In a 1999 New York Times article, a reporter said Donohue is pragmatic in regards to religion, "media savvy" and "steers clear of divisive debates on theological doctrines and secular politics".
[13] The article said Donohue "fans simmering anger with inflammatory news releases, a Web site and newsletter"[13] with "scathing attacks on the blasphemous and the irreverent".
The league also has board of advisors, consisting of prominent lay Catholics like Brent Bozell, Linda Chavez, Mary Ann Glendon, Alan Keyes, Tom Monaghan, and George Weigel.
[citation needed] John Cardinal O'Connor spoke at the group's 25th anniversary reception in 1998 and vacated part of his suite for its expanding operations, said Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York.
[18] Annual donations entitle members to home delivery of the print version of Catalyst, the group's monthly journal, which is also available for free on the Catholic League's website.
[28] Donohue questioned the point of the song and brought up her activism calling for support of Rock for Choice and other pro-choice groups stating, "It is no wonder that Joan Osborne instructs her fans to donate their time and money to Planned Parenthood.
"[29] Religious educator Paul Moses stated that Donohue's was a "tortured reading" and he saw Osborne as having "the Catholic imagination" with the song "awakening ... spiritual hunger".
[31][32] Calling for a boycott, he stated that the show portrayed Catholics with a traditional view as cold or cruel while glorifying more the maverick, irreverent voices in the community.
[citation needed] The film's distributor, Miramax, removed its name from the production, and hired attorney Dan Petrocelli to defend it publicly.
Donohue responded by taking out an op-ed ad in the New York Times on September 12, 1999, quoting attempts by Petrocelli and Smith to stifle his free speech.
On the December 8, 2004, broadcast of Scarborough Country, he stated: "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular.
"[40] In Donohue's book, Secular Sabotage: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America, he responded to what he believed was a misrepresentation of his comments via taking them out of context.
"[42] Donohue demanded that John Edwards fire two of his presidential campaign staffers in February 2007, charging that they were "anti-Catholic, vulgar, trash-talking bigots."
He cited a blog written by Amanda Marcotte regarding the church's opposition to birth control, saying it forces women "to bear more tithing Catholics".
On February 8, John Edwards addressed the writings of the staffers, Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan, saying "that kind of intolerant language will not be permitted from anyone on my campaign, whether it's intended as satire, humor or anything else.
After the complaints, Marcotte wrote, "The Christian version of the virgin birth is generally interpreted as super-patriarchal where God is viewed as so powerful he can impregnate without befouling himself by touching a woman, and women are nothing but vessels."
[62][63] On his blog Pharyngula, biologist and University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) professor PZ Myers publicly expressed support for Cook as well as outrage that Fox News appeared to be inciting readers to cause further problems for the student.
[69] The Catholic League also called for Cook to be expelled from the university, with Donohue describing his confiscation of the Eucharist as a hate crime as well as a form of kidnapping.
"[citation needed] Under the leadership of Donohue, the Catholic League organized a boycott of the hotel aimed at forcing it to remove the statue.
[72] The Catholic League has blamed the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), for having "hired, hidden, defended, enabled, ignored and concealed the crimes of child molesters.
"[84] In November 2010, a portion of a video by the late artist David Wojnarowicz, which was included in an exhibit focused on gay-themed art, "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture" at the National Portrait Gallery, was removed after complaints from the Catholic League.
[85] Columnist Frank Rich said of the intervention and removal that the Smithsonian had been "bullied by bigots" and quoted the Los Angeles Times art critic, Christopher Knight, to the same effect.
[86] Tracing the evolution of the issue, Rich cited a piece by Kriston Capps which in turn said "the role of Penny Starr remains hazy.
[88] Responding to David Kertzer's book and Alfred Uhry's play about the Mortara case, in which a Jewish boy was kidnapped on the order of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, the Catholic League charged: "Whether it's based on fact or fiction, or whether it’s portrayed on the stage or on the screen, the Catholic bashers are a busy lot these days.
It is hosted by Mercedes Schlapp and features interviews with Donohue, Tony Perkins, Ben Carson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Miranda Devine, Brent Bozell, David Horowitz, and Christian Toto.
[92][93] When the Los Angeles Dodgers planned their annual Pride Night in 2023, they invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a charity group of gay men who dress up as nuns to bring attention to sexual intolerance and gender.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue sent a letter to commissioner Rob Manfred comparing the group's performances to blackface.
[100] In 1999, the Jesuit priest James Martin, the associate editor of the Catholic magazine America wrote "Often their criticism is right on target, but frequently they speak without seeing or experiencing what they are critiquing, and that undercuts their credibility.
On December 3, 2018, our case, handled by Pittsburgh lawyers from Jones Day, won: the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in our favor.
In November 2019, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court task force, which had been empaneled two years earlier, vindicated our effort: it recommended abolishing grand-jury reports.