As the reputation of the Catholic League grows, so, too, do attempts to bait us. Two recent examples are worth noting.

In a review of Spike Lee’s movie, “Summer of Sam” (based on the story of the New York killer, Son of Sam), film critic John Anderson described elements of the movie that seemed to promote a negative stereotype of Catholics, especially Italian-American Catholics. He also went a step further and wondered out loud where the Catholic League was in all of this.

“It’s interesting that William Donohue, the Catholic League and their punching bags at Disney are all doing backflips over the theology comedy ‘Dogma’ and no one has uttered a word about the Catholic-baiting and ethnic bias of ‘Summer of Sam’….Maybe they will.”

With that, Tamara Collins of the Catholic League went to see the movie on opening day. And while she didn’t like much of what she saw, her bottom-line conclusion was that Anderson was more guilty of baiting the Catholic League than the film was of baiting Catholics. So we said nothing.

We did say something about “Detroit Rock City” (see p. 4), but what we did not do was to take the bait of ABC radio and provide a sound-bite why we didn’t like it. That would have been used to promote the vomit-laden film to quirky types who like this kind of fare. So again we said nothing.

On the north side of Chicago, in Wrigleyville, there is fetish lingerie store called Taboo-Tabou. Located in the “Alternative Shopping Complex” (a red flag for sure), the kinky establishment featured a mannequin dressed as a nun (in full habit) spanking a naked woman.

A woman from Chicago obtained pictures of this “art.” The naked woman had bruises on her leg, and with good reason: the nun was holding a whip-like object.

When we called Taboo-Tabou for an explanation, we were told that “it was just an expression of people’s fantasies.” When we asked whether she could understand why some people might be offended by this display, the bewildered woman said yes.

The good news is this: the display has been taken down. We think they got the message and won’t let this happen reappear.

On June 23, the Catholic League ran an op-ed page ad in the New York Times that called on Disney to dump Miramax, its anti-Catholic subsidiary, the same way it dumped “Dogma.” In the ad, reference was made to Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the co-chiefs at Miramax who purchased the film after Michael Eisner of Disney put the arm on them. And for this we were called anti-Semitic.

Here’s what one of the letters said: “Rarely have I seen a more antisemitic ad. Why did you not say it out right…‘by severing all ties with the Jews’ or sending—directly to the Jew of Disney? We knew it all along that this [is] what the Catholic Church and all it’s leaders stand for. Thanks for opening the eyes of the unsuspecting.”

Another letter, this one written by a Catholic Brother who is half Jewish, declared that “In a prominent way it [the ad] identified the Weinstein Brothers as the prime perpetrators of anti-Catholic hatred in the media in this country.” He continued by saying that “To anyone with the least sensitivity to anti-Semitism this type of journalistic attack carries the unspoken message that a hidden and secret Jewish conspiracy in the media is responsible for all the attacks against Christianity.”

The only thing we can say about all this is that it is too bad the Weinsteins didn’t inherit the name O’Malley.

One of the more prestigious schools in the nation’s capital is the National Cathedral School. Not too long ago, the expensive Protestant prep school threw its Third Annual Celebration Dinner. Unfortunately, the participants couldn’t resist showing off their anti-Catholic bigotry.

The hosts of the event, as well as some of the guests, decided to dress as Catholic monks and nuns. The smiles on their faces told us how very much they enjoyed ridiculing our faith, all the while using the event to raise money for the school. What they teach about Catholicism at National Cathedral School is not known, nor is it something we care to explore.

To so how gracious we are, we made the following offer: “At your next fund-raising event, choose another religion to caricature—perhaps the Jewish faith, or a Protestant denomination. We will be happy to pay for the appropriate raiments for your partygoers. Then we would like you to explain to those religious groups that you really didn’t mean to offend them.”

The Headmistress of the school, Agnes Underwood, never answered our letter. But at least she knows we’re thinking about her.

Monique Dostie runs a group home for the mentally retarded in Lewiston, Maine. Her house rules include a prohibition on pornography and sexual activity, a condition that none of her residents object to. Indeed, some of their guardians deliberately chose to put them in Dostie’s home because they liked her house rules. But the bureaucrats thinks differently and have refused to renew Dostie’s license.

The Department of Human Services argues that the residents have a right to sexually explicit material and to sexual activity. The state is aware that the residents are not interested in exercising such rights but that doesn’t deter the bureaucrats from imposing their will on Dostie: she must either extend these rights or suffer the consequences.

The sex cops in Maine started the whole thing when a representative from the Bureau of Mental Retardation presented Dostie with a booklet, “Sexuality and People with Developmental Disabilities.” Dostie objected to the very graphic sexual instructions and gave the booklet back; she was then reported to the Department of Human Services.

Dostie’s objections are grounded in her Catholicism and she is being represented by the American Catholic Lawyers Association. State officials allowed the home to remain open over the summer while they conclude their investigation.

Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) wouldn’t exist were it not for the anti-Catholic bigots at the Ford Foundation and other centers of Catholic bashing in the philanthropic world. Whenever CFFC gets money dumped on it, new positions become available. That is why over the summer CFFC was advertising for a Director of International Programs, Director of Writing and Research, Outreach and Advocacy Manager, Researcher/Writer, Senior Associate for Policy and Communications Assistant.

There are two major qualifications for these jobs: all applicants must have a strong commitment to killing unborn children and an equally strong hatred for the Catholic Church. What kind of resume one must have in order to land such a job is something we’d rather not know.

The response by Catholic League veterans who recently joined Catholic War Veterans was so good that we thought we’d run this by you again. If you want to join, write to Ignatius M. Paolilla, Catholic War Veterans National Headquarters, 441 North Lee Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

A really excellent publication is Envoy, a magazine of Catholic apologetics. Unfortunately, some who have recently received our direct mail survey that lists the Hunter College publication of the same name mistakenly thought that it was the classy apologetics magazine that printed obscene and blasphemous material. The real Envoy, run by Matthew Pinto, should never be confused with such college trash.

The International Rosary March will conduct its sixth annual Rosary March on Saturday, October 2. The event is held in cities and towns around the world to honor Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary asking Her intercession to restore peace, morality and order in the world.

For information on how to organize, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to International Rosary March, P.O. Box 636, Newman Lake, WA 99025.

One of our favorite websites is www.petersvoice.org. It features Catholic Video/Audio Broadcasting on the Internet, providing up-to-date information on Catholic issues. League members will be happy to learn that they can access speeches by William Donohue from this site.

For more information, contact Kathleen Hunt at PetersVoice, 1390 Chain Bridge Road, Suite 200, McLean, VA 22101. Or phone her at (703) 532-1585.