Catholic League Denounces ‘Spike’ in Anti-Catholic Incidents

Paint covers the walls at Saint Bonaventure Catholic Church on July 03, 2021 in Calgary, C
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Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue reported Monday on a worrisome increase in anti-Catholic acts both “at home and abroad.”

“The recent flurry of anti-Catholic incidents at home and abroad is a disturbing reminder of how deeply entrenched this genre of bigotry is,” Dr. Donohue observed, and while these incidents are not part of a coordinated conspiracy, “they are all driven by left-wing players.”

Noteworthy among the areas of concern is Canada, which has witnessed a massive 260 percent rise in anti-Catholic hate crimes just between 2020 and 2021, Donohue writes. “Churches have been burned to the ground, stained-glass windows have been smashed and acts of desecration have taken place.”

Many of these crimes are a reaction to false news reports alleging the discovery of “mass graves” of indigenous children on Catholic grounds, Donohue continues. Despite the fact that these stories have been proven completely untrue, “the damage that these lies have caused is considerable.”

Another site of increasing anti-Catholic animus is Nicaragua, where Daniel Ortega’s Communist dictatorship has targeted Bishop Rolando Álvarez of the diocese of Matagalpa, who “has been denied entrance to his church,” Donohue writes, and riot police “have closed off the road outside his house, forcing him to say Mass at his residence.”

Police officers and riot police patrol outside Matagalpa's Archbishop Curia preventing Monsignor Rolando Alvarez from leaving, in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, on August 4, 2022. - Riot police on Thursday prevented Nicaraguan Bishop, Rolando Alvarez, from leaving the church building to preside at a mass as part of a "prayer crusade" being carried out by the church, following the closure of several Catholic media outlets and allegations of harassment. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Police officers and riot police patrol outside Matagalpa’s Archbishop Curia preventing Monsignor Rolando Alvarez from leaving, in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, on August 4, 2022. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

In the United States, much of the anti-Catholic incidents have been driven by the abortion lobby, which is still smarting from the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June.

For example, pro-abortion protesters “crashed a big Catholic event” at the Napa Institute in California, Donohue states, interrupting the proceedings screaming: “Get your rosaries off our ovaries.”

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 20: A demonstrator holds up a banner saying "Keep Your Rosaries Off My Ovaries" while another has a banner saying "My Body, My Choice" in front of Trump International Hotel and Tower during the second annual Women's March in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, U.S. on Saturday, January 20, 2018. One year after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, thousands of people will again gather to protest for equal rights at the 2018 Women's March. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)

A demonstrator holds up a banner saying “Keep Your Rosaries Off My Ovaries” while another has a banner saying “My Body, My Choice.” (Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)

This past weekend, pro-abortion protesters also showed up at the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in downtown New York City where at least five were arrested for harassing church-goers.

These events compound the dozens of incidents of domestic terrorism involving violent attacks on Catholic churches and crisis pregnancy centers, Donohue notes, which has elicited no response from U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“Bigotry against any demographic group, religious or secular, should be condemned by everyone. Regrettably, members of the ruling class appear to be selectively interested in doing so,” Donohue concludes.

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