On December 18, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services issued a regulation that considerably strengthened the rights of doctors, nurses and other health care workers to practice according to their conscience; it affects those who work in federally funded health care institutions. This measure protects health care workers from being discriminated against if they [...]
On December 10, the French submitted to the U.N. General Assembly a non-binding declaration that would decriminalize homosexuality. The Vatican opposed the document, citing its concerns over language that could impose same-sex marriage in law. As soon as the Vatican noted its opposition to the declaration, its critics went ballistic. Italian newspapers branded the Catholic Church’s [...]
After the Vatican declared its opposition to the French declaration, the reaction among gay activists was hysterical. The following are some examples of their hysteria: · The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said the Vatican “brushed off accusations of supporting violence against gay[s]” · “The Catholic General leading the dirty war” on gays is what [...]
John Aretakis, one of the nation’s most outspoken attorneys suing the Catholic Church over cases of sexual abuse, was disciplined for his behavior. He had his practice suspended for one year following a decision by the Committee of Professional Standards in Albany, New York for professional misconduct. Aretakis was accused of engaging in “frivolous conduct by [...]
Prior to becoming House Chaplain, Father Daniel Coughlin was a minister to troubled priests in Chicago. Although Father Coughlin did nothing wrong, the so-called victims’ advocacy group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), accused the priest and Chicago Archbishop Francis Cardinal George of wrongdoing. There is no other organization in the United States that [...]
On November 20, we responded to an article in the influential Washington, D.C. newspaper Roll Call, which smeared House Chaplain Father Daniel Coughlin; the Chicago priest has held the position since 2000. We had always held Roll Call in high regard, but following this hit job on Father Coughlin, we no longer could. What the newspaper did was classic [...]
Every year we are flooded with reports from across the nation about nativity scenes being vandalized. This year was no different. Here is a list of some of the incidents that came to our attention: · In Sandusky, Ohio a 50-year old figure of the Baby Jesus was stolen from a downtown park; it was found [...]
In late November, Beaufort County Councilwoman Laura Von Harten blasted the Catholic Church for its strictures regarding the priesthood and its teachings on abortion. She took the occasion to vent at a scheduled hearing regarding a zoning request by a local Catholic church, St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton, South Carolina, that would allow it to [...]
On the season finale of the HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the bigoted comedian said the following: “A Catholic priest in South Carolina has told his congregation: If you voted for Obama you can’t receive Communion. That’s right. The cracker won’t let you get the cracker. He said supporting Obama constitutes material cooperation with [...]
In one of the most infamous articles ever written about people of faith, Michael Weisskopf called evangelical Christians “largely poor, uneducated and easy to command.” He wrote that in the Washington Post in 1993. Fast forward 15 years to the Internet site of the same newspaper and what we had was another stab at evangelicals, only this time [...]
