Press Releases

There are moments in our life when we are presented with the opportunity to make a difference. We are given the chance to choose to take action or to stand idly by watching injustice. At such moments, Christians before us have chosen to invest the time, energy and financial resources necessary to take action. The abolitionists, the supporters of the Civil Rights movement, they have all in their own time been the prophetic ushers of a better world.

We are now, again, poised at such a moment. The issue which faces all of us today is the plight of the undocumented. The recent raids by ICE and the scandal surrounding the illegal oppression of the Postville workers- many of them undocumented migrants who were afraid to protest for fear of being deported- have reminded us that today we are presented with another struggle which as Christians we are obligated to face.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to be on CNN representing CrossLeft.org and progressive Christianity. This was not a random interview on the street, but rather a studio interview for a live broadcast of American Morning (CNN's morning news show).

For Immediate Release Contact:

July 16, 2008 James Salt

305-978-1056 or jsalt@catholics-united.org

Catholics United Calls on Senator John McCain to Remove Controversial Strategist from Catholic Advisory Committee

Deal Hudson Resigned from the Bush Campaign in 2004 amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations; Now Advising McCain on Catholic Outreach

Washington, D.C. – Catholics United today called on Senator John McCain to remove influential Republican strategist Deal Hudson from his position on the “Catholics for McCain National Steering Committee.” Mr. Hudson apparently continues to serve on the committee despite having stepped down from a similar position with President Bush’s reelection campaign when an alleged episode of sexual impropriety came to light in 2004.

In August 2004, the National Catholic Reporter disclosed that Hudson was forced to leave a tenured professorship at Fordham University over allegations that he solicited sexual activity with his 18-year old freshman student. According to the report, the encounter happened in Hudson’s campus office after a night of heavy drinking.

from our friends across the pond:

FRI 27 JUNE 2008
Anglicans challenged on power, sex and 'traditionalism'. ............

PRESS RELEASE .....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
London, UK - June 27, 2008 According to the standard script, the current war in Anglicanism over sexuality, scripture and authority is one between 'traditionalists' and 'revisionists', 'liberals' versus 'evangelicals'.

But new research from the religion and society think- tank Ekklesia suggests that those who want to keep the church defined by very narrow parameters are straying from well established Christian tradition.

It points out that 'Anglican wars' are about power as much as sex, and that evangelicals and others are to be found on all sides of the debate rather than just one.

In a research essay entitled 'Tradition, Change and the new Anglicanism', author Savitri Hensman, who was born in Sri Lanka but lives and works in Britain as an equalities adviser in the community sector, looks carefully at past Anglican formulations and biblical traditions.

Dear NRCAT Friends:

Appended below is the press release that was just sent to our press contacts detailing the launch of our Banners Across America project in a press telephone conference call that took place earlier today. Check our website (http://www.nrcat.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=198&Itemi...) tomorrow, June 6, to download the MP3 file to listen to the press conference.

NRCAT still has banners available for purchase on our website (http://www.nrcat.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152&Itemi...) for congregations who want to join the "nearly" 300 congregations displaying anti-torture banners during June.

Thank you again for your efforts to end U.S.-sponsored torture..

Rev. Richard Killmer
Executive Director, NRCAT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2008

Contact: Rev. Richard Killmer (202) 547-1920; (207) 450-7242 cell

John Humphries (860) 216-7972 cell; jhumphries@nrcat.org

Nearly 300 Congregations Across the United States - Representing All 50 States and the District of Columbia - Display Anti-Torture Banners in June

National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) introduces and describes "Banners Across America" initiative in June 5 telephone press conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: John Gehring
Senior Writer
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Phone: (202) 429-9683
E-Mail: jgehring@catholicsinalliance.org

Friday, May 30, 2008

Catholics Urge Sen. Lieberman to Avoid Speaking Appearance with Rev. John Hagee

Washington, DC- The leaders of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United today urged Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn) to withdraw his support for Rev. John Hagee and the Texas pastor’s “Christians United for Israel” summit. Sen. Lieberman is scheduled to appear at the event in July. In a letter to Sen. Lieberman, the groups cited Hagee's “long-standing pattern of intolerant behavior” that includes comments offensive to many groups of Americans.

Hagee has stirred controversy in recent months for having referred to the Catholic Church as “the great whore” and claiming that God sent Hurricane Katrina to punish residents of New Orleans for immoral behavior. More recently, revelations surfaced that Hagee believes Adolf Hitler’s persecution of Jews was carried out in fulfillment of God’s will. The pastor has also made comments offensive to Muslims, women, and African-Americans.

For Immediate Release Contact:

May 30, 2008 James Salt

305-978-1056 or jsalt@catholics-united.org

Chris Korzen

202-903-0856 or ckorzen@catholics-united.org

Catholic League’s Bill Donohue Continues Partisan Attacks

Washington, D.C. – Catholics United executive director Chris Korzen issued the following statement today in response to Catholic League president Bill Donohue’s latest attack on Sen. Barack Obama:

“Today Bill Donohue issued a set of frivolous comments on Rev. Michael Pfleger’s recent inappropriate remarks about Hillary Clinton. Instead of focusing on the nature of Pfleger’s remarks, Mr. Donohue chose the unfortunate path of using the incident to question the character of Sen. Barack Obama. Catholics United is concerned that Donohue’s comments appear part of a systematic campaign to influence the outcome of the upcoming presidential election by maligning Sen. Obama to Catholic voters.”

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
CONTACT

Karl Frisch (202) 471-3205

kfrisch@mediamattersaction.org

Fear and Loathing: Immigration Edition

Special Report Documents Rhetoric and Hysteria Surrounding Illegal Immigration on Cable News

Dobbs, O’Reilly, and Beck “serve up a steady diet of fear, anger, and resentment on illegal immigration”

Report Attached as PDF and Available Online at:

www.mediamattersaction.org/fearandloathing

Washington, D.C. -- Media Matters Action Network today released “Fear and Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News,” a special report documenting the rhetoric surrounding illegal immigration heard almost daily on influential cable news channels. The report exposes how cable news overflows not only with vitriol regarding immigration, but also with a series of myths that feed viewers’ unfounded resentments and fears. Leading the charge are CNN’s Lou Dobbs, CNN Headline News’ Glenn Beck, and Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, all of whom have played major roles in creating this anti-immigrant hysteria.

Hong Kong, April 30, 3pm:

***** The Pillar of Shame painted Orange *****

The eight meter tall sculpture The Pillar of Shame
was today painted orange by the Chinese Democracy Movement

We have just received photos and uploaded them to the internet at:
http://www.thecolororange.net/uk/page160

The authorities had tried to obstruct the painting of the sculpture by denying the Danish artist Jens Galschiot and his staff access to Hong Kong as they landed in the airport on April 26. The expulsion has caused wide discussions in Hong Kong about whether China is now introducing their own visa rules and censorship on to Hong Kong. The Danish artist has been in Hong Kong several times before and is known for making peaceful art installations. He has put up The Pillar of Shame which has become a renowned memorial about the massacre on the Tienanmen square in Beijing 1989.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Progressive Faith Newswire: The Center for Progressive Christianity