Contact The Catholic Action League

Home Page


Archive List

 

2014 Archive


NEWS RELEASE

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2014
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CONDEMNS ILLEGAL VOTE AT ALLIED WAR VETERANS COUNCIL

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today condemned the illegal vote, orchestrated by a politically pressured minority, to allow a homosexual group to impose its message on Boston's 2015 Saint Patrick's Day Parade.

Under intense lobbying from Mayor Martin Walsh, Congressman Stephen Lynch, and State Representative Nick Collins, a vote of 5 to 4 was taken last night at a meeting of the Allied War Veterans Council of South Boston to allow a homosexual group specifically contrived for this controversy, OUTVETS, to carry signs and banners identifying their sexual behavior.

It was the first Council meeting in fifty years missed by parade organizer John “Wacko” Hurley. Parade Adjutant Phil Wuschke has denounced the meeting and the vote as illegal and vowed to overturn it.

The Catholic Action League characterized the reversal as “an unlawful coup d’état, manipulated by parliamentary piracy, deception, and underhanded dealing.”

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: “This was an illegal vote, at a meeting without a quorum, conducted by a suborned minority, subservient to outside political interests, who deliberately failed to notify the Council majority of the measure to be acted upon. No one, of course, should be surprised by such tactics, given the manifest contempt homosexual groups and their political enablers have always shown towards the democratic process.”

“The Catholic Action League will support the efforts of Phil Wuschke and others to restore majority rule, and reverse this crooked vote.”

The predecessor organization of the Catholic Action League provided legal assistance to the Allied War Veterans Council in the U. S. Supreme Court case, Hurley v. GLIB.


NEWS ANALYSIS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CARDINAL O'MALLEY SENDS MIXED MESSAGE ON CALLS FOR WOMEN PRIESTS

In an interview last night with the CBS News program 60 Minutes, the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, conspicuously failed to offer a vigorous defense of Catholic doctrine on the necessity of an all-male priesthood. Responding to a series of questions on the issue from reporter Norah O'Donnell, the Cardinal did point out that “the priesthood reflects the incarnation of Christ, Who in His humanity is a male.” When asked if the exclusion of women was “immoral,” O'Malley responded, “Well, Christ would never ask us to do something immoral.”

In an apparent attempt to placate his persistent questioner, however, O'Malley then added “Well, it's a matter of vocation. And what God has given us. And this is, you know, if I were founding a church, I'd love to have women priests. But Christ founded it and what he has given us is something different.” (God, evidently, wasn't as broadminded as Sean).

The reaction was predictable. The Boston Globe obligingly ran a story entitled “Cardinal gives theoretical nod to female priests.” The liberal National Catholic Reporter said the interview “revealed clearly the increasingly untenable nature of the Catholic teaching that women cannot be ordained priests,” and that O'Malley's remarks “more than anything, seemed to underscore the weakness of church teachings.”

Catholic Action League of Massachusetts Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comments: “The Cardinal gave a disappointing performance, missing an opportunity to articulate a forceful defense of a Catholic doctrine little understood by secular society. His tepid, reluctant, low-key, almost apologetic tone was a reminder of his statement during the defense of marriage struggle in Massachusetts, when he said that support for traditional marriage was ‘neither bigoted nor sectarian.’”

“Although he did allude, in his remark on the Incarnation, to a priest being an Alter Christus, the Cardinal could have gone on to explain that the ethos of Catholicism is not empowerment, or self fulfillment, or gender equality, but contrition for sin, interior conversion, and the personal pursuit of holiness, all leading to the glory of God and the salvation of souls. He also might have mentioned that Jesus Christ did not found His church so that it could conform to the cultural norms of 21st century, morally dysfunctional, bourgeois America.”

“More disturbingly, Cardinal O'Malley neglected to mention that the 1994 Apostolic Letter of Saint John Paul II, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, was an exercise of the Extraordinary Magisterium with a note of infallibility, and was consistent with 2000 years of Catholicism, with the practice of the Oriental Churches, and with that of the Jews of the Old Testament, who saw priestesses in the numerous pagan cults then extant.”

“As for his remark that he would ‘love to have women priests,’ reasonable persons might reasonably conclude that Cardinal O'Malley was ambivalent about this church teaching, but was constrained by his office from saying so. Instead of presenting credible arguments for an intellectually defensible position, the Cardinal reduced church teaching to an atavistic institutional policy, or, perhaps, an historical anachronism which the church was saddled with by her Founder. His purpose, it seems, was not to convince, but to appease. For a successor to the Apostles, it was not very apostolic.”


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014 — Published November 12

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

To the Editor:

Peter Gelzinis was inaccurate when he asserted that the Catholic bishops who covered up sexual abuse "waged a war" on American nuns, (Gelzinis: Unlike others, O'Malley on same page as Francis, 11/9/2014).

The initiative to reform female religious orders in the U. S. came from Pope Benedict XVI. Unlike the conservative Cardinal Burke, not one of these left leaning nuns has been fired, demoted, or transferred.

Apparently, for liberals like Gelzinis, just asking nuns to support Catholic doctrine, including the right to life, now constitutes a hostile act.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM


MEMBER ADVISORY

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE TO HOLD ANNUAL CURLEY COMMEMORATION

League Executive Director C. J. Doyle (LEFT) is seen at the Curley gravesite on November 12th with (left to right) Mrs. Kathy Flynn, Ambassador Raymond L. Flynn, and Kevin J. Hartigan of the James Michael Curley Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (photo by Phyllis Iago).


This Wednesday, November 12, 2014 is the 56th Anniversary of the death of Massachusetts Governor and Boston Mayor James Michael Curley. The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts will hold its Annual Rosary at the Curley grave site in Old Calvary Cemetery, off Cummins Highway in Roslindale, at 12 noon. Mayor Curley's grave is located directly behind the chapel at the top of the hill, visible from Cummins Highway. All Catholic Action League members are invited to participate.

November is the month of the Holy Souls, when the Church remembers in her prayers the faithful departed. Please pray for the repose of the souls of all deceased members of the Catholic Action League, and those of our predecessor organization, the Massachusetts Chapter of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, including those listed below:

Joseph L. Ahern
Joseph Arena
Helene Armeno
Catherine Barden
Mr. and Mrs. Emile J. Beauregard
Hon. Angelo Berlandi
Mrs. Gloria Brackett
Elisabeth Bresnahan
Mary Louise Burckhart
Rev. William C. Burckhart
David R. Burke
Leona Carlsen
Bertrand G. Chasse
Mr. and Mrs. George A. Coleman
Hon. and Mrs. John F. Collins
Martin J. Costello
Leo J. Coveney
Hon. and Mrs. James J. Craven, Jr.
Ann Cutress
Rev. Msgr. John Dillon Day
Robert J. Delery
Francis A. Doyle, Sr.
Gregory and Marie Dunn
William S. Farrell
Robert J. Flanagan
Thomas A. Flatley
Thomas J. Flatley
Yvonne Goddard
Roger B. Gill
Charles P. Gourlis
Thomas Hamill
Edward B. Hanify, Jr.
Mrs. Marion Hardy
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph L. Healy
H. Noel Hebard
Rev. Cornelius J. Heery
Rev. Harold J. Johnson
Hon. James M. Kelly
Eugene F. Kiely, Jr.
H. E., Edward J. King
Alfred A. Lagan
Florence MacIsaac
John J. MacIsaac
Albert James Healy Madden
Richard Malone
Paul McCarthy
Andrew J. McCauley, Esq.
Celia McClory
Gino Michelutti
William P. Monahan, Esq.
Walter T. Mulry
Hon. James J. Nixon
Hon. Joseph R. Nolan
Dante Pattavina
Frances Pattavina
Rev. Gilbert S. Phinn
Janet E. Ray
Thomas F. Reynolds
Most Rev. Lawrence J. Riley
John S. Ring
Elinore C. Sheils
Francis N. Sheils
John W. Spillane, KHS, Esq.
Dr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Stanton
Virginia Teehan
Peter L. Travers, Jr.
Hon. John T. Tynan
Bro. Bartholomew Varden, CFX
Thomas A. Walsh
Thomas A. Welch
L. Thomas White

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

"It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they might be loosed from sins." - 2 Maccabees 12:46


MEMBER ADVISORY

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (617) 524-6309               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE MOURNS THE LOSS OF BILL MONAHAN

It is with profound sorrow that the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts has learned of the death of our old friend, trusted advisor and longtime attorney, William P. Monahan, who entered into eternal life on October 31st. He was 80 years old.

Bill Monahan was a genuine Catholic hero. He was the counsel of record in the League's landmark court case, Connors v. City of Boston, which overturned Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's illegal domestic partners program for municipal employees.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of this good man, and for the consolation of his wife, Edie, and for his children and his grandchildren, who have suffered an inexpressible loss. We will have more on the life and legacy of Bill Monahan in the next few days.

Bill's funeral will be from the Brown & Hickey Funeral Home, at 36 Trapelo Road in Belmont, on Thursday, November 6th, at 8:00 AM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Saint Joseph's Parish Church, at 128 Common Street, in Belmont, at 9:00 AM, followed by internment at the Highland Meadow Cemetery in Belmont. He will be waked at Brown & Hickey from 4:00 to 8:00 PM, on Wednesday, November 5th.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

“It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they might be loosed from sins.” — 2 Maccabees 12:46


ACTION ALERT!!

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (617)524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

OPPOSE CASINO GAMBLING!

VOTE YES ON QUESTION 3

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today is urging all of its members and supporters to vote in favor of Ballot Question 3, the proposed law by initiative petition to Expand Prohibitions on Gaming in the Commonwealth. This measure would halt casino construction in our state.

Casino gambling is a predatory, exploitative industry, opposed to the common good, whose profits are fiscally regressive — disproportionately victimizing the poor, the elderly, and those with pathologies of addiction. It destitutes the vulnerable, destroys families, injures local small businesses, and alters the character of communities. Despite denials, it is inextricably linked to organized crime, and is accompanied by a rise in prostitution, pornography, violence, and racketeering.

Through the power of money, the gambling industry perverts democracy, corrupts politics, and turns elected officials into the tools of a powerful special interest. Perhaps most disturbing, it makes state and local government dependent on vice as a revenue stream. You now have an opportunity to prevent this evil from invading Massachusetts.

PLEASE VOTE YES ON QUESTION 3!

State Election Day is Tuesday, November 4th, 2014.


PRAYER REQUEST

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (617) 524-6309
          CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Helene Ameno, who died on October 23rd, after a long struggle with cancer. A humble and faithful Catholic, Helene was a longstanding member of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts. She was also a Tertiary of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Richmond, New Hampshire. When they were young, Helene and her identical twin sister, the late Johanna Armeno, gave up promising careers in the entertainment industry — pretty twin sisters could always find work in television commercials — to become Catholic lay sisters, seeking first the kingdom of heaven.

Please pray also for the soul of our old friend, John L. Riley, who, like Helene, died on October 23rd. John, who was only 59 at the time of his death, was a teacher, a civil engineer, and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. A daily communicant, John was the nephew of one of the founding board members of the Catholic Action League, the Most Reverend Lawrence J. Riley, the late Auxiliary Bishop of Boston.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

"It is therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they might be loosed from sins." — 2 Maccabees 12:46


NEWS RELEASE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES PARADE ORGANIZERS, NEW YORK ARCHDIOCESE, FOR ADMITTING HOMOSEXUAL GROUP TO SAINT PATRICK'S DAY PARADE

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized the organizers of New York's Saint Patrick's Day Parade for inviting a homosexual group to march in the 2015 parade. The parade committee said its "change of tone and expanded inclusiveness is a gesture of goodwill to the LGBT community in our continuing effort to keep the parade above politics."

The organizers also said the parade was "remaining loyal to church teachings" and the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, was "very supportive" of the change. Dolan, who will be grand marshal next year, said parade organizers have his "confidence and support."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by Saint John Paul II, characterized homosexual behavior as "grave depravity" [CCC 2357]. In Catholic tradition, the sin of impurity against nature is one of four sins which "cry out to heaven for vengeance."

The Catholic Action League called the decision "an appalling betrayal of Catholic principles and a shameful surrender to secular culture and the spirit of the times."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle commented: "A parade in honor of a Catholic saint will now host a group who not only express pride in rejecting Catholic morality, but who castigate that morality as prejudice and homophobia, and who demonize defenders of that morality as haters and bigots. Saint Patrick Catholicized Ireland, rescuing it from paganism. Now, those who want to return to the pagan practices of pre-Christian antiquity will be permitted to exploit the feast of Saint Patrick to showcase their anti-Catholic message."

"No one should mistake this dishonoring of Saint Patrick for anything other than what it is, a cowardly capitulation to political correctness, corporate pressure, elite opinion, and the relentless hostility of an aggressive sexual minority. What role, if any, homosexuals in the Catholic priesthood played in this episode remains, for now, unclear. The organizers preposterous assertion that they remain loyal to Catholic teachings only tells us that their lack of courage is equaled by their lack of intellectual honesty."

"This departure is disappointing, but hardly surprising. The parent group of the Parade Committee, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, has, like the Knights of Columbus, long provided safe harbor to nominally Catholic politicians who support the killing of pre-born children. As for the Cardinal of New York, his reversal of his predecessors' positions speaks to the increasingly dysfunctional character of post-conciliar Catholicism, which seems unable to mount a sustained, or even coherent, resistance to modern secularism."


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

September 1, 2014

Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P. O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

To the Editor:

James Carroll's tedious obsession with maligning the Papacy surfaced, once again, with his noxious proposal---echoing that of so-called Catholics for Choice---that the Holy See abandon its sovereignty, and reduce itself to a non-governmental organization, (Abolish Vatican statehood, 9/1/2014).

Were Rome to follow his improvident advice, the Pope and the central administration of the Church would owe allegiance to the authority of a secular government. If Carroll's object is to revive the persecution of Catholicism, he could find no more compelling example than the seven centuries when the Vicar of Christ was a subject of the Roman Empire, its Byzantine counterpart, and its barbarian successor states.

Carroll was inaccurate in asserting that modern Vatican statehood is a twentieth century construct derived from the 1929 Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. The Holy See, which has the world's oldest diplomatic corps, has continuously exercised sovereignty for more than thirteen hundred years. Following the seizure of Rome by Savoyard forces in 1870, the Vatican maintained diplomatic relations with other states during the 59 years between the invasion and the final settlement with Italy.

As we approach, at the end of this month, the 23rd anniversary of Carroll's column, perhaps the time has come for The Boston Globe to reconsider the value of providing a forum to an excommunicated priest, who uses it to ventilate his unrelenting hostility towards the institution which he deserted.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

Attention: Matthew Bernstein


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

August 30, 2014

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

To the Editor:

Ambassador Ray Flynn is to be commended for his cogent and timely column on the ethnic cleansing of Christians in Iraq, ( Flynn: Christians slaughtered, who cares? 8/30/2014).

A generation ago, Christians were a majority in Lebanon, and a double digit minority in Syria and Iraq. Today, they are a minority in Lebanon, endangered in Syria, and are facing extinction in Iraq.

By the standards of Nuremberg, crimes against humanity are being perpetrated. The United States must act to prevent genocide.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM


NEWS ANALYSIS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 2014 

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

THE GLOBE'S KEVIN CULLEN DEFINES ONCE CATHOLIC IRELAND AS "BACKWARD"

In a metro column of The Boston Sunday Globe of August 24th, serial Catholic basher Kevin Cullen wrote about the controversy in Ireland over the discovery of unmarked graves of children at the site of a maternity home in Tuam administered by the Bon Secours Sisters. Though disturbing questions remain, the affair has been characterized by hysterical press coverage and extravagant claims, almost all of which have now been discredited.

Despite his usual vitriolic inclinations, Cullen, in this matter, was prepared to make a few concessions to the truth. He even referred to the pernicious sensationalism of the British owned and inspired media in Dublin. He would then go on however, to repeat many of the same absurdities peddled by the Dublin media, alleging that parish priests regularly condemned unwed mothers at Mass, "every Sunday," or that the Catholic Church believed that children born out of wedlock were "undeserving of human dignity."

Cullen made one revealing comment that told us all we need to know---about Kevin Cullen. He described post independent, mid twentieth century, devoutly Catholic Ireland as "backward" and "clerically dominated." Apparently, faithful adherence to the Catholic religion defines Cullen's criteria for an enfeebled, retrograde culture. Presumably, by Cullen's standards, modern Massachusetts, which kills pre-born children, sodomizes marriage, and distributes contraceptives to minors, is an example of progress and enlightenment.

Cullen's bigoted crack insulted a generation of Irishmen and Irish women who defeated the largest empire in history to gain their freedom and independence---albeit an incomplete, or, as DeValera would say, a "mutilated" independence. A few things ought to be said in defense of that generation. Moreover, some facts, being facts, ought to be acknowledged:

  • At a time when Europe was convulsed by authoritarianism, totalitarianism, wars of aggression, crimes against humanity, genocide, atrocities, religious pogroms, ethnic cleansing, and all manner of extremism, independent Ireland created a stable, peaceful, free, and democratic society governed by the rule of law. Even Winston Churchill, in his second premiership, admitted this.
     
  • Despite 800 years of occupation and oppression, and 400 years of confiscation and religious persecution, the Irish, upon securing their independence, perpetrated no acts of vengeance upon the religious minority associated with the occupation. Instead, they welcomed members of that minority as citizens, left them undisturbed in their liberties and property, refrained from any discrimination against them, recognized them in the national constitution, and even elected one of their number to the presidency of the state, and later, another, to the presidency of the Republic.
     
  • At a time when state governments in New England, and, more ominously, in Germany, were sterilizing those with intellectual handicaps, independent Ireland defended the sanctity of innocent human life from conception to natural death, opposing all forms of abortion, contraception, sterilization and euthanasia.
     
  • At a time when Western nations were weakening prohibitions and restrictions on divorce---the principal cause of female poverty in modern society---independent Ireland upheld the integrity and indissolubility of marriage.
     
  • At a time when the major Western democracies were complacent in the practice of appeasement, independent Ireland, small, poor, neutral, and virtually unarmed, became one of the first countries to oppose the Fascist aggression in Ethiopia.
     
  • Ireland, upon independence, effectively eradicated from its capital city that form of human degradation known as prostitution, (which flourished there under British rule) and kept out of the country the Anglo-American vice of pornographic literature.
     
  • After independence, Ireland established a constitution, a code of laws, and a system of public policies which held that the family was superior to the state, that parents, not the government, should choose the education of their children, and that mothers who chose to care for their children, should, ideally, not be forced to work outside the home.

Given the disasters which afflicted so many post colonial societies in the 20th century, any fair minded observer would view the achievements of independent Ireland with admiration and respect. For Kevin Cullen however, this is all ecclesiastically inspired backwardness.

One is left to wonder in astonishment at the origin of this kind of quisling mentality: political correctness, human respect, a bad conscience, professional self interest? Who knows? On one point, Cullen is obviously quite lucid. Given his attitude towards Irish Catholicism, he is, on Morrissey Boulevard, certainly working for the right employer.


PRAYER REQUEST

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

Please pray for League member Helene Armeno, who is struggling with cancer. A pious and faithful Catholic, Helene has been, for many years, a supporter of both the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts and the Saint Benedict Center of Richmond, New Hampshire. Any prayers which you may offer for this humble and gracious Catholic lady would be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you.


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

August 21, 2014

Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P. O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

To the Editor:

In its editorial opposing a modest memorial for William Bulger in his neighborhood, the Globe argues, among other things, that Bulger, as Senate President, engaged in intimidation, (Linehan stirs up resentments with proposal to honor Bulger, 8/15/2014).

In this matter, the Globe may want to take the beam out of its own eye. The editorial was an object lesson in intimidation.

The implicit message to anyone in public life is that if you reject the positions and values of The Boston Globe, as Bulger has, and criticize the institution itself, as Bulger has, then the Globe will continue to publish editorials against you, even when you are eighty years old and eighteen years out of elective office. Now, that is intimidation.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(617) 524-6309, CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

Attention: Matthew Bernstein


NEWS RELEASE

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2014 

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CONDEMNS NEW
BUFFER ZONE LAW

   PHOTO: Gov. Patrick, surrounded by the abortion cartel, signs the new bill

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today condemned the Commonwealth's new buffer zone statute, which was signed into law this afternoon by Governor Deval Patrick. The Senate and the House of Representatives passed the measure for enactment yesterday. As the legislation has an emergency preamble, it will take effect immediately.

Under the new law---the third buffer zone law in force in the Bay State since 2007---a single police officer can order someone found, in the sole judgment of the officer, to be "substantially impeding" access to an abortion clinic, 25 feet away from the entrance of the facility for a period of eight hours. Severe and escalating criminal and civil penalties can be imposed for blockages or non-compliance.

The Catholic Action League characterized the measure as "a punitive, unnecessary, misdirected, and vindictive piece of legislation, intended to penalize victims of constitutional rights violations for having the determination to defend their First Amendment freedoms before the Supreme Court."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "The selective targeting of one group, the immediate, unhesitating and unconditional acceptance of the assertions of one side, the draconian civil and criminal penalties, and the indecent haste with which this flawed measure was stampeded to the Governor's desk, all smack of retaliation towards pro-life activists for McCullen v. Coakley. After the June 26th U. S. Supreme Court decision, Attorney General Martha Coakley notoriously urged abortion supporters 'not to get mad, but to get even.' It would seem that the General Court and His Excellency, the Governor have followed, with precision, the Attorney General's advice."

"Overlooked in this controversy over alleged violence in front of abortion clinics, is the very real and lethal violence which these facilities were built to perpetrate on a daily basis and on an industrial scale. An estimated 9,000 unborn children are killed each year in the Planned Parenthood clinic on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston alone."


ACTION ALERT!!!

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

DEMAND YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE OPPOSE THE NEW, AMENDED BUFFER ZONE BILL

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts is urging all faithful Catholics to contact their state representative and demand he or she oppose the new buffer zone bill, the amended version of which is even more restrictive than the hastily crafted measure filed last week. The House of Representatives has scheduled a formal session for tomorrow, Wednesday, July 23rd, during which this punitive legislation, targeting and demonizing peaceful pro-life citizens, will be debated and likely, voted upon.

Now, with the amended bill, a single police officer can "disperse" a "group" as small as one person, if, in the discretionary judgment of the single officer, that person has "substantially impeded access" to a "reproductive health care facility," which is defined as a place which performs abortions.

The penalties are draconian. Criminal punishment for a first offense is a fine up to 1,000 dollars, and/or a term of imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for up to six months. Civil penalties for a first offense however, include a fine up to 10,000 dollars, and an award to the Attorney General, and/or an "aggrieved entity," of court costs, attorneys' fees, and expert witness fees. It is obviously designed not only to punish, but to destitute pro-lifers.

Please contact your state representative at (617) 722-2000, or go to the website of the Catholic Action League---www.CatholicActionLeague.org--where you can find the telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of individual legislators.

Demand they vote against this mean spirited, unnecessary, and misdirected measure, S2283, which is nothing less than retaliation against the pro-life community for having the temerity of defend its constitutional rights before the Supreme Court!

Tell them also that the unseemly haste to stampede this measure through, without adequate public notice or debate, makes a mockery of the democratic process!

Thank you.


PRAYER REQUEST

JULY 21, 2014

CONTACT: C.J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts received, with sadness, this morning, the news that our old friend, Paul Likoudis, 59, News Editor of The Wanderer, has suffered a setback in his valiant struggle with cancer. Paul has been one of the foremost defenders of the Catholic Faith in America for three decades. Please pray for Paul and his wife Paulette, and their six children!

Thank you.


MEMBER ADVISORY

FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE MOURNS LOSS OF GREG DUNN

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today is mourning the loss of one of its founding members, Gregory M. Dunn, Sr., who died on July 15th, at the age of eighty-five. Greg Dunn served nineteen years on the Board of Directors of the Catholic Action League, and, prior to that, four years on the Board of Advisers of our predecessor organization, the Massachusetts Chapter of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

A U. S. Army veteran of the Korean War, Greg had a long and successful career in the investment business as a securities trader at such firms as Oppenheimer, and later, Jefferies & Company. Greg and his loving wife Marie, who died before him, raised seven children. He was also a grandfather to seven grandchildren.

A daily communicant and Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, with a strong dedication to defending the moral teachings of the Church, Greg was a wonderful man, a good friend, and a Christian gentleman. A loyal and generous supporter of the League, he was---before old age and ill health overtook him---always ready to help in any way that he could, always trying to recruit others to the mission of the League, and always offering words of encouragement. Greg will be terribly missed. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Greg Dunn.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Saint Mary of the Hills Church in Milton on Saturday, July 19th, at 10:AM. Greg will be waked today, Friday, July 18th, from 4:PM to 8:PM, at the Dolan Funeral Home, at 460 Granite Avenue in East Milton Square.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

"It is therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they might be loosed from sins." (2 Maccabees 12:46)


ACTION ALERT!!!

THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

LEGISLATURE RUSHES THROUGH NEW BUFFER ZONE LAW

Yesterday, in a complete travesty of the democratic process, a public hearing was held on the new buffer zone bill, and before the scheduled end of the hearing, the measure was reported out of two committees, passed through three Senate readings, and passed to be engrossed by the Massachusetts Senate! The bill had only been filed on Monday night, July 14th, the text was not made available until Tuesday afternoon, July 15th, and less than 36 hours notice was given for the hearing.

Legally, Massachusetts may be part of the United States, but politically, the Bay State is a Third World country. This brazen attempt to circumvent a U. S. Supreme Court decision will replace a permanent, mandatory, 35 foot buffer zone with a temporary, discretionary, 25 foot buffer zone, the discretion being exercised by a single police officer, who can decide that a group as small as two people are "impeding access" to an abortion mill.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives may vote on this as early as today!

Please contact your state representative immediately and express your opposition to this shameful attempt to penalize peaceful, pro-life citizens exercising their First Amendment rights! Tell your state rep. that you are against S2281---the new buffer zone bill---and that you are outraged by the mockery of the democratic process with which this flawed, misdirected, measure is being stampeded through!

You may call the Massachusetts House of Representatives at (617) 722-2000. You may also go to the website of the Catholic Action League --- www.catholicactionleague.org --- and click on the link to the House of Representatives, which will give you the telephone number and e-mail address of individual legislators. Please act now, before it is to late!

Thank you.


CONTACT YOUR STATE REP!

UPDATE: The bill was passed by the senate! So call your representative and urge him to oppose the clinic dispersal bill!

State representative: click here

___________________

NEWS RELEASE

TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE DENOUNCES BUFFER ZONE REPLACEMENT BILL

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized the so-called "dispersal area" bill, intended as a replacement for the 2007 Massachusetts buffer zone law, which was struck down by the U. S. Supreme Court in June as an unconstitutional abridgement of free speech. The bill---An Act to Promote Public Safety and to Protect Access to Reproductive Health Care Facilities---was filed yesterday by Senator Harriet L. Chandler (D-Worcester), with the support of Governor Deval Patrick, Attorney General Martha Coakley, and the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.

Chandler claimed that the Supreme Court ruling left the state "in an emergency situation" which requires new protections to head off "harassment, intimidation, and violence." The measure would empower police to disperse groups as small as two people, and force them behind a 25 foot exclusion zone for eight hours, if, in the sole judgment of a single police officer, they "substantially impeded" access to an abortion clinic.

The Catholic Action League called the proposed legislation "a thinly disguised attempt to revive buffer zones under the guise of crowd control."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "This measure would replace a permanent, mandatory, 35-foot buffer zone with a temporary, discretionary, 25-foot buffer zone, the discretion being exercised by police, without any guarantees against arbitrary and capricious behavior, or due process protections for the objects of their discretion. One might think that a 9 to 0 Supreme Court decision would have a chastening effect on the Massachusetts political class, but such a reasonable assumption is obviously unwarranted in this matter."

"Senator Chandler's fear mongering about an 'emergency' has no foundation in reality. Since the end of buffer zones on June 26th, Bay State abortion clinics have been the object of constant police vigilance, extensive media coverage, a heightened presence of clinic escorts, and, as before, surveillance by security guards and ubiquitous video cameras. No arrests have been made, however, nor credible evidence of pro-life misconduct presented."

"A public hearing on a bill---the text of which is only now becoming available---has been scheduled with less than 48 hours notice. More disturbingly, the chief law enforcement official in the state, the Attorney General, is treating one side in a public controversy, Planned Parenthood, as a partner and client of the Commonwealth, while viewing peaceful, pro-life citizens as a threat to public safety, who need to be restrained. There is not even the pretense here of fair play. This is an ideological version of raw, special interest politics."


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

JULY 14, 2014 - Published July 22

Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P. O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

To the Editor:

William Cotter is to be commended for his incisive, and refreshingly accurate, debunking of the conventional wisdom regarding what transpires on the sidewalks in front of Massachusetts abortion facilities, (Buffer zone rhetoric belies facts about pro-life demonstrators, 7/14/2014).

As Cotter pointed out, no credible evidence has ever been produced to document the frequently asserted claims by Planned Parenthood and NARAL alleging abusive and unlawful behavior by pro-life advocates near the entrances to the clinics. Perhaps, this is because there have been no organized acts of civil disobedience in front of Massachusetts abortion clinics since 1992, before the John Salvi shootings, and long before the first buffer zone legislation.

The reality is that abortion clinic operators want no pro-life presence, message or expression near their facilities, and are prepared to make the most reckless and irresponsible charges to achieve that end.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(617) 524-6309, CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

Attention: Matthew Bernstein


NEWS ANALYSIS

FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

MEDIA BIAS IN COVERAGE OF BUFFER ZONE RULING

Local media coverage of the United States Supreme Court decision in McCullen v. Coakley---which struck down the 2007 Massachusetts law imposing a thirty-five foot so-called buffer zone around Bay State abortion clinics---provided compelling evidence of the intense, reflexive, and seemingly pervasive bias of the news media, both print and electronic, when it comes any issue which touches the third rail of liberal politics, abortion.

BOSTON TELEVISION:

WBZ-TV, Channel Four in Boston, began its story with grim looking anchors announcing that they would present reaction "to this devastating ruling." Without any comment from the successful plaintiffs, or from experts in constitutional law, CBS4 went right to Martha Coakley and Planned Parenthood President Marty Walz.

Perhaps, even more egregious was the lapse of journalistic ethics by WFXT-TV, FOX 25 Boston, which resurrected ancient, out of state video footage showing people being carried away by police from an apparent sit-in in front of an unidentified building in an unidentified location. Viewers watching this might reasonably conclude that pro-life activists were currently blockading abortuaries in the Commonwealth.

A careful examination of the videotape however, reveals that the police are wearing brown, black striped deputy sheriff's uniforms, unknown to Massachusetts police departments. Moreover, the quality of the footage suggested it was more than twenty years old.

Immediately after Marty Walz claimed on camera that pro-lifers were standing shoulder to shoulder obstructing clinic entrances, FOX 25 ran video of demonstrators holding pro-life signs crowded together. Just then a transit bus, painted cream with a red belt, passes in front of the crowd. Needless to say, neither the MBTA nor any RTA (Regional Transit Authority) in Massachusetts uses such a color scheme.

THE BOSTON GLOBE:

The Boston Globe's response was predictable, tendentiously so. As soon as the ruling was announced on June 26th, there came the expected editorial alleging "circus-like protests around Planned Parenthood's Boston clinic...", "unruly protests," and attempts to "impede and harass women..." The editorial ended with a call for new legislation to restrict the pro-life presence on the sidewalks in front of the clinics.

The paper's editorial was restrained in comparison with the hysterical Joanna Weiss column which accompanied it. Weiss, using the kind of language one would expect from a hate group, made the following characterization: "the stereotypical abortion protester---foaming at the mouth and screaming slurs---". She asserted that no matter how soft spoken and polite sidewalk counselors were, they were still harassing and intimidating women (the mass killing of the unborn is not violence, but imploring someone not to kill is violence), and even suggested that 77 year old Eleanor McCullen was standing "literally---in your way to get health care."

Weiss went on to repeat various accusations fabricated by abortionists and their supporters, including the bizarre charge that pro-lifers, when not filming women, impersonated police officers to acquire their telephone numbers.

Ex-Catholic Yvonne Abraham, in a metro column three days later, continued the disinformation campaign, claiming that pro-lifers recorded the license plate numbers on women's cars, dressed up as security guards, screamed at women and obstructed them. Neither Weiss nor Abraham offered any documentation to substantiate their assertions. (Congratulations, by the way, to League member Gail Ryberg, for her letter to the editor, published by the Globe, criticizing Abraham's column.)

Pro-abortion former Boston City Councilor Tom Keane, in another metro column, defended the court's decision, but then called for new, constitutionally permissible legislation to restrain pro-lifers.

THE BOSTON HERALD:

The Boston Herald editorialized in favor of the ruling, but then, with the schizophrenia, or, if you prefer, double dealing, characteristic of the city's tabloid, allowed, or directed, the intellectually challenged Margery Eagan, with her cocktail party level of discourse, to excoriate the decision. Interestingly, Eagan, claimed (in what may be a self-revealing admission) that pro-life activists wanted to "shame and judge" women.

THE WORCESTER TELEGRAM:

The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, which is no longer owned by the Globe, provided a refreshing exception to the party line propagated by most of the Massachusetts media. In a June 29th editorial entitled "Free to disagree," the Telegram supported the court ruling, expressed skepticism over claims of pro-life violence, and said that for critics of the decision, their argument was with the First Amendment.


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 - Published July 9

Telegram & Gazette
Attention: Letters to the Editor
P. O. Box 15012
Worcester, MA 01615-0012

To the Editor:

The vile insinuation of dual loyalty---made by nativists and anti-Semites to impugn the patriotism of Catholics and Jews---found an echo in Dianne Williamson's column on the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision, (Women, science lose to religion, 7/3/2014).

Contrary to standard journalistic practice, and in an apparent effort to incite latent sectarian prejudice, Williamson identified the religious affiliation of the five majority justices as Roman Catholic, and asserted that their religion matters. The clear, and malicious, implication behind this crudely bigoted line of argument is that these jurists compromised their oath to "faithfully and impartially" discharge their duties because of their Catholicism.

Williamson offers no evidence to substantiate her malevolent conjecture, omits the fact that the plaintiffs in the case were not Catholic, but Evangelical and Mennonite, and conveniently forgets that one of the justices, Anthony Kennedy, has voted in the past to uphold Roe v. Wade.

Generations of American liberals have held that race, religion and ethnicity are irrelevant to positions of public leadership, and that only bigots bent on discrimination would raise objections based on these issues. Williamson has now departed from that liberal consensus, preferring her antagonism towards Catholics to the modern conventions of tolerance.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2014

Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P. O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

To the Editor:

If Joanna Weiss made the kind of sweeping generalization about an ethnic or religious group which she made about pro-lifers: "stereotypical abortion protester---foaming at the mouth, screaming slurs---," she would justly be accused of bigotry, (Supreme Court is naive on buffer zones, 6/26/2014).

Nonetheless, Weiss's column is a useful illustration of the authoritarian disposition of some who support legal abortion. More than one and a quarter million unborn children are killed in this country every year through surgical abortion alone, with the full protection of the law.

Now, in the view of some, such as Joanna Weiss, merely asking a woman to consider an alternative to abortion constitutes harassment and intimidation, which ought be to be restrained by law. The double standard is astonishing.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014 - Published July 9

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

To the Editor:

Margery Eagan's column on the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision was a composite of falsehoods, misdirection, calculated omissions, and raw, anti-Catholic bigotry, (Eagan: Catholic justices attack women's rights, 7/1/2014).

Eagan's mendacious---and entirely ludicrous---suggestion that the court's majority was less interested in defending religious freedom, than in imposing the Catholic position on contraception, was an undisguised, demagogic, and thoroughly contemptible appeal to anti-Catholic prejudice. Eagan neglected to mention that one of the majority justices, Kennedy, voted in the past to uphold Roe v. Wade, while another, Roberts, was the swing vote who saved Obamacare. She also neglected to point out that the plaintiffs in the case were not Catholic, and were not opposed to birth control, only to abortion inducing drugs.

Eagan's deliberate distortion of the dissent of Justice Ginsburg, to imply that Ginsburg believed that the ruling favored the Catholic religion, is contradicted by the obvious fact that the plaintiffs were Evangelicals and Mennonites.

For Eagan, every public issue involving abortion, contraception, or homosexuality becomes an opportunity to ventilate her sick, hateful, and bigoted obsession with the Catholic Church.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

cc: Patrick J. Purcell, Publisher

Attention: Mark Pickering


NEWS RELEASE

TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES CLAIMS BY PLANNED PARENTHOOD

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized the claims made by Martha Walz, President and CEO of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, about public safety conditions in front of Bay State abortion clinics. In a press conference held in the State House this afternoon announcing plans to impose new restrictions on pro-life expression outside of clinics in response to McCullen v. Coakley, Walz claimed that the U. S. Supreme Court had returned women to the world of "screaming protesters" and blocked entrances to clinics.

The media event was also attended by Governor Deval Patrick, Attorney General Martha Coakley, and Megan Amundson of NARAL ProChoice Massachusetts.

The Catholic Action League characterized Walz's remarks "as part of a disinformation campaign intended to stampede legislators into mandating new limitations on the free speech of pro-life citizens of the Commonwealth."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "Since the end of the buffer zones last Thursday, the sidewalks in front of Massachusetts abortion facilities have been the object of constant police vigilance, extensive media coverage, and a more intensive presence by clinic escorts. The federal FACE Act, prohibiting clinic blockages, remains in force. Curiously, despite Walz's charges, no arrests have been made, and no credible evidence has been presented to substantiate her claims."

"Planned Parenthood has a financial interest in suppressing pro-life speech, has a history of demonizing pro-lifers, and has an entirely utilitarian view of the truth. Their method is to make sweeping assertions, and to expect all such assertions to be taken at face value by a compliant media and political class. Perhaps the renewed debate on civil liberty in front of abortion clinics will be the occasion of closer scrutiny of their claims."


NEWS RELEASE

MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE APPLAUDS U.S. SUPREME COURT RULING IN HOBBY LOBBY CASE

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today applauded the decision by the United States Supreme Court in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, in which the justices held that the Christian owned company could not forced to subsidize abortifacient contraceptive coverage in its employee group health insurance plan. The court said that the HHS regulatory mandate---stemming from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010---requiring employers to fund abortifacients, contraceptives, and sterilizations for their employees, violated the religious liberty protections of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.

The five to four ruling, written by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, was made public this morning.

The Catholic Action League called the decision "a triumph for religious freedom, moral sanity, and the rights of conscience, which bode well for the outcome of similar cases brought by Catholic institutions."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "The constitutional and jurisprudential tradition of the United States has always understood the free exercise clause of the First Amendment to guarantee not merely the right to worship---which even the old Soviet constitution recognized on paper---but the right to act in accordance with a religiously formed conscience. To impose limitations upon this, the burden is on the government to demonstrate a compelling state interest, a high hurdle to clear."

"The public policy preferences of the Obama Administration in matters of abortion and birth control do not supersede the religious freedom guarantees of the U. S. Bill of Rights. To coerce citizens to pay for practices which they understand to entail the destruction of innocent human life would have been an unconscionable assault on their constitutional rights, their religious beliefs, and their moral convictions. The Supreme Court is to be commended for its defense of the Constitution."


NEWS RELEASE

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE HAILS U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION STRIKING DOWN BUFFER ZONE LAW

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today hailed the unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court in McCullen v. Coakley, which struck down the 2007 Massachusetts law imposing a thirty-five foot buffer zone limiting free speech around Bay State abortion clinics.

The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice Roberts, and joined by Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, and Sotomayor, held that the law was an "extreme step," and that "buffer zones burden substantially more speech than necessary to achieve the Commonwealth's asserted interests." A minority opinion by Justice Scalia, joined by Justices Kennedy and Thomas, and concurred by Justice Alito, went further, stating that the law was "unconstitutional root and branch."

The Catholic Action League called the ruling "a significant victory for the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech, and a rare judicial defeat for one of the nation's most powerful special interests, Planned Parenthood."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "As even four liberal Supreme Court justices implicitly acknowledged, the buffer zone law had nothing to do with public safety, and everything to do with criminalizing peaceful prayer and pro-life counseling on public sidewalks. The only beneficiary of the law was the abortion industry, whose financial interests were promoted by depriving women with troubled pregnancies of the opportunity to hear compassionate alternatives to this gruesome procedure."

"Cynically, shamelessly, and opportunistically, abortion proponents exploited the John Salvi shootings as a kind of Reichstag fire, to inhibit the civil liberties of their opponents. In the hysteria following Salvi, they concocted the manifest absurdity that a painted line in the street would deter an armed, mentally unstable gunman bent on homicide."

"The narrative they told of assault, harassment and screamed obscenities was fiction. As one former clinic security guard candidly admitted in testimony before the Massachusetts Legislature, the principal sources of violence outside of abortion clinics were the boyfriends of pregnant women, who were determined that their partners get rid of the unborn child."

"Buffer zones were never reasonable, content neutral 'time and place' restrictions on the exercise of free speech. As Justice Scalia maintained, they were blatant examples of viewpoint discrimination, selectively enforced only against one side."

"Congratulations to Eleanor McCullen, the other plaintiffs, Attorneys Mark Rienzi, Michael DePrimo, and Phil Moran, and to Operation Rescue: Boston and its President, Bill Cotter, who not only defended the innocent unborn, but, in this case, vindicated the Bill of Rights."

The Catholic Action League was one of the organizations which filed an amicus curae brief with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court before that court issued its advisory opinion on the constitutionality of the original buffer zone statute.


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

June 25, 2014

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

To the Editor:

Margery Eagan's gift for trivializing any subject was apparent, once more, in her column on the Pope's opposition to the legalization of drugs, (Eagan: Light up---and lighten up, Pope Francis, 6/21/2014).

Eagan's impertinent suggestion that the Holy Father experiment with marijuana raises an interesting question. Has Eagan herself used this controlled substance?

If so, we may have discovered a convincing chemical explanation for the decades of impaired logic, factual imprecisions, and plodding intellectual indolence displayed by Margery Eagan.

Sincerely,

C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

Attention: Mark Pickering


MEMBER UPDATE

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2014

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle had a speaking engagement today at the "Nooners Luncheon" at Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish in the Jamaica Plain District of the City of Boston. Doyle spoke on the topic of "The Challenge of Being a Counter-Cultural Catholic in Today's Secular Society." Following his talk, there was an extended question and answer session. Approximately fifty people attended.

Our thanks go out to League member John Materazzo, who arranged the invitation, and to everyone who helped make the event a success.


NEWS UPDATE

THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

FRANCISCANS PARTICIPATE IN PRIDE FESTIVAL--- ARCHDIOCESE EVADES RESPONSIBILITY

The Franciscan Friars of Boston's Saint Anthony's Shrine---members of the same religious family as our Capuchin Cardinal Sean O'Malley---manned a so-called information booth at the city's homosexual Pride Festival on City Hall Plaza on Saturday, June 14th. The booth featured banners, buttons and t-shirts emblazoned with the words: "Who am I to judge?" There was nothing evident which suggested traditional Catholic teaching about the mortally sinful, soul endangering character of homosexual relations, which The Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1984, described as "grave depravity."

When contacted by concerned Catholics, Franciscans assured callers that they had "the full support of the archdiocese." The Archdiocese of Boston however, issued no public statement on this scandal. The closest thing to an official response was an e-mail sent by the Archdiocesan Cabinet Secretary for Parish Life and Leadership, the Very Rev. Kevin M. Sepe, who told one outraged Catholic:

St. Anthony Shrine, although within the Archdiocese of Boston, is a parish of the Franciscan Order and so I encourage you to contact them directly with your questions and concerns. The Archdiocese has no knowledge of the intent of this initiative and is not associated with it. Thank you for your correspondence.

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "Religious orders operate churches in the archdiocese with the permission of the archbishop. A telephone call from the cardinal could have put a halt to this scandal in five minutes."

"The archdiocese was silent about the aggression of homosexual militants against the Saint Patrick's Day Parade. It was silent about the anti-Catholic hate group, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, leading the homosexual Pride Parade. It is now dodging responsibility for Franciscan participation in the Pride Festival."

"The 'Welcoming Mass' and 'Rainbow Ministry' at Saint Cecilia's in the Back Bay obviously enjoy the tacit endorsement of the archdiocese, as does the LGBT group at Saint Anthony's. When pro-life scholar and attorney Dan Avila---who spent years serving the church---suggested a link between homosexuality and the demonic, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, The Pilot, became a forum for pastors, priests, and deacons of the archdiocese to savage Avila in the letters to the editor column."

"When the Pastor of Saint Paul's Parish in Hingham declined to enroll the child of a lesbian couple in his parochial school, the Director of the Catholic Schools Foundation---whose Chairman is the Cardinal---threatened to withhold funding; the leading member of the Archdiocesan Council of Finance ridiculed the pastor's decision to the secular media; the Archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools hastened to find another school for the couple; and the Archdiocesan Communications Director refused to publicly defend the priest, who was being viciously maligned in the media."

"When the courageous pro-family organization, Mass Resistance, mounted a referendum campaign to restore the 1913 law limiting Bay State acceptance of certain out of state marriages (a statute which gained new relevance with some states recognizing same sex unions as marriages), the Cardinal, after some coaxing in the middle of a pro-life event, signed the referendum petition, albeit with the wrong address. His aides then attempted to retrieve the petition sheet. When Mass Resistance publicized the Cardinal's signature---which was, after all, on a public document---they were told to stop using the Cardinal's name, and forbidden to collect anymore signatures in front of Catholic churches."

"Betrayals of Catholic principles never permitted under Cardinal Law are now becoming routine under Cardinal O'Malley. It should be apparent to any informed Catholic that this archdiocese, under its current leadership, will offer no meaningful opposition to the homosexual agenda, either in civil society, or even in the church itself."


NEWS RELEASE

SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE SCORES PRIDE PARADE FOR SHOWCASING SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today denounced Boston's homosexual Pride Parade for featuring as parade marshals the notorious anti-Catholic group, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, whose transvestite members costume themselves as grotesque caricatures of Catholic nuns.

The SPI---whose motto is "Go and sin some more"---have a long history of mocking the Catholic Faith, producing obscene parodies of Catholic art and worship, exploiting Catholic imagery, and profaning Catholic symbols and sacramentals, such as the crucifix. Their blasphemies and sacrileges include the pornographic "Hunky Jesus Contest," held annually on Easter Sunday, and the "Condom Savior Mass," where contraceptives are distributed as a substitute for Holy Communion.

In 1987, they conducted a burlesque "exorcism" of Pope, now Saint, John Paul II. In 2006, one member of SPI, known as "Peaches Christ," who claims to be a descendant of Jesus Christ, waved a sex toy in the shape of a crucifix at a public event at Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco.

The parade is being held in the city this morning.

The Catholic Action League is describing the role of the SPI as parade marshals as "a callous expression of contempt by parade organizers for the beliefs and sensibilities of Catholics."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "Honoring members of an anti-Catholic hate group as parade marshals really tells us all we need to know about how homosexual activists in Boston feel toward Catholics, their Church, and their moral values. For a class of people who are always ready to invoke charges of hatred, prejudice and bigotry against anyone who opposes them, homosexual activists seem curiously unrestrained in ventilating their own prejudices."

"Twenty-five years ago in Massachusetts, homosexuals told legislators all they wanted was to end discrimination in housing and employment. Now, they march through the streets of an historically Catholic city, proudly exhibiting their scorn for the religious faith of millions of their fellow citizens. Respect for diversity, apparently, does not extend to Catholics."

"PRIDE" PARADE, SATURDAY JUNE 14 - ABOVE: Hoisting the banner at the Saint Anthony Shrine booth at City Hall Plaza.  

BELOW: Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (actually men in drag) marching past State House.

NEWS RELEASE

THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES SAINT ANTHONY'S SHRINE FOR JOINING BOSTON PRIDE FESTIVAL---URGES CARDINAL O'MALLEY TO ACT

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized Boston's Saint Anthony's Shrine---administered by Franciscan Friars, members of the same religious family as the city's Capuchin archbishop, Sean O'Malley---for their decision to host an information booth at this year's homosexual "Pride Festival" on June 14th. The festival will be held in Boston City Hall Plaza, where the city's annual "Pride Parade" ends.

The Grand Marshals of the 2014 parade will be the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a transvestite group whose members costume themselves as Catholic nuns. The SPI have a long history of mocking the Catholic Faith, producing obscene parodies of Catholic worship, exploiting Catholic imagery, and profaning Catholic symbols and sacramentals, such as the crucifix.

Their sacrileges include the "Hunky Jesus" contest and the "Condom Savior Mass," where contraceptives are distributed in place of Holy Communion. In 1987, they conducted a burlesque "exorcism" of Pope, now Saint John Paul II.

Although staffed by a religious order, rather than diocesan priests, Saint Anthony's is a Catholic church inside the Archdiocese of Boston, which operates with the permission of the archbishop. Accordingly, the League is also calling upon Catholics to contact Cardinal O'Malley and urge him to put a halt to this outrage.

The Catholic Action League is calling Saint Anthony's participation in the Pride Festival "a scandalous betrayal of Catholic principles, compounded by a shocking indifference to the specifically anti-Catholic character of this year's event."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "The message of the Boston Pride Parade and its subsequent festival is one of radical rejection of Catholic morality, exacerbated, in this case, by overt contempt for the Catholic religion. It is accompanied by lewd behavior, immodest dress, displays of exhibitionism, and men marching in leather masks, dog collars and chains, the apparel of sadomasochism."

"Whatever rationalizations are offered, any sane person would reasonably conclude that the presence of the Shrine sends a signal of support and approval to a celebration of homosexuality. No one in secular society should be expected to take seriously Catholic teaching on marriage, on chastity outside of marriage, or on the need for modesty and purity in speech, dress, or behavior when one of Boston's best known Catholic institutions takes part in something as course, vulgar, and indecent as a homosexual pride festival."

"Finally, it is also uncharitable to the souls who may be lost, because the friars, instead of calling for their conversion, are affirming them in their sins. It is grievously deplorable."
_____________________

From Saint Anthony's web site:

BostonPride

Saturday, June 14

BostonPride kicks off this Friday, June 6 and runs through next Sunday, June 15. St. Anthony Shrine strives to reach out to those who are outside the four walls of the church. Echoing Pope Francis's words, our underlying theme is “Who am I to Judge?” This weekend, our sole activity will be hosting an information booth on City Hall Plaza about the Shrine's ministries and volunteer opportunities, inviting those who are waiting for an invitation from the Church to join us. The Shrine has some wonderful t-shirts and buttons for sale that help spread the Pope's message: “Who Am I to Judge?”

Also on the web site is this announcement.


ACTION ALERT !!!

TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

SAINT ANTHONY'S SHRINE JOINS "PRIDE" FESTIVAL

Boston's annual homosexual "Pride" Parade---which will occur this Saturday, June 14th---is a cauldron of depravity. It is characterized by lewd behavior, immodest dress, and lurid displays of exhibitionism and sadomasochism. The message of the parade, and that of the festival which follows it in City Hall Plaza, is one of radical rejection of Christian morality, of pride in mortal sin.

Incredibly, this year it will actually be worse. The marshals of the 2014 parade will be the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a grotesque group of transvestites whose members costume themselves as Catholic nuns. They have a long history of mocking the Catholic Faith, producing obscene parodies of Catholic worship, exploiting Catholic religious imagery, and profaning Catholic symbols and sacramentals, such as the crucifix. Their blasphemies and sacrileges include the "Hunky Jesus" contest and the "Condom Savior Mass," where contraceptives are distributed in place of Holy Communion.

Astonishingly, one of Boston's most popular Catholic churches, Saint Anthony's Shrine---administered by Franciscan friars, members of the same religious family as our Capuchin archbishop---will host an information booth at the festival in City Hall Plaza, where the parade ends. Whatever evasions, excuses, or rationalizations are offered, any sane person would reasonably conclude that the presence of the friars will send a signal of support and approval for an event which celebrates the sin of impurity against nature.

This is a betrayal of the Catholic Faith, and it is uncharitable to the souls who will be lost by confirming them in their deadly sins. Sadly, when it pertains to homosexuality, this is not the first time that Saint Anthony's has compromised its Catholic identity.

Please contact Cardinal Sean O'Malley and ask him to put a halt to this grave scandal! You may e-mail His Eminence at ArchbishopSean@RCAB.org or leave a telephone message at 617-254-0100 or 617-782-2544.

No one in secular society should be expected to take seriously Catholic teaching about marriage, about chastity outside of marriage, or about Catholic ideals of modesty and purity in speech, dress, and behavior, when one of Boston's best known Catholic institutions participates in something as course, as crudely lascivious, and as flagrantly pornographic as a homosexual pride festival. Please urge your family and friends to join you in contacting the Cardinal!

Thank you.


NEWS UPDATE

FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

HOLY CROSS HONORS OBAMA SPEECHWRITER

Last Friday, May 23rd, the Jesuit administered College of the Holy Cross in Worcester conferred an honorary degree on Jon Favreau, who delivered the commencement address to graduating seniors and their families. Favreau served as White House Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. Prior to that, Favreau was a speechwriter for the Obama campaign, and a deputy speechwriter for the 2004 presidential campaign of then U. S. Senator John Kerry.

A believer in the superstition that two persons of the same gender can contract marriage, Favreau likened a recent Kansas law protecting the religious freedom rights of businessmen to segregation era Jim Crow legislation. He wrote that Catholic education is based on "guilt, shame and fear," has called the Catholic Church a "damaged and hypocritical" institution, and excoriated Pope Benedict XVI for allegedly insulting Islam, reinstating Holocaust deniers, criticizing sodomy, and enabling child molesters. Curiously, during his commencement speech, Favreau said the greatest gift of Jesuit education was "faith in human progress."

The Catholic Action League called Favreau's selection "another expression of contempt for faithful Catholics struggling to protect life and marriage, and another betrayal of the Catholic immigrants who built Holy Cross."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "Last Friday, the unmistakable message sent by Holy Cross to its graduates was that political power and professional success are higher values than the Catholic Faith and Christian morals. It seems the real purpose of Jesuit education is to produce financially empowered and socially respectable cultural conformists."

"In 2014, all three Jesuit institutions of higher learning in Massachusetts, Boston College, Boston College Law School, and the College of the Holy Cross, presented as commencement speakers and conferred honorary degrees upon political figures who repudiate fundamental Catholic moral teaching. This goes far beyond mere indifference, a desire for societal acceptance, or an overriding obsession with institutional fundraising."

"We have, sadly, arrived at the point where reasonable persons may reasonably conclude that the New England Province of the Society of Jesus, overtly and unambiguously, supports legal abortion and so-called same sex marriage. It is shameful and deplorable, a disgrace and a betrayal."
__________________
           PHOTO: Benediction by Worcester Bishop Robert McManus at Holy Cross commencement.


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MAY 27, 2014  -  Published May 29

Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P.O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

To the Editor:

In his second column in twelve months castigating us, Kevin Cullen recycles last year's invectives to reproach the Catholic Action League for protesting the award of an honorary degree to John Kerry by Jesuit led Boston College, (Open season on free speech, 5/20/2014).

For Cullen's information, censorship is prior restraint by the government. Free speech does not require a university, or a newspaper, for that matter, to facilitate expression contrary to its values. Our object, however, was not the censure, or censorship of John Kerry, but the reform of Boston College.

The Catholic religion teaches that abortion is the "direct killing of the innocent." Contrary to the explicit injunction of America's Catholic bishops, BC, and its law school, repeatedly offer as commencement speakers, and confer academic honors upon, public figures who believe that the killing of unborn children ought to remain legal.

Faithful Catholics deserve the reasonable expectation that their own Catholic institutions should support Church teaching about the sanctity of innocent human life from conception to natural death. It is apparent that Boston College, sadly, does not.

Sincerely,

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

Attention: Matthew Bernstein


NEWS RELEASE

FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES BOSTON COLLEGE LAW SCHOOL FOR HOSTING GOVERNOR DANNEL P. MALLOY

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized Jesuit administered Boston College Law School for presenting Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy as the school's 2014 Commencement speaker. Commencement Exercises were held this morning at Conte Forum, on BC's Chestnut Hill campus.

Dannel Malloy is a supporter of legal abortion, same sex marriage, transgendered rights, taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood, and the HHS mandate requiring employers, including religious institutions, to provide group insurance coverage for abortifacients, contraceptives, and sterilizations. As Governor, he issued a press release commemorating the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

The Catholic Action League called Malloy's selection "yet another act of infidelity to Catholic moral teaching and another signal that BC is comfortable with legal abortion."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "For each of the last five years, Boston College Law School, a nominally Catholic institution, has featured as a graduation speaker a public figure who believes that the killing of pre-born children ought to remain legal in this country---Senator Scott Brown, Chief Justice Roderick Ireland, Victoria Kennedy, Senator Mo Cowan, and now Governor Dan Malloy."

"This goes far beyond tolerating or even promoting dissent from Catholic principles. BC Law School seems to be actually excluding from commencement honors those who hold Catholic beliefs about the sanctity and dignity of innocent human life from conception to natural death. Dissent, it would seem, has its own orthodoxy."


"The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." - Catholics in Political Life, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (2004)

 

NEWS RELEASE

MONDAY, MAY 19, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

OPERATION RESCUE: BOSTON AND CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE PROTEST AWARD TO JOHN KERRY

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today joined with Operation Rescue: Boston to protest the conferral of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry by Jesuit administered Boston College. The honor was awarded this morning at the university's 2014 Commencement Exercises, which also featured Kerry as the principal speaker.

Among those in attendance was Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the Archbishop of Boston. The Cardinal had boycotted last year's graduation, saying the 2013 award recipient, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny was "aggressively promoting abortion legislation." At the time Kenny' government wanted to legalize abortion in cases of threats to the life of the mother.

John Kerry is a supporter of unrestricted legal abortion, partial birth abortion, contraception, same gender marriage, embryonic stem cell research, physician assisted suicide, cloning, and the distribution of condoms to minors. In an August, 2003 story in The Boston Herald, Kerry accused Pope, now Saint John Paul II of violating the American separation of church and state over the issue of same sex marriage.

In their 2004 statement, Catholics in Political Life, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

The Catholic Action League called the award to Kerry "a betrayal of Catholic principles, of faithful Catholics struggling to protect the unborn, and of what little remains of BC's tattered Catholic identity."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "No rational person can reasonably be expected to take seriously Catholic opposition to abortion when a leading Catholic university honors a political figure who has spent the last thirty years working against the right to life, while the U.S. bishops Pro-Life Chairman, Sean O'Malley, looks on."

"The reversal in the Cardinal's response is deeply disappointing. John Kerry's record on this issue is more longstanding, more wide ranging, and more extreme than that of Enda Kenny. Moreover, this is the second time in a week that the Cardinal has participated in honors for a politician who supports legal abortion. Last week, Catholic Charities dedicated a plaque for former Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino."

(From Cardinal Sean's Blog)


MEDIA ADVISORY

SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

OPERATION RESCUE: BOSTON AND CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE WILL PROTEST AWARD FOR JOHN KERRY AT BOSTON COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts will join Operation Rescue: Boston in protesting the conferral of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry by Jesuit administered Boston College. The award will be made tomorrow at the university's 2014 Commencement Exercises.

In their statement, Catholics in Political Life, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

John Kerry is a supporter of abortion, contraception, same gender marriage, embryonic stem cell research, physician assisted suicide and condom distribution to minors.

Pro-Life Catholics from the two organizations will be present tomorrow at the entrance to Alumni Stadium on Beacon Street, near the boundary of Boston and Newton, from 8:00 AM TO 10:00 AM.

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "No rational person could reasonably be expected to take seriously Catholic opposition to abortion when one of America's leading Catholic universities gives an honor and a platform to a political figure who has spent the last thirty years working against the Catholic Faith on this issue, while the Pro-Life Chairman of the American Catholic bishops, Cardinal O'Malley, looks on."

"Cardinal O'Malley withdrew from last year's commencement because of the pro-abortion policies of Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. Kerry's record on abortion is more longstanding, more wide ranging, and more extreme than that of Kenny. The Cardinal should recuse himself again."


ACTION ALERT II !!!

FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE WILL JOIN OPERATION RESCUE BOSTON IN PROTESTING AWARD FOR JOHN KERRY AT BC COMMENCEMENT

On Monday morning, May 19th, the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts will join with Operation Rescue: Boston in protesting the decision of Jesuit administered Boston College to confer an honorary degree on U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who will also address the graduates as the principal speaker at the university's 2014 Commencement Exercises.

Kerry, who once accused Saint John Paul II of violating the separation of church and state, is a proponent of abortion, contraception, same gender marriage, cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and physician assisted suicide.

TIME: 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM

LOCATION: Entrance to Alumni Stadium on Beacon Street near the boundary of Boston and Newton

Parking is limited. Some on-street parking might be available on the side streets off of Beacon Street.

If you are traveling by MBTA, the Chestnut Hill Station on the D branch (Riverside Line) of the Green Line is a half mile walk on Hammond Street and Beacon Street. The terminal of the B branch (Boston College via Commonwealth Avenue Line) of the Green Line is a half mile walk on Saint Thomas More Road, Chestnut Hill Drive, and Beacon Street.

Please join us on Monday morning to bear witness against this scandalous betrayal of our Faith, the pro-life movement, and the innocent unborn!


ACTION ALERT!!

FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

URGE CARDINAL O'MALLEY TO WITHDRAW FROM BOSTON COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts is calling upon its members and supporters to urge Cardinal Sean O'Malley to withdraw from Boston College's 2014 Commencement Exercises. This year's graduation speaker, who will also receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, is U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, a longstanding supporter of abortion and contraception.

In their 2004 statement, Catholics in Political Life, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Kerry's selection clearly contravenes the bishops' directive. Few American politicians have compiled records comparable to John Kerry's extensive and longstanding opposition to Catholic moral teachings. Moreover, no other major American political figure, Catholic or non-Catholic, ever publicly attacked Pope, now Saint John Paul II. In August, 2003, Kerry accused the now canonized Pontiff, then elderly and infirm, of violating the separation of church and state over the issue of so-called same sex marriage.

Last year, Cardinal O'Malley boycotted the commencement, saying Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny---2013's speaker and degree recipient--- was "aggressively promoting abortion." Kenny's position pales in comparison with that of John Kerry.

Please contact Cardinal O'Malley and urge him to repeat his decision of last year and avoid this scandalous betrayal of Catholic principles, and this treacherous abandonment of the innocent unborn! Urge him to withdraw from the Boston College commencement!

You may deliver a message to His Eminence by calling 617-782-2544 or 617-254-0100. You may also e-mail him at ArchbishopSean@RCAB.org

Thank you.


NEWS RELEASE

FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES BOSTON COLLEGE FOR HONORING JOHN KERRY, URGES CARDINAL O'MALLEY TO WITHDRAW

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized Jesuit administered Boston College for its decision to confer an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on U. S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who has also been invited to serve as the university's 2014 Commencement speaker. The League is also urging Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the Archbishop of Boston, to repeat his 2013 decision to withdraw from the commencement because of the honoree's advocacy of abortion.

In their 2004 statement, Catholics in Political Life, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Secretary Kerry is a supporter of legal abortion, the public funding of abortion, partial birth abortion, abortions at military hospitals and buffer zones limiting free speech around abortion clinics. He has also endorsed contraception, cloning, embryonic stem cell research, physician assisted suicide, same gender marriage, federal gay rights legislation, the distribution of condoms to minors, family planning programs as part of U.S. foreign aid, and taxpayer financing of both Planned Parenthood and the U. N. Fund for Population Activities.

As a U.S. Senator, Kerry received a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America. As a presidential candidate in 2004, Kerry was endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and promised, if elected, to appoint only those jurists who agree with Roe v. Wade to the U.S. Supreme Court, effectively disenfranchising believing Catholics from high judicial office.

More disturbing however, was Kerry's August, 2003 attack on Pope, now Saint John Paul II in the pages of the Boston Herald. Kerry accused the recently canonized pontiff of "crossing the line," of violating the American separation of church and state because of a Vatican exhortation to Catholic political leaders to oppose same gender marriage.

The Catholic Action League called Kerry's selection "an outrageous insult to faithful Catholics, to the pro-life movement and to Saint John Paul II."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "Few American politicians have managed to compile John Kerry's record of prolonged, sustained, and pervasive opposition to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church."

"Last year, Cardinal O'Malley withdrew from the BC commencement and criticized the choice of Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny as the graduation speaker because the cardinal said Kenny was 'aggressively promoting abortion legislation.' Nothing in Kenny's position on abortion begins to remotely compare however with John Kerry's 30 year, wide ranging, career long, lockstep support for Planned Parenthood and NARAL."

"Three weeks after the canonization of Saint John Paul II, the Jesuits at Boston College are honoring a political figure who launched a demagogic, intellectually dishonest, cheap shot attack on that saint while he was alive and infirm, and the man created Archbishop of Boston by that saint is, reportedly, participating in the proceedings. It's really quite appalling."

The Catholic Action League will join with Operation Rescue Boston, and other Catholic and pro-life groups in protesting John Kerry's award on Monday. League Executive Director C. J. Doyle is an alumnus of Boston College.


NEWS UPDATE

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

HARVARD BLACK MASS CANCELLED

Less than three hours before the infamy was to occur, a Black Mass scheduled for Monday evening in Harvard University's Memorial Hall was unexpectedly cancelled. The obscene, demonic ritual was to be conducted by the New York based Satanic Temple, under the auspices of the Cultural Studies Club of the Harvard Extension School.

After days of evading responsibility for this abomination with disingenuous claims of "freedom of speech" and "academic freedom" -- not even Harvard was willing to defend the content of this atrocity -- the university administration finally succumbed to the volcanic cascade of Catholic outrage. Following the cancellation, a hastily arranged second venue fell through, and organizers were reduced to a furtive performance, with a handful of attendees, under false pretenses, in the back room of a Cambridge restaurant.

Among the voices raised against this diabolic insult to Our Lord, the Holy Eucharist, and the Catholic Faith were the Catholic alumnae and students of Harvard University (and of nearby MIT), the Pastor and congregation of Saint Paul's Parish in Cambridge, the Archdiocese of Boston, and the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts.

Perhaps as many as 1500 faithful participated in a Eucharistic Procession from the MIT chapel to Saint Paul's, followed by a Holy Hour of Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, culminating in the rapturous, celestial harmony of the Tantum Ergo.

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts organized a Rosary of Reparation (which turned out to be a Rosary of Thanksgiving) in front of Memorial Hall before the Holy Hour. It attracted eighty people and gained extensive media coverage.

The League wishes to thank all those who participated, including Brother Thomas Augustine---Catholic champion in the Saint Patrick's Day Parade struggle---and the brothers and laity of the Saint Benedict Center in Still River, MA; Brother Andre and those from the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, NH; the members of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP); our own members; and, of course, Ambassador and Mrs. Raymond Flynn.

The media presence of the Catholic Action League included WFXT-TV FOX 25, WBZ-TV CBS Boston, New England Cable News, The Boston Globe, The Harvard Crimson, Catholic News Service, The New American, and even the United Kingdom's Daily Mail.

Monday's events constituted a clear and decisive triumph for the Faith and a defeat for the Adversary. They also represent an example of and an instruction on what might be accomplished if the slumbering Goliath of American Catholicism might be aroused from its torpor.

Harvard is the world's richest, most influential, and most prestigious university. It long ago abandoned its Congregationalist founders and embraced an aggressive secularism. For much of its history, it has been anti-Catholic. Yet even Harvard proved to be a reed in the wind when confronted by an angry and awakened Catholicism. The President of Harvard was among those in Saint Paul's Monday night.

Much has been written about the so-called John Paul II generation of young Catholics. Perhaps history will record the events of May 12, 2014 as the first public victory of that generation, and with it the beginning of a profound generational change in the American Church.

A final word is in order about the bogus argument invoking free speech, used by some to defend the indefensible. Under the U. S. Constitution, there is no free speech right to obscenity, for a Black Mass is as obscene and pornographic as it is blasphemous and sacrilegious. There are no constitutional protections attached to the commission of a crime, and a Black Mass entails the theft and destruction of a consecrated object, a host. Lastly, the First Amendment right to freedom of speech does not obligate an unwilling third party, such as a university, to subsidize someone else's speech with platforms or facilities. Incredibly, even The Boston Globe recognized that.


Black Mass cancelled!!

About 80 pro-Christ people were present outside of Harvard University's Memorial Hall Monday night, where they received a late but welcome notice that the Black Mass had been cancelled! Hundreds - 1500, according to the Globe! - packed the nearby Saint Paul's Church to overflowing for the Holy Hour and Benediction.



Boston Globe article: “The Satanic Temple has informed us that they will stage their own black mass ceremony at an undisclosed private location to reaffirm their respect for the Satanic faith and to demonstrate that the most powerful response to offensive speech is to shame those who marginalize others by letting their own words and actions speak for themselves,” the Harvard cultural studies club said.

Margery Eagan column

Harvard Crimson article


MEDIA ADVISORY

MONDAY, MAY 12, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE WILL PRAY ROSARY OF REPARATION AT HARVARD

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts will pray a Rosary of Reparation this evening outside of Harvard University's Memorial Hall, where a Black Mass will be conducted by the New York based Satanic Temple, under the auspices of the Cultural Studies Club of the Harvard Extension School.

The Rosary will be recited at 7:30PM. Memorial Hall is located at 45 Quincy Street in Cambridge.

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "Contrary to assertions by organizers, a Black Mass is not a cultural event, nor does it have any intrinsic educational value. This is a mockery, an expression of contempt for the Catholic Faith, its liturgy, its sacraments, and the Person of its Savior."

" It is unimaginable that Harvard would have permitted such an obscene parody of the sacred rites of another religion. Anti- Catholicism, however, remains a respectable prejudice."


ACTION ALERT!!!

SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE WILL HOLD ROSARY OF REPARATION AT HARVARD

Monday, May 12 - 7:00 PM

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts will recite a Rosary of Reparation outside of Harvard University's Memorial Hall this Monday evening, May 12th, beginning at 7PM. The Rosary is a response to the abomination of a Black Mass being performed on the Harvard campus. The Harvard Extension School has granted permission to a student group---the Cultural Studies Club---to sponsor the demonic rite, which will be conducted by the New York based Satanic Temple.

Memorial Hall is located at 45 Quincy Street, between Cambridge Street and Kirkland Street, on the north side of Harvard Yard, a five minute walk from Harvard Square. It is a massive, red brick, neo-Gothic building, with a high tower crowned by a mansard roof.

League members will assemble near the main entrance, at the corner of Quincy and Kirkland Streets.

DIRECTIONS:

BY MBTA---Leaving the Harvard Square bus, trackless trolley and Red Line subway station, walk north on Peabody Street alongside Harvard Yard, (Massachusetts Avenue and Cambridge Common should be to your immediate left); turn right on Cambridge Street, and then turn left on The Plaza, the wide pedestrian deck over Cambridge Street, and then turn right again until you reach Memorial Hall.

BY AUTOMOBILE---Approaching Harvard Square from the east on Massachusetts Avenue, or from the south on John F. Kennedy Street (which connects with Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive), bear right on Peabody Street, (which parallels Massachusetts Avenue and is immediately alongside Harvard Yard). Then turn right on to Cambridge Street, go under the overpass and take the first and sharpest right onto Broadway. Your first left, very acute, will be Quincy Street.

Approaching from the north and west on Massachusetts Avenue or Gardiner Street, make a left U-turn past the bus tunnel entrance (just before Harvard Square) and follow Peabody Street and the above directions.

PARKING---Parking is very limited. There are a few metered spaces nearby on Kirkland Street and Oxford Street, and on Mass. Ave. and Gardiner Street near Cambridge Common. There are also some spaces close to St. Paul's Church, on and around Bow and Arrow Streets---a ten minute walk away.

As Catholics we must not allow this insult to Our Lord to go unanswered. Please join us for the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Monday at 7PM!


NEWS RELEASE

MAY 10, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               Catholicactionleague@gmail.com

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CONDEMNS HARVARD FOR ALLOWING BLACK MASS

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today condemned Harvard University for allowing a student group to have a Black Mass performed on campus. The New York based Satanic Temple, under the sponsorship of the Cultural Studies Club of the Harvard Extension School, will conduct the rite on Monday evening, May 12th, in the university's Memorial Hall.
 

In a statement, the Extension School characterized the Black Mass as "part of a student led effort to explore different cultures," and said the club would also host a Shinto tea ceremony, a Shaker exhibition, and a Buddhist presentation on meditation. 
 
The Catholic Action League is describing the planned event as "an appalling sacrilege, a deliberate provocation, and a barefaced exercise in unconcealed hate speech."
 
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: "A Black Mass is an occult, obscene, and demonic parody of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, intended to effect a ritual desecration and humiliation of the Holy Eucharist. It is impelled by a preternatural hatred of God, the Person of Jesus Christ, and the Catholic and Apostolic religion."
 
"As the entire purpose of a Black Mass is to debase the Blessed Sacrament, assertions by the organizers that unconsecrated bread will be used ought not to be taken at face value. Black Masses invariably entail the theft of consecrated hosts, a crime made easier in recent years by the lamentable practice of communion in the hand."
 
"This vile, impending profanation is one more wretched example of the inordinate hypocrisy which afflicts American academic life in the matter of whose sensibilities may and may not be offended. The double standard is as shameless as it is deplorable."
 
The Catholic Action League will join other Catholic organizations in a peaceful picket and Rosary of Reparation outside of Memorial Hall prior to the event on Monday evening.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

APRIL 27, 2014  -  Published April 30

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

To the Editor:

Margery Eagan's breathtaking hypocrisy was on display when she wrote that Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI wanted to re-emphasize "sin, rules and condemnation over mercy, forgiveness and comforting the poor..." (Eagan: John XXIII breathed new life into church, 4/27/2014).

Eagan demonstrates no mercy and remorseless condemnation towards those described by another recent saint, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, as the poorest of the poor---unborn children. Eagan's chilling, truly pitiless, lack of mercy was revealed in her column last month when she characterized the killing of the unborn not as a tragedy, but as "a relief."

Sincerely,

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

Attention: Mark Pickering


NEWS RELEASE

APRIL 8, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               Catholicactionleague@gmail.com

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE HAILS OUTCOME OF NORWOOD VOTE TO RESTORE CHRISTMAS

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today commended the voters of the Town of Norwood for providing a 76% majority in favor of restoring the name "Christmas Recess" to the town's school department calendar. A non-binding referendum was held yesterday. The Norwood School Committee, which changed the name to "Winter Recess" in 2011, must now decide to accept or reject the voters' advice.

The Catholic Action League called the outcome "a victory for common sense and a defeat for political correctness."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "Thanks to the wisdom of the citizens of Norwood, the school recess allowing families to celebrate the feast of Christmas may, once again, be called by its rightful name. Respect for diversity should not require disrespect for tradition, concealing our country's origins, or gratuitously offending the sensibilities of the majority. 'Inclusion' must not be used as an excuse for mandatory secularization or a coerced cultural conformity."

"Congratulations to Wanderer columnist Jim Drummey, to Theresa McNulty, and to everyone else involved in the successful referendum campaign."


MEMBER ADVISORY

SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (617) 524-6309
          catholicactionleague@gmail.com

PLEASE PRAY FOR PAUL LIKOUDIS!

The Wanderer has announced that its longtime News Editor, Paul Likoudis, has taken a six month leave of absence to undergo surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment for colon cancer. Paul, who is 59, is one of the foremost defenders of the Catholic Faith in America today.

As a Catholic journalist, Paul Likoudis has a well deserved reputation for being honest, fearless, lucid, and orthodox. His range of writings include American Catholic history, just war ethics, Catholic social justice principles and meticulously researched expose's of modernism and corruption in the Church. He is also an old friend of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts.

Please remember Paul and his family in your prayers, and ask Almighty God to grant a full recovery to this valiant soldier of Christ. If you would like to help Paul with his overwhelming medical expenses, a fund has been established at his parish church. Please send any donations to Saint James the Apostle Church, 17 Whig Street, Trumansburg, New York, 14886. Checks may be made payable to St. James Church: Paul Likoudis Fund.

If you have any questions, you may contact the Pastor, Father John Tokaz, at (607) 387-6781. You may also reach Paul Likoudis at paullikoudis@empacc.net.

The Catholic Action League would be very grateful for any prayers which can be offered, and for any materiel aid which our members can provide for Paul and his family!


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 29, 2014 - Published April 9

Opinion
Daily Hampshire Gazette
115 Conz Street
Northampton, MA 01060

To the Editor:

In the editorial on the Boston and Holyoke Saint Patrick's Day parades, which quoted part of our news release, the Gazette argued that not every group which marches in these parades is there to promote Irish culture, but are willing to “support, respect and honor” that culture, (Editorial: Two parades, both Irish, 3/22/2014).

Police, military, neighborhood and business groups which march do not represent the serious counter witness to the Catholic Faith and heritage of the Irish which homosexual groups symbolize. Homosexual organizations not only express pride in repudiating the moral code of Saint Patrick's religion, but derogate anyone who defends that code as a bigot, a hater, and a homophobe.

No one would expect a homosexual parade to host a message critical of homosexuality. The organizers of a parade in honor of a Catholic saint should not be coerced into hosting a message which is anti-Catholic.

Sincerely,

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


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 21, 2014

Letters to the Editor
The MetroWest Daily News
33 New York Avenue
Framingham, MA 01701

To the Editor:

It was, certainly, thoughtful of The MetroWest Daily News to trivialize Saint Patrick's Day with Glenn Ickler' unsuccessful attempt at parody, (Ickler: March in the invisible parade, 3/16/2014).

What the unfunny Ickler makes so obtuse, is actually quite simple. Public identification of homosexual behavior in Boston's Saint Patrick's Day parade is incompatible with a) the religion of Saint Patrick; b) the family character of the parade; and c) the explicit wishes of the parade organizers---who have a constitutionally protected right to control their own free speech, of which the parade is an expression.

Sincerely,

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


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 21, 2014

The Anchor
Letters to the Editor
P. O. Box 7
Fall River, MA 02722-0007

To the Editor:

I find it terribly sad that a Catholic newspaper would characterize the struggle of a group of Catholic men to defend Catholic moral sensibilities in the public square as a distraction, (DISTRACTIONS FROM OUR LENTEN CALL, 3.7.14).

Perhaps, even more disturbing, was the rationale offered to excuse the silence of the Archdiocese of Boston in the Saint Patrick's Day parade controversy. Ten of the original Twelve Apostles suffered martyrdom. Apparently, in the view of The Anchor, their successors should say nothing which would cause them to suffer public criticism.

Most deplorable of all however, was The Anchor's treatment of the notorious Catholic basher Kevin Cullen---who recently savaged the Bishop of Providence in a lengthy polemic filled with demeaning ad hominem attacks---as a credible source on a Catholic priest who died in good standing with the Church more than thirty-five years ago.

Contrary to the assertion by The Anchor, the very public witness of Immaculate Heart of Mary School proved to be of vital importance. As even The Boston Globe implicitly acknowledged in its editorial on "push back," the school exercised a decisive influence at a crucial moment, affecting the ultimate outcome of the issue. All faithful Catholics should commend them.

Finally, I cannot believe the words of Pope Francis should be interpreted to mean that Catholics ought to surrender to aggression, allow a parade in honor of a Catholic saint to become a celebration of sodomy, or to be silent when their constitutional rights are in jeopardy.

Sincerely,

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


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 19, 2014  -  Published March 21, 2014

Letters Editor
The Standard-Times
25 Elm Street
New Bedford, MA 02740

To the Editor:

It would seem we arrived at the point that proponents of homosexual participation in St. Patrick's Day parades have become so desperate that they are willing to resort to the crude intellectual dishonesty of quoting Northern Irish bigots who deny the very Catholicity of Saint Patrick, (Our View: Beginning, not the end, of the rainbow---Time to end exclusion of LGBTQ marchers, 3/19/2014).

Mr. Killen of Ulster engaged in revisionist history with his ludicrous assertion that the Apostle of Ireland was not a Roman Catholic. The historical record is clear. Saint Patrick was a Catholic bishop sent to Ireland by Pope Saint Celestine. As the Anglican historian Edmund Curtis candidly admitted, Patrick was attached to "the Latin Eucharist, the invocation of the saints, and the sacraments and doctrines of the Catholic Faith."

When the Anglican primate tried to use Mr. Killen's argument on Prime Minister William Gladstone, the PM, an Evangelical Protestant, famously responded: "Who believes that?"

Sincerely,

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


HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS FROM THE CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE OF MASSACHUSETTS!

MARCH 17, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               Catholicactionleague@gmail.com

Perhaps nowhere else in Christendom can an entire nation and its vast diaspora of descendants trace their Catholic Faith and culture --- and their prospects for eternal salvation --- to a single saint. Our debt of gratitude to Saint Patrick is immense and unmeasurable. Saint Patrick (+461) is the Apostle of Ireland and was the first bishop and archbishop of Armagh. He is also the principal patron saint of the Archdiocese of Boston.

The feast of Saint Patrick is not "a municipal festival," as one non-Catholic judge erroneously asserted during the Saint Patrick's Day parade case twenty years ago. Nor is it merely a communal celebration of ethnic pride, as one low wattage and recently retired state senator tried to tell us.

We commemorate the feast of our patron saint because he brought the Catholic Faith to Ireland, delivering that nation, and us, from the darkness of paganism, and showing us the fountains "that rise in the heart of Our Savior above."

Contrary to expectations, and against overwhelming odds, the aggression of the neo-pagan forces of darkness was repulsed in Boston this year. Despite obscenity laden threats from politicians, financial pressure from corporations, venomous insults from apostates in the media, and duplicitous attempts at manipulation by those who reject the natural order, Saint Patrick's Day parade organizers refused, in the end, to surrender.

Only two Catholic organizations, the Immaculate Heart of Mary School and the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, publicly supported the Allied War Veterans Council of South Boston, which organizes and controls the parade. As the contemporary forces of paganism continue their assault against the Christian character of March 17th, and attempt to deform our feast day, let us never forget that Saint Patrick's Day is a Catholic holy day in honor of a Catholic Saint. Sanctus Patricius, Ora pro nobis.

O God, You deigned to send Blessed Patrick, Your Confessor and Bishop, to preach Your glory to the Gentiles; grant by his merits and intercession, that those things which You command us to do, we may be enabled to accomplish by Your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
     - Collect of the Feast of Saint Patrick from the Missal and Breviary of Saint Pius V


NEWS RELEASE

MARCH 16, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               Catholicactionleague@gmail.com

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CONGRATULATES ALLIED WAR VETERANS COUNCIL

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today congratulated the Allied War Veterans Council---the organizers of Boston's Saint Patrick's Day Parade---for successfully resisting the political strong arm tactics of Mayor Martin Walsh and Congressman Stephen Lynch. Walsh and Lynch tried to pressure the veterans to abandon their 22 year prohibition against groups which identify their sexual preferences from participating in the event. (Lynch, ironically, ended up marching in the parade.)

The Catholic Action League hailed the veterans for their "determined defense of their Faith, moral principles, and constitutional rights."

Catholic Action League Executive Director commented: "In the end, the veterans refused to surrender, despite demands from politicians, criticism from the media, tensions with some sponsors, and duplicity from homosexual activists. It was an admirable example of courage, fidelity, and integrity."

"The homosexual group which tried to force its way into the parade cared nothing for Saint Patrick or Irish culture, and had nothing but contempt for the Catholic religion. MassEquality wanted to use the parade to promote its own agenda. As this controversy unfolded, more and more ordinary people came to understand that."

The predecessor organization of the Catholic Action League provided legal assistance to the Allied War Veterans Council in Hurley v. Irish American GLIB Association.


NEWS RELEASE

MARCH 15, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (617) 524-6309
               Catholicactionleague@gmail.com

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE URGES VETERANS TO REJECT POLITICAL ARM TWISTING

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today urged the Allied War Veterans Council---the organizers of Boston's Saint Patrick's Day Parade---to reject the unprecedented political arm twisting being applied by Mayor Martin Walsh. According to reports received by the Catholic Action League, the mayor is escalating his pressure tactics against the veterans in his campaign to force them to abandon their longstanding prohibition against sexual advocacy groups in the parade.

The Catholic Action League characterized Walsh's last minute offensive as "a brazen attempt to bully parade organizers into relinquishing both their moral values and their constitutional rights."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle commented: "The 1995, 9 to 0 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hurley v. Irish American GLIB Association concluded by declaring that disapproval of the parade organizers message does not legitimize the use of government power to compel them to alter that message, by including one more acceptable to others. That, however, is exactly what Mayor Walsh is trying to do. It suggests he regards the political support of the homosexual community as more important than the protections of the First Amendment."

"The so-called 'inclusion' demanded by the mayor will result in the exclusion of the moral principles and religious beliefs which Saint Patrick brought to Ireland. In a choice between political correctness and the legacy of Saint Patrick, the veterans should stand by Saint Patrick---and their hard won constitutional rights."


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 14, 2014

The Boston Globe
P. O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

To the Editor:

The assertion contained in both the headline and text of the Globe's editorial, claiming that Brother Thomas Dalton's views on homosexuality are his own, was not accurate (Brother Thomas Dalton: Educator's brimstone stance on parade is his own, 3/14/2014).

Rooted in Scripture and tradition, Catholic moral prohibitions against homosexual behavior are numerous, clear, consistent, longstanding, definitive---and irreformable. Brother Thomas was merely restating perennial and dogmatic Catholic teaching found in the Catechism, magisterial documents, and the writings of the Fathers and the Doctors of the Church, and those of the saints.

The Globe's editorialists have an unwarranted view of papal authority if they believe the Pope can change Catholic doctrine during media interviews, as in "Who am I to judge?" As the First Vatican Council---which defined papal infallibility---stated, the Pope cannot "make known new doctrines," but must "religiously guard and faithfully expound the deposit of faith transmitted by the Apostles."

Sincerely,

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

Attention: Matthew Bernstein


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 11, 2014  -  Published March 18, 2014

Telegram & Gazette
20 Franklin Street
Box 15012
Worcester, MA 01615-0012

To the Editor:

In her second attack on Immaculate Heart of Mary School in twelve months, Dianne Williamson sheds crocodile tears over the possibility of Catholic students not marching in a parade which would have included the homosexual advocacy group, MassEquality (St. Pat's parade pullout is puzzling, 3/4/2014).

Contrary to Williamson's biased assertions, the leadership of the school has imparted a useful and edifying message to its students. The students have been reminded of the need for Catholics to be counter cultural in a secular society that is increasingly hostile to religious freedom and traditional moral values. If anyone seeks evidence of that hostility, one need look no further than the repeated and rancorous efforts of Dianne Williamson to revile the Catholic Faith.

Sincerely,

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


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 11, 2014

The Boston Globe
P. O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

To the Editor:

Reading the criticisms directed at Brother Thomas Dalton of Immaculate Heart of Mary School, one comes to appreciate the truly broad latitude Kevin Cullen enjoys as a columnist, (Irish should smile on those shunned, March 4, 2014).

After all, Cullen does not have to construct a logical argument or adopt a rigorously reasoned position. Whomever he dislikes, he can treat with derision and contempt, demeaning them---"holy rollers"---or just sneering at them---"somebody named Brother Thomas..." Intellectually, it requires no heavy lifting.

It used to be said that journalists should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. With Cullen, the opposite seems to apply. The objects of his vitriol, all too often, appear to be those who hold unfashionable opinions, lack political power or financial clout, and certainly, are in no position to cause him any professional injury.

What a brave, tough guy Kevin Cullen is, always ready to take on anyone who can't fire back.

Sincerely,

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

Attention: Matthew Bernstein


PRAYER REQUEST

SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE
(617) 524-6309
CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

A number of our members have made a holy and helpful suggestion, with which we wholeheartedly concur. They have asked me to encourage all members of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts to recite Saint Patrick's Breastplate, the prayer composed by the Apostle of Ireland himself, to ask the protection of the Holy Trinity in his struggle to deliver the people of Ireland from the darkness of paganism.

Let us therefore recite the prayer of our patron saint to repel the neo-pagan darkness which threatens to engulf Boston's Saint Patrick's Day Parade!

The Breastplate of St. Patrick,

also known as The Lorica

I. I bind to myself today The strong power of an invocation of the Trinity, The faith of the Trinity in Unity The Creator of the Universe.

II. I bind to myself today The might of the Incarnation of Christ with that of His Baptism, The might of His Crucifixion with that of His Burial, The might of His Resurrection with that of His Ascension. The might of of His Coming on the Judgment Day.

III. I bind to myself today The power in the love of the Seraphim, In the obedience of the Angels, In the ministration of the Archangels, In the hope of Resurrection unto reward, In the prayers of the Patriarchs, In the predictions of the Prophets, In the preaching of the Apostles, In the faith of the Confessors, In the purity of the holy Virgins, In the deeds of righteous men.

IV. I bind to myself today The power of Heaven, The brightness of the Sun, The whiteness of Snow, The splendor of Fire, The speed of Lightning, The swiftness of the Wind, The depth of the Sea, The stability of the Earth, The firmness of Rocks.

V. I bind to myself today God's Power to pilot me, God's Might to uphold me, God's Wisdom to guide me, God's Eye to look before me, God's Ear to hear me, God's Word to speak for me, God's Hand to guard me, God's Way to lie before me, God's Shield to shelter me, God's Host to secure me. Against the snares of demons, Against the seductions of vices, Against the lusts of nature, Against everyone who meditates injury to me, Whether far or near, Whether few or with many.

VI. I invoke today all these virtues Against every hostile merciless power Which may assail my body and my soul. Against the incantations of false prophets, Against the black laws of heathenism, Against the false laws of heresy, Against the deceits of idolatry, Against the spells of women, and smiths and Druids, Against every knowledge that blinds the soul of man.

VII. Christ protect me today Against poison, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding, That I may receive abundant reward.

VIII. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ at my right, Christ at my left, Christ when lying down, Christ in sitting, Christ in rising up.

IX. Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

X. I bind to myself today The strong power of an invocation of the Trinity, The faith of the Trinity in Unity The Creator of the Universe.

XI. Salvation is of the Lord, Salvation is of the Lord, Salvation is of Christ; May Your salvation, O Lord, be with us forever.

SAINT PATRICK, PRAY FOR US


ACTION ALERT!!!

FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE
               (617) 524-6309, CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

URGE VETERANS TO REFUSE DEAL

     Boston Mayor Martin Walsh now claims both sides are once again close to a deal that would allow the anti-Catholic homosexual group MassEquality to march in Boston's Saint Patrick's Day Parade.

     Under political pressure from Mayor Walsh and Congressman Stephen Lynch, the Allied War Veterans Council---the sponsors of South Boston's parade---unwisely made an initial concession, only to discover that they were deliberately lied to by the militants of MassEquality. Realizing the extremists which they were negotiating with were completely untrustworthy, the Veterans Council withdrew from the arrangement on Tuesday night. Now Walsh is turning up the pressure again, believing he can coerce the veterans to abandon their hard won 9 to 0 victory before the U. S. Supreme Court.

PLEASE CONTACT THE SOUTH BOSTON ALLIED WAR VETERANS COUNCIL AND URGE THEM TO HOLD FIRM AND REJECT ANY DEALS THAT WOULD ALLOW HOMOSEXUAL GROUPS, SYMBOLS OR MESSAGES TO DISHONOR SAINT PATRICK AND DEFORM HIS PARADE!

     You may telephone the veterans at (781) 436-3377, fax them at (781) 341-1191, or e-mail them at info@southbostonparade.org

     A collection of fanatics who have nothing but contempt for the Catholic Faith are trying to exploit a parade in honor of a Catholic saint to force public acceptance of their sexual behavior. Don't let them succeed with this unscrupulous aggression!


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 6, 2014

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

To the Editor:

     Margery Eagan fabricated history with her preposterous assertion that St. Patrick's Day is about celebrating Christianity, rather than Catholicism, coming to Ireland (Eagan: "It's time to scrap Southie's St. Patrick's parade," 3/4/2014).

     It is certainly encouraging that some Episcopalians celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but Saint Patrick was a Roman Catholic bishop sent to Ireland by Pope Saint Celestine. As the Anglican historian Edmund Curtis admitted, Saint Patrick was attached to "the Latin Eucharist, the invocation of the saints, and the sacraments and doctrines of the Catholic Faith."

Sincerely,

Joseph B. Craven, Jr.
Executive Secretary


NEWS ADVISORY

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (617) 524-6309
               CATHOLICACTIONLEAGUE@GMAIL.COM

VETERANS TELL DIFFERENT STORY MEDIA REPORTS SLANTED

South Boston Allied War Veterans Council
P.O. Box 350
South Boston, MA 02127

Sponsors of
The South Boston St. Patrick's Day / Evacuation Day Parade

PRESS RELEASE

March 3, 2014

At a recent meeting of The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, a motion was brought up about reconsidering an application that had been previously rejected. This application was submitted by LGBT Veterans of Equality (an affiliate of Mass Equality). The reason for this rejection was a clear violation of our “No sexual orientation” rule, and not that we ban Gay people as reported by the press.

The application stated that 20 United States Veterans wished to March with Mayor Walsh and other Politicians in this year's parade. They also indicated that they were a Veterans Organization,helping Veterans from Cradle to Grave. After some consideration, the Council agreed that any Veteran should be allowed to march, regardless of sexual orientation. Further, any organization which helps our Veterans is welcome. This application was conditionally approved as submitted with the understanding that these 20 Veterans can march but no sexual orientation would be displayed, and the group would comply with our standard Code of Conduct, followed by all marching units in this parade.

To our surprise, the offer was rejected by Mass Equality's representative Kara Coredini. Her rejection was based on the fact that we would not allow LGBT Veterans to identify themselves as openly Gay by means of signage and T Shirts identifying them as LGBT Veteran. This clearly violates our code of conduct.

At a closed door City Hall meeting last night it was made clear to us that the LGBT Veterans for Equality do not have 20 United States Veterans who wish to march. Rather, they presented only one supposed Veteran and a group of others carrying rainbow flags. When asked about a Color Guard, their lone Veteran replied that he wasn't sure he could supply any more Veterans willing to march.

The Council performs background checks on groups wishing to march prior to their acceptance. We were unable to find any evidence of LGBT Veterans for Equality that would confirm them as a recognized Veterans Organization.

We appreciate the efforts the Mayor's office to try and mediate this issue. However it is our intention to keep this an Irish Celebration, dedicated to our Men and Women serving in our Armed Forces. We will fight to keep our parade and its traditions.

Therefore, we, The Allied War Veterans of South Boston, felt we were misled by LGBT Veterans for Equality. It is our belief that the application submitted to us by LGBT Veterans for Equality was a ploy by them to enter this parade under false pretenses and is hereby denied.

It is our intention to keep this parade a family friendly event. We will not allow any group to damage the Integrity of the historic event or its reputation as a safe and fun filled day for all. We strive to hold the largest and most entertaining St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Country.

God Bless our Troops and God Bless this Country!


NEWS RELEASE

MARCH 3, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               Catholicactionleague@gmail.com

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE APPLAUDS IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY SCHOOL FOR REFUSING TO MARCH IN BOSTON'S ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today commended the administrators, teachers, and students of Immaculate Heart of Mary School for withdrawing their band and float from Boston's Saint Patrick's Day Parade after parade organizers invited the same sex marriage advocacy group, MassEquality, to march. The school's float of Saint Patrick blessing the children was, for many years, the iconic symbol of the Boston parade.

The Catholic Action League called the school's decision to withdraw "an act of courage, integrity, and fidelity to the moral teachings of the Catholic religion."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "At a time when so many Catholics conform to the culture, it is profoundly edifying to see the splendid example of Catholic witness offered by Immaculate Heart of Mary School. The Catholic community ought to be grateful that there is at least one Catholic institution left in Massachusetts whose members have the faith, fortitude, and sovereignty of mind to act unreservedly in defense of their Catholic principles. Clearly, at Immaculate Heart of Mary School, they not only profess the Catholic Faith, they live it."

"This valiant example of unflinching devotion to Catholic Faith and morals deserves to be both emulated by other Catholic organizations and affirmed by the leadership of the Archdiocese of Boston."

Immaculate Heart of Mary School, administered by the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is located in Still River, in the Town of Harvard, in the Diocese of Worcester.


NEWS RELEASE

March 1, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               Catholicactionleague@gmail.com

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CONDEMNS DECISION TO INVITE MASSEQUALITY TO MARCH IN ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today condemned the decision of the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council---the sponsors of Boston's Saint Patrick's Day Parade---to invite the state's largest same sex marriage lobby, MassEquality, to march in the parade on March 16th.

Parade coordinator Tom Duross said "We'd be happy to have them here. And we'd be proud to have them here....You're a great organization, you do wonderful things for people, and therefore we'd be happy to have you in our parade."

The Catholic Action League called the about face by the Council "a cowardly abandonment of longstanding principles, a disgraceful surrender to political pressure, and a callous betrayal of all those, living and dead, who fought to defend their constitutional rights."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "We will, perhaps, never know what means Mayor Walsh used to bribe, bully or cajole the veterans into reversing their position, but he certainly delivered for the powerful and affluent special interest which did so much to promote and finance his mayoral campaign."

"The so-called restrictions which supposedly forbid mention of sexual orientation are entirely fraudulent, a sham and a fig leaf. As Duross himself has said: 'Everybody knows who MassEquality is.' "

With this decision to dishonor Saint Patrick, the veterans council should have the minimal decency to change the name of the parade, as it no longer has any meaningful connection to the Catholic saint who brought the Faith to Ireland. Catholic organizations should refuse to participate in a parade that hosts a group which demonizes Catholic moral teachings as bigotry, hatred and prejudice."

"No one should forget the origin of this controversy. In 1992, a group of aggressive sociopaths tried to force their way into somebody else's parade despite the fact that their message and values were radically at variance with those of the parade organizers. Now, 22 years later, with the help of Boston's bought and paid for political class, they have finally succeeded."

"This episode should remind us of the thuggish, totalitarian character of the homosexual movement, which has no regard for the rights, beliefs, and sensibilities of others, and which thinks that all of those who resist its demands must be pressured and coerced into submission, as the veterans were evidently pressured and coerced into submission yesterday."

"This decision is a milestone defeat for religious freedom, moral sanity, and what very little remains of Boston's once Catholic identity. As for the Archdiocese of Boston, its silence was as shameful as it was predictable."


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

FEBRUARY 28, 2014  -  Published March 9, 2014

The Boston Globe Magazine
Comments
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

To the Editor:

The premise of Neil Swidey's article---that a culturally more accommodating church will bring disaffected Catholics back to the pews---is, by no means, assuredly accurate ("The Promise Of Francis," 2/23/2014).

The experience of mainline Protestant churches which conformed to the culture was disastrous. There are now more Muslims in America than Episcopalians.

Progressive Catholics are often imprecise about, exactly, what kind of church they want. One might reasonably conclude, however, about what kind of church they do not want.

They do not want a church which teaches faith and morals with clarity and authority. And they do not want a church which hinders or embarrasses them in secular society by raising troublesome issues about the sanctity of human life or the impermissibility of contraception.

Sincerely,

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


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

FEBRUARY 27, 2014  -  Published March 3, 2014

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

To the Editor:  

When Peter Gelzinis says the Saint Patrick's Day parade should enter the 21st century, what he actually means is that it should abandon any association with the Catholic Faith which Saint Patrick brought to Ireland ("Walsh wants inclusion...," 2/27/2014).

A so-called "inclusive" parade would exclude the religious heritage which we are supposed to celebrate on the feast day of Ireland's, and Boston's, patron saint. All the cheap shots fired by Gelzinis at the Veterans Council can't conceal the fundamental absurdity of his position---which is that Saint Patrick's Day should be disconnected from the religion and morality of Saint Patrick.

Sincerely,

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


NEWS RELEASE

February 27, 2014

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
               Catholicactionleague@gmail.com

CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE COMMENDS SOUTH BOSTON VETERANS FOR RESISTING PRESSURE FROM MAYOR

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today commended the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council---the sponsors of Boston's Saint Patrick's Day Parade---for resisting pressure from Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh to include a homosexual group affiliated with MassEquality in this year's parade.

A previous attempt by a Massachusetts Superior Court Judge to force the inclusion of a homosexual organization resulted in a 9 to 0 U. S. Supreme Court decision in 1995 affirming the right of the veterans to control the content of their own parade.

The Catholic Action League called Mayor Walsh's intervention "an attempt to impose a radically discordant message, entirely inappropriate to the celebration of Boston's principal patron saint."

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle commented: "Saint Patrick was a Catholic archbishop and is a Catholic saint. How do you honor a Catholic saint by providing a platform to those who express pride in rejecting Catholic morality? And who castigate that morality as bigotry, hatred and homophobia?"

"The feast of Saint Patrick commemorates the bishop and confessor through whom an entire people, in one lifetime, were converted from paganism to the Catholic and Apostolic Faith. Mayor Walsh's efforts, if successful, would destroy the traditional character of the parade, empty it of its original meaning, and reduce it to a secular community festival, devoid of any religious significance."

"Catholics should be able to celebrate in peace the feast day of their patron saint without the unwarranted intrusion of an alien, and implicitly anti-Catholic, propaganda exercise, by a sexual advocacy group seeking to exploit the event for their own ideological purposes. Mayor Walsh's advice ought to be rejected."

The predecessor organization of the Catholic Action League provided legal support to the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council in Hurley v. Irish American GLIB Association.

_________

Senator Dorcena Forry wants to uphold Saint Patrick's Day tradition (Boston Globe, 2/28/2014)


MEDIA UPDATE
 
February 10, 2014

C.J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League was interviewed by New England Cable News about federal recognition of same-sex "marriage." Click here for a written report and video.


MAY YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ENJOY A HOLY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

FROM THE CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE OF MASSACHUSETTS!

LET US ALSO REJOICE IN OUR DEVOTIONS TO THE GLORIOUS SAINTS OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON: SAINT STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR, ON DECEMBER 26th; SAINT JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST, ON DECEMBER 27th; THE HOLY INNOCENTS, PROTO-MARTYRS OF THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT, ON DECEMBER 28th; AND SAINT THOMAS OF CANTERBURY, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, ON DECEMBER 29th.

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO ET IN TERRA PAX HOMINIBUS BONAE VOLUNTATIS!

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, PRAY FOR U! SAINT JOSEPH, PRAY FOR US!


Contact the Catholic Action League