove to be problematic to include houses of worship.

“Regarding this last point, granting emergency relief even to churches could be easily justified: President Thomas Jefferson provided $300 in federal funds for the purpose of building a Catholic church for the Kaskaskia Indians.

“More recently, the U.S. Naval Academy received $1.8 million in federal funds to build a Jewish Center, and in the facility there is a synagogue. Though Commander Rod Gibbons, Director of Public Affairs at the academy, called our office to say that none of the federal funds were spent on the synagogue, he has not replied to a letter I sent to him three weeks ago demanding evidence for his position. Moreover, he cannot explain why a huge Star of David has been erected on public property (it is in the atrium of the building—not in the synagogue).

“The Seattle Hebrew Academy received more than a half-million dollars in a federal grant in 2002 to rebuild after being hit by an earthquake. That was the right decision then, and it is the right decision now for the government to help rebuild parochial schools in New Orleans.”

Unfortunately, thanks to Senator Edward Kennedy, this proposal was defeated.

Long-time Catholic League member Mildred M. Breitenbach (her husband Ed previously served as a chapter president for the Catholic League) has written a delightful new book.

Relating numerous stories about the ways Our Blessed Mother has touched the life of the author, Mary, The 21st Century Woman is a joy to read. Through personal anecdotes and helpful background information on popular devotions, this book serves as a gentle reminder of the honor due to the Mother of God.

Published by the Saint Joseph Marian Center Inc., Mrs. Breitenbach’s volume can be purchased by calling 518-861-6979 or writing to P.O. Box 472, Altamont NY 12009. The cost is $7 plus $1.50 for shipping and handling.

Senators Edward Kennedy, Lamar Alexander, Christopher Dodd, and Mike Enzi introduced a hurricane-relief bill in the Senate that was a mixed blesssing.

The bill would allow any school (be it public or private, secular or religious) willing to host students displaced by Hurricane Katrina to receive $6,000 in aid for each student taken in. But it also contained language that was troubling: it said monies could not go for the purpose of religious instruction.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans announced that it has 14 Catholic schools able to accept a total of 3,000 additional students. The archdiocese has asked the state to provide a mere $2,500 per child to cover costs. Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has agreed to consider the proposal.

We found it encouraging to see that Senators Kennedy, Alexander, Dodd and Enzi are more concerned with finding schools for the kids displaced by Katrina than they are in harping on partisan squabbles over vouchers. And we applaud their efforts to get these kids behind school desks, and their willingness to consider the well-being of children over the rabid protests of church-state separationists who would rather see scores of uneducated kids than a single tax dollar go toward a religious institution.

But we are bewildered by the stricture that forbids spending money on religious education. What exactly do these senators think religious schools do? They need to be told that hurricanes don’t discriminate, and neither should the government when it comes to providing relief for those who have suffered.

It is much easier to applaud the extensive efforts of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Quickly finding room for 3,000 children is laudable enough, but the low cost of only $2,500 a head is nothing short of remarkable. Indeed, it speaks to the dedication and commitment of the various teachers and administrators who devote so much effort to making parochial schools such a benefit to this country.