CANDIDATE SURVEY

    All candidates for At-Large and District Boston City Council seats were surveyed on the following issues:

1.  The right to life from conception to natural death

2.  The 2003 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court legalizing same-gender marriage in the Commonwealth

3.  The needle exchange program for drug users in Boston

4.  The 1994 School Committee decision to distribute condoms in Boston Public Schools

5.  The ordinance passed by the Boston City Council in October 2002, which added “gender identity or expression” to the city’s civil rights code

    A position consistent with Catholic moral teaching and supportive of the rights and interests of Catholic parents, families, and taxpayers would require an affirmative position on the first issue, and a negative position on issues two through five.

    Candidates’ positions were ascertained from their voting records, public statements, web sites, press reports and interest group questionnaires.  Please refer to the notes for additional information.

Link to complete survey (PDF file).

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2011

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE BLASTS BAY STATE TOWN FOR PROHIBITING ROSARY RALLY

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Upton for prohibiting a Catholic prayer vigil on the town common. The Catholic group America Needs Fatima was refused permission to hold a rosary rally on the common after selectmen said they were "uncomfortable" with the request, citing the separation of church and state.

The Catholic Action League called the refusal "an unwarranted, unlawful, and content based restriction on free speech, freedom of assembly, and the free exercise of religion --- rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Rights of the Massachusetts Constitution."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "The separation of church and state requires government neutrality, not overt hostility to religion and religious expression. It has never been construed to outlaw prayer on public property. Indeed, in 1979, Boston Common was the venue for a Papal Mass celebrated by the late Pope John Paul II and attended by more than 400,000 worshippers.

"Nothing in the federal or state constitutions, or in statute, precedent, or common practice supports the decision of the Upton selectmen. The separation of church and state should not be invoked to suppress religious freedom rights. This episode may also reflect the climate of intimidation felt by local officials who fear costly, harassing lawsuits by the militant secularists of the ACLU. Whether their decision was based on prejudice, ignorance of the constitution, or fear of litigation, the selectmen of Upton ought to be ashamed of themselves."

Update from Friday, October 28 Boston Herald: Town reverses decision.

Letters
Boston Herald
P.O. Box 55843
Boston, MA 02205-5843

To the Editor,

It is no surprise that counterfeit Catholics like Margery Eagan and Steve Krueger want the Church to give up its resistance to abortion and embrace the leftists of Occupy Boston ("I pray we see O'Malley soon," 10/16/2011).

Having spent their careers collaborating with the abortion culture, the last thing Eagan and Krueger want to hear is the Church reminding people of the more than fifty million unborn children killed by surgical abortion alone in this country since 1973, not to mention the millions more destroyed by abortion inducing chemical contraceptives.

Eagan is engaged in gross hypocrisy when she laments the plight of the poor, but endorses the legal slaughter of the poorest and most vulnerable among us -- the unborn.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(781) 251-9739

The Rainbow Ministry of St. Cecilia’s Church opened its doors to nearly 700 people yesterday for a long-awaited Mass in support of gay and lesbian Catholics . . . (Boston Globe, 7/11/2011)

NEWS RELEASE

SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2011

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739

ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON ABANDONS SAINT CECILIA'S

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized the Archdiocese of Boston for allowing the so-called "welcoming Mass" for lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgendered persons to go forward at Saint Cecilia's Church in Boston's Back Bay. The mass had been originally scheduled to celebrate Gay Pride month in Boston. Following protests by faithful Catholics, the event was rescheduled and re-themed.

The Catholic Action League called the decision to allow the mass "a cowardly betrayal of trust resulting in the spiritual abandonment of Saint Cecilia's Parish to moral error and mortal sin."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. Everyone is welcome, and everyone deserves to hear the full truth of the Church's teachings. Sadly, that was not the case at this morning's liturgy at Saint Cecilia's.

"Today's liturgy was a scandal and a surrender, where the homosexual identity was affirmed, and where Catholic moral prohibitions against homosexual behavior were ignored. Those prohibitions are explicit, longstanding, and severe. Instead of calling his congregation to repentance, interior conversion, and the personal pursuit of holiness, the homilist, Father John Unni, attempted to anesthetize the consciences of his listeners by urging them to shed the burden of shame.

"The salvation of souls demands that Catholic priests and prelates demonstrate the courage to tell homosexuals that their participation in the sin of impurity against nature deprives them of sanctifying grace and imperils their immortal souls. At Saint Cecilia's, however, today's message was the spiritual equivalent of 'Don't worry, be happy.' The Archdiocese of Boston has, once again, failed to protect the moral and spiritual welfare of its members."

SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 2011

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (781) 251-9739 CatholicActionLeague@gmail.com

TRAGEDY AT SAINT CECILIA'S

Ten days after the Archdiocese of Boston cancelled a mass at Saint Cecilia's Church in the Back Bay, which had been scheduled to celebrate Gay Pride month, the Rainbow Ministries of Saint Cecilia's Parish held a substitute prayer service this evening on the sidewalk in front of the church. According to the parish website, the purpose of the event was "to reaffirm our Catholic faith community as one which is open to and supportive of gay, lesbian and transgendered persons in the loving Spirit of Christ."

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts is characterizing the service as "a transparent attempt to sidestep Catholic moral teaching by framing the issue as one of openness."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "Homosexuals are welcome in the Catholic Church on the same basis as the rest of us poor sinners --- they are welcome to the confessional. This entire episode is appallingly sad. Holding a prayer service to signal support for a lifestyle or a sexual identity which entails mortal sin is not only an act of defiance against divine and natural law, it is a tragedy. The ethos of Catholicism is not one of pride in one's sexuality. Rather, it is one of repentance, contrition for sins, interior conversion, and the personal pursuit of holiness. Tonight's prayer service is an indication of how disconnected the parishioners of Saint Cecilia's are -- spiritually, morally and intellectually -- from the Catholic Faith as it has been understood 'always and everywhere, by everyone.'

"Obviously, there has been a massive failure of formation and catechesis in Saint Cecilia's Parish. Priests and prelates are supposed to be physicians of the soul, not enablers of spiritually destructive behavior. Since 'charity rejoices in the truth', our priests and bishops have a moral obligation to tell homosexuals that their behavior imperils their immortal souls. 'The highest law of the Church is the salvation of souls'. It is time for the Archdiocese of Boston to stop trying to prove that it is not prejudiced against homosexuals, and to start worrying about the spiritual welfare of its flock at Saint Cecilia's."

++++++++++

Boston Globe column on Saint Cecilia's Mass and Cardinal O'Malley's response, with comments by C.J. Doyle.

Cardinal O'Malley's Blog

June 16, 2011

Joe Fitzgerald on Saint Cecilia's scandal: "Celebrity comes pretty cheaply these days, especially in the Catholic Church, where all a priest has to do to achieve public acclaim is appear to repudiate elements of the Gospel he was called to uphold.
     "Nowhere is this truer than in the incendiary issue of homosexuality, which this culture wants us to believe is no big deal to the Creator." Link to Herald column 

Boston Globe on Saint Cecilia scandal

“Orthodox Catholics are getting sick and tired of fighting this two-front war,’’ he said. “The church expects us to fight for traditional marriage, for the sanctity of human life. At the same time, we’re undermined by a culture of dissent and betrayal from inside the church itself.’’ -- C.J. Doyle quoted by Kevin Cullen in today's Boston Globe.

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2011

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739 Catholicactionleague@gmail.com 

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CALLS UPON ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON TO REMOVE THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR PLANNED "GAY PRIDE" MASS

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today called up on the Archdiocese of Boston to remove those responsible for a planned "Pride Month" Mass at Boston's Saint Cecilia's Church, to unequivocally cancel the event, and to vigorously reaffirm Catholic teaching about the intrinsic immorality of homosexual behavior.

In the June 5th bulletin of Saint Cecilia's Parish in Boston's Back Bay, a notice announced that "The Rainbow Ministry of Saint Cecilia Parish invites all friends and supporters of the LGBT community to a Mass in celebration of Boston's Pride Month. The liturgy will take place on Sunday evening, June 19, at six o'clock, with a reception following." According to the bulletin, the liturgy would be celebrated by the pastor, Rev. John Unni.

In a confused and contradictory statement released yesterday, Terrence C. Donilon, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, said: "The wording and placement of a bulletin notice announcing the St. Cecilia Rainbow Ministry will be joining the parish at a Mass on June 19 may have given the unintended impression that the Mass is in support of Gay Pride Week; it is not." Donilon went on to say that there would be a mass in the future to welcome the community, but not specifically gays and lesbians. He also said that Father Unni "has the full confidence and support of the Cardinal and the Archdiocese", and is "a great pastor."

The Catholic Action League called Donilon's statement "another example of doublespeak from an archdiocese more concerned with avoiding embarrassment than with correcting abuses." Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "Cardinal Law and his Vicar General, Bishop William Murphy, cancelled these illicit masses in the 1990's, which is why Dignity holds its services at local Episcopal churches. The posturing and feigned outrage emanating from homosexual groups over this episode is utterly disingenuous. They knew going in to this that these masses were prohibited. They were attempting to push the envelope. Apparently, they failed."

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, teaches that the homosexual orientation is "an objective disorder", while homosexual behavior is "grave depravity." The idea that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass could be exploited to celebrate pride --- one of the seven deadly sins --- in the mortal sin of impurity against nature, is a scandal and a sacrilege. The notion that the Mass is an opportunity to celebrate one's sexual identity is as offensive as it is obscene."

"This episode is resonant of a depressingly familiar pattern when it comes to the Archdiocese of Boston under the episcopate of Sean, Cardinal O'Malley. Measures are taken against clerical dissent only when it rises to the level of a scandal, becomes a public relations liability, and threatens to gain the attention of authorities in Rome. Then, minimal action is taken to contain the story, without solving the problem, while the offenders responsible for the betrayal are left in place to betray again. No one should be surprised that the state with the second highest Catholic population in the Union has same gender marriage, given the compromised and conflicted attitude of the Archdiocese of Boston towards support for homosexuality in the ranks of its own clergy."

Collaboration between Planned Parenthood and the Archdiocese of Boston legalized contraception in Massachusetts in 1966! Click for article in Boston College Magazine, Spring 2011 issue

NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL VOTE TO CONFIRM JUDGE LENK

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized the Governor's Council for its 5 to 3 vote to confirm the nomination of Judge Barbara A. Lenk to the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth. In announcing her appointment, Governor Deval Patrick identified her as the first openly lesbian Justice nominated to serve on the state's highest court.

Judge Lenk was appointed to the Superior Court bench by Governor William Weld in 1993. In 1995, he elevated her to the Massachusetts Court of Appeals. Following the Goodridge decision, Judge Lenk entered into a civil marriage with her same sex partner.

The Catholic Action League said the Council's vote was "driven by political correctness, for an appointment that was more about political symbolism than judicial merit."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "For the Patrick administration, judicial appointments seem to be more of a spoils system to reward interest groups than a search for judges who will respect the Constitution. Judge Lenk's disturbing lack of candor when asked about judicial activism, her troubling record in the Boston domestic partners case---which raises questions about her impartiality---and her judicial philosophy, with its apparent disregard for original intent, all suggest that she will be an activist, left-wing ideologue on the bench, rather than a disinterested and fair-minded jurist. Judge Lenk's opinion that the Goodridge decision is settled law, and her evident willingness to embrace the notion that judges have the authority to invent rights unheard of in Western history, indicate that she will be willing to legislate from the bench, and will demonstrate a lack of restraint regarding both the separation of powers and the constitutional limitations of her own office."

League Executive Director C. J. Doyle testified in opposition to the Lenk nomination at the public hearing held by the Governor's Council on April 27th. Massachusetts is one of only two states to retain a colonial era Governor's Council.

TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2011

NEWS UPDATE

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739

RAGE AND GLOOM AT THE BOSTON GLOBE

The Boston Globe, arguably America's most anti-Catholic major newspaper, is profoundly unhappy over the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

Catholic Action League of Massachusetts Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "For the Globe, the only good Catholic is a bad Catholic, or preferably, an ex-Catholic. Since the resignation of Bernard Cardinal Law in December, 2002, the Globe has treated the Catholic Church as a defeated enemy. The one thing the Globe cannot abide therefore, is the spectacle of one and a half million Catholics actually celebrating their Faith. Hence the outrage on Morrissey Boulevard at the proceedings in Rome over the weekend.

"If anyone wants a true measure of the malice and bigotry towards the Catholic religion felt by those who own and control The Boston Globe, and the servility and perfidy of the Irish-Americans who have made their careers there, one need only turn to The Boston Sunday Globe of May 1st. There, on page A3, prominently positioned above the fold, was a five column diatribe by Metro columnist Kevin Cullen, savaging the Church and maligning the reputation of the late Holy Father.

"In his column, Cullen released more venom than a spitting cobra. Readers were told that the Church was 'guilty of one of the biggest institutional coverups of criminal activity in history,' and that John Paul II 'failed thousands of children and ....his church and his God.' The thoroughly discredited Father James Scahill was dredged up to pronounce the beatification 'abhorrent and arrogant'.... 'a travesty' and 'a disgrace,' while Father Thomas Doyle said John Paul II ought to be the 'patron saint of looking the other way.' Not a word was mentioned about four hundred million human beings liberated from the shackles of communism.

"The disrespect for the late Pope was palpable, as was the callous contempt for the sensibilities of Catholics, along with the mean-spirited instinct to detract from a joyous occasion. Cullen's screed revealed much more than that however. It was an eruption of the anger, fear, despair and incomprehension felt by the oligarchs of the Globe, and their Irish footmen, at the continued vitality of an institution which they believed was moribund and destined to precipitous decline.

"In fact, the Globe's forty year war against Catholicism is coming to an inglorious end. As a business enterprise, The Boston Globe is failing. Mount Olympus on Morrissey Boulevard is hemorrhaging circulation and revenue faster than the Archdiocese of Boston can close parishes. Layoffs, downsizing, early retirements, and the search for new owners with deep pockets are the order of the day. As the Church enters its third millennium, it is uncertain whether the Globe will reach its sesquicentennial in 2022.

"Still, Kevin Cullen, and his colleagues James Carroll and Charles Pierce, probably have nothing to worry about. They will continue to lead comfortable, prosperous and respectable lives. After all, the Globe pays well for apostasy."

NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES PATRICK ADMINISTRATION
ON SEX ED WEBSITE

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized the administration of Governor Deval Patrick for its decision on Saturday to continue its support for the controversial sex education website Maria Talks. The site features a fictional eighteen year old female who gives advice to teenagers about sexual behavior. The website is actually operated by the AIDS Action Committee, with a $100,000 grant from the Department of Public Health.

Sixty-three Massachusetts legislators, the state's four Catholic Bishops, and numerous pro-life organizations have demanded that state funding of the website be halted. Critics have complained about the site's explicit language, its misleading and simplistic characterization of abortion as "safe and effective", and its marginalization of parents in teenagers' decision making.

The Catholic Action League called the website "overt, taxpayer funded advocacy of abortion, contraception, and homosexuality."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "Maria Talks is a front for the AIDS Action Committee in its ideological campaign to deconstruct traditional morality. The problems with this website are pandemic. It espouses a radically subjectivist morality which presents a benign and entirely uncritical view of abortion, contraception, fornication, homosexuality, bisexuality, and so-called transgenderism."

"The site denies the humanity of unborn children by trivializing abortion as 'emptying out the contents of the womb', makes the false claim that the morning after pill is not abortifacient, and conceals from young women the dangerous health risks of abortion and birth control. It treats homosexual, bisexual, and cross-dressing behavior as a matter of personal identity to be accepted, supported and affirmed. Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts are featured prominently and frequently among its links, one of which warns teenagers away from pro-life pregnancy help centers."

"The website is a virtual manual on how to subvert parental rights and evade parental consent laws. The notion that the AIDS Action Committee would provide balanced and accurate information is ludicrous. The grant from the Department of Public Health should be immediately withdrawn."

Boston Herald article on "Maria Talks"

April 11, 2011

Letters to the Editor (published on April 13)
Boston Herald
P.O. Box 55843
Boston, MA 02205-5843

To the Editor:

     Margery Eagan's usual mixture of bigotry, mendacity, and cluelessness was on display in her carping column on the "Catholics Come Home" campaign (Catholics keep the faith despite tough journeys, 4/10/11).

     It certainly takes chutzpah for Eagan to describe Catholic bishops as ignorant, given that her own ignorance of Catholicism is manifest, longstanding, and seemingly invincible. One does get a revealing glimpse, however, of the provincialism of the liberal ghetto in which she lives, where even pseudo-Catholics like Eagan feel defensive about any connection with the Church.

     Contrary to Eagan's assertion, left-leaning priests who embrace secular values are not men of courage. They are just conformists to the culture who lack faith, rather like Margery Eagan.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts

Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

To the Editor:

     James Carroll's assertion that Christian attitudes towards Islam were founded in hatred and bigotry is contradicted by history (The roots of anti-Muslim bigotry, 4/4/2011).

     Christian apprehension over the expansion of Islam was not the consequence of an irrational prejudice, but was the result of a very rational perception of reality. By the end of the fifteenth century, the formerly Christian provinces of North Africa, the Fertile Crescent, and Asia Minor --- more than half of the classical Roman Empire --- had been forcibly Islamified. This had been accomplished through wars of conquest, followed by the imposition of regimes which reduced Christians to second class citizens, and used economic incentives to induce them into apostasy.

     Carroll is attempting to stand history on its head, by portraying aggressors as victims of intolerance, and victims of persecution as bigots.

Sincerely,

A unanimous 1995 U.S. Supreme Court decision affirmed the right of the traditional parade organizers --- the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council --- to control their own content, and not have an alien and discordant message imposed on their protected First Amendment activity.

The Catholic Action League called the participation of a homosexual group in the alternative parade "a cynical attempt to exploit St. Patrick's Day by those who reject the religion and morality of Saint Patrick."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "This is one more example of the contempt homosexual activists have for the beliefs and sensibilities of Roman Catholics. Saint Patrick was a Catholic Bishop and is a Catholic saint. Why would those who castigate Catholic moral teaching as bigotry and intolerance want to follow in the footsteps of a parade honoring a Catholic saint?

"It is a measure of the profound disrespect homosexual militants have for the rights of others that they will not allow the Catholic community to celebrate the feast of their patron saint without this boorish and provocative intrusion. It reminds one of Orange parades through Catholic neighborhoods in Northern Ireland."

NEWS RELEASE

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized Jesuit administered Boston College Law School for holding an event honoring the late Reverend Robert F. Drinan, S.J. The Law School hosted a panel discussion yesterday featuring Jesuit Father Raymond Schroth, who has written a book on Father Drinan, and included, among its participants, Congressman Barney Frank.

Father Drinan, the former Dean of BC Law School, was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1970 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives, from the Third, and later the Fourth, Massachusetts Congressional District, from 1971 to 1981. During his time in Congress, Drinan was a supporter of legal abortion, the public funding of abortion, and contraception. In 1980, he declined to seek re-election after Pope John Paul II forbade priests from holding political office. Jesuit General Pedro Arupe characterized the order resulting in Father Drinan's departure from Congress as the "express wish" of the Holy Father.

Drinan's successor in Congress was then Massachusetts State Representative Barney Frank, whose brother, David Frank, was a top aide to Drinan. Father Drinan, who served as President of the Americans for Democratic Action, and was a board member of People for the American Way, infamously supported President Bill Clinton's 1996 veto of a bill to ban partial birth abortion.

The Catholic Action League called the Law School event "one more example of BC's thumb in the eye approach to Catholic orthodoxy."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J. Doyle stated: "Robert Drinan was a traitor to the faith of his baptism, a disgrace to the sons of Saint Ignatius, an obstinate and mendacious heretic, and an enemy of the unborn. Drinan, along with the late Senator Edward Kennedy, provided the cover, the example, and the rhetoric which empowered two generations of American Catholic political figures to defect from Catholic teaching on the sanctity and dignity of innocent human life."

"That BC should honor Father Drinan is appalling, but not surprising. Dissent from Catholic moral teaching at Boston College is longstanding, pervasive and institutional. Now, BC is actually celebrating dissent. Boston College seems to be consciously positioning itself as the principal counter-witness to what remains of orthodox Catholicism in New England."

"Faithful Catholics saddened and afflicted by the on-going scandal which Boston College has become should consider voicing their objections to the institutions which have become the enablers of BC's heterodoxy, such as the Archdiocese of Boston, the New England Province of the Society of Jesus, and the office of the Jesuit General in Rome. It is now clear that only the direct intervention of the Holy See can save American Catholics from being dispossessed of their own educational institutions, which were built with the toil and sweat of their immigrant ancestors, and are now in the hands of a professional class of secularized academics and culturally conforming bureaucrats."

News Alert

The Catholic Action League was cited in a CNSNews story about Deval Patrick's lastest initiative giving special protections to so-called transgenders.

C.J. Doyle told CNSNews: “I think the problem with this particular executive order is that it has very, very serious implications for the religious freedom rights of state employees.

“What will happen to a state employee – a Catholic, or another religious believer or any believer in traditional morality – who expresses moral disapproval, moral disapprobation of this sort of behavior? Will they be punished? Will they be fired? Will they be discriminated against in employment and in promotions? Will new employees coming in be questioned on this and denied state employment because they disapprove of this sort of behavior?”

LINK to full article: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/mass-gov-caters-trangender-activists-exe  

Catholic Action League executive director C.J. Doyle testified at yesterday's Boston City Council meeting regarding the proposed school condom distribution. His presence resulted in a picture in today's Globe, but he said nothing worth reporting, in the Globe's view.
     Maggie McLean, a graduate student at Harvard and a member of Pure at Heart, a nonprofit group of young Catholic adults, said she, too, is concerned with “the current hookup culture’’ of many high school students “but distributing condoms is not the solution.’’ She said students need “the tools to resist a culture of casual sexual activity presented in the media.’’  Article in today's Globe.

Metro, the free daily paper, also covered the event, including a quote from C.J. Doyle: “When a public school distributes condoms, it tells students they should ignore the teachings of their religion.” Click here for complete Metro article.

On the morning of the hearing C.J. Doyle was interviewed for the news broadcast of Boston's WBZ Radio, 1030 AM. Various quotes were broadcast throughout the day.

February 14, 2011

A group of Boston teens will go before the City Council Tuesday to pitch their long-sought plan to get "better" sex-ed programs and free condoms in all Boston schools.

“Condom distribution sends the wrong message to students that sexual activity before marriage is normative,” said C.J. Doyle, director of the Catholic Action League, which plans to speak at the hearing.  Full article in Sunday's Boston Herald.

January 24, 2011

Letters to the Editor (published February 4)
The Enterprise
1324 Belmont Street, Unit 102
Brockton, MA 02301

To the Editor,

The inauguration of State Auditor Suzanne Bump at Cardinal Spellman High School was a scandal which compromised the Catholic identity of the school ("Whitman native Suzanne Bump sworn in as State Auditor at Cardinal Spellman," 1/20/2011).

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has a longstanding prohibition enjoining Catholic institutions from providing platforms and honors to public officials who dissent from Catholic moral teaching. As a State Representative, Suzanne Bump supported legal abortion and the public funding of abortion.

The message Cardinal Spellman sent to its students --- with the apparent sanction of the Archdiocese of Boston --- was that public office and political power are higher values than fidelity to the Catholic religion or support for the sanctity of innocent human life.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(781)251-9739

NEWS RELEASE

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739

Less than three weeks after the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts began a campaign to disinvite him, WRKO talk show host Howie Carr has withdrawn as the keynote speaker at the Annual Assembly for Life. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, which sponsors the event --- to be held January 16th at Faneuil Hall --- told callers to their office yesterday that Carr had withdrawn "for personal reasons." Former U. S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Ray Flynn has been scheduled to replace Carr.

The Catholic Action League mobilized hundreds of Catholics to contact MCFL and the Archdiocese of Boston (which regularly participates in the event) and demand Carr's removal. Carr has a long history of vulgar and malicious attacks on the Catholic religion. He has mocked the Eucharist, engaged in vile sexual innuendo regarding the Holy Family, and cast relentless aspersions on the Catholic priesthood. Promoting invidious stereotypes about Hispanics as criminals and illegal aliens, Carr plays Mexican music while reading the names of criminal suspects with Hispanic surnames. Where the pro-life movement tries to demonstrate compassion for poor women in difficult circumstances, Carr derisively refers to the children born out of wedlock to mothers on public assistance as "little bastards," and has reportedly argued that women on welfare not be allowed to have children.

The Catholic Action League called Carr's withdrawal "a victory for outraged and long suffering Catholics sick and tired of Carr's boorish bigotry."

Catholic Action League Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "In a market economy in a secular society, Catholics may not be able to drive bigots like Carr off the airwaves, but we should at least be able to prevent him from being treated as respectable within our own community. In this case, we succeeded in doing so. Having Howie Carr as the keynote speaker at the Assembly for Life would have been an insult to Catholics, an affront to Hispanics and immigrants, and an expression of contempt for unwed mothers and their children."

"MCFL President Anne Fox ought to apologize for the disgraceful decision to invite Carr in the first place. That decision betrayed an appalling disregard for Carr's record of blasphemy, sacrilege, nativism and anti-Catholicism. It was also an act of ingratitude to courageous elected officials who have defended the right to life, who have come to the aid of MCFL in perilous times, and who have been unjustly maligned by Howie Carr. The leadership of MCFL ought to be ashamed of itself for this unconscionable and embarrassing choice for keynote speaker."