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Contents © 1998
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

February 1998 LITTLE NOTES

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On abortion funding, Zettel -- who pointed out that she attended parochial schools through the 12th grade -- said, "As a taxpayer I don't particularly support the use of my money in this area, but by the same token I think that what we need to do is make sure there are resources available (for) the prevention of pregnancy." Pressed for a yes or no answer on whether she would vote to provide abortion funding under the state's Medi-Cal program, Zettel paused and answered, "I don't know." Asked if she would vote to fund contraceptive implants for indigent women, she said she would look at the cost effectiveness of such programs, but reiterated, "I would support family planning efforts -- birth control, medication, devices..."


CATHOLIC ON-LINE will provide free e-mail accounts for any Catholic worldwide, even those without computers. Catholic On-Line Webmail is accessible by using your existing Internet provider or through Internet access provided by libraries, schools, and other public institutions. It will allow Catholics around the world to directly communicate on the Internet.

To sign up for a free e-mail account, go to http://webmail. catholic.org on the Internet. All addresses will end with "@catholic.org." Organizations interested in advertising to Catholics worldwide through this site should contact Catholic On-Line at 1-805-869-1000 or e-mail catholic@catholic.org.

Liturgical Publications of St. Louis, Inc. recently launched a comprehensive website for Catholics, the Catholic Community Forum, which is located at www.catholic-forum.com on the Internet. The website provides simplified access to information about the Church on the local and worldwide levels. It also includes the sites of seminaries, Catholic organizations, and the Vatican, along with informational sites on Catholic teaching, doctrine, saints, and miracles. For more information, contact Liturgical Publications of St. Louis at 1-314- 394-7000 or 1-800-876-7000.


FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS a parish priest in the downtown area has asked every day during the Prayers of the Faithful for God's grace that "our president, vice-president fight abortion rather than promoting it as they do." Starting earlier in the year the priest was saying, "our president, vice-president, and our representative Brian Bilbray." (Does the priest know pro-abort Republican Bilbray and his wife claim to be practicing Catholics?) Last fall the priest deleted Bilbray and said, "our president, vice-president, and Hillary." And now he's taken to praying for all those Catholics who voted for Clinton.


PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST Connie Youngkin was tried January 8 in El Cajon Municipal Court for disturbing a high school campus when she brought graphic posters of aborted babies and handed out pro-life literature to students at Spring Valley's Mount Miguel High School last October 28. Youngkin says she entered the campus as school ended and did not disrupt any classes or campus activities. Her defense was California Penal Code section 626.8, which states: "The provisions of this section shall not be utilized to impinge upon the lawful exercise of constitutionally protected rights of freedom of speech or assembly."

Judge Lance Lewis found Youngkin guilty and sentenced her to three years' probation, basing his decision on the state education code, which specifies that a visitor to a school campus must leave if requested to do so. Lewis admitted Youngkin hadn't actually disturbed the campus, but said that he convicted her in part because there was a "potential" for her activities to disturb the campus. Youngkin points out that the education code contradicts both the state penal code and Law in the Schools, issued by the state department of justice. The latter, says Youngkin, allows for entry and distribution of literature on campus provided that such activity does not disturb classes or other campus activities.

"The principal's rule [defining disturbing the campus] interestingly applied only to abortion discussion and no other topic," notes Rick Vattuone, Youngkin's attorney. "In 1960s and '70s, war protesters were allowed to go on campus with impunity. There is a new ad hoc rule for abortion activists, apparently." Vattuone has filed an appeal.


"STEVE CASILLO OVER AT KOGO, the Roger Hedgecock Show, mailed me a newspaper that we made the front page -- top of the fold, by the way." So said KGB-FM deejay Dave Rickards after the January 7 installment of "Lash Wednesday," the on-air "bit" in which the morning team of Rickards, Shelly Dunn, and Cookie "Chainsaw" Randolph mock the sacrament of confession. The newspaper was News Notes, which last month wrote about the fact that local media had not covered a press conference called by the Catholic League and others to draw attention to the problem of offensive prime-time radio material. The article was headlined "There's a Group Called the Catholic League and They Hate Everybody," which Rickards admitted was a direct quote from him. But, he said, "the very next day I got on the air and the first thing I did was apologize for that statement because I thought it was, uh, it was inaccurate, unfair, and a blanket generalization."

For the next 15 minutes or so Rickards read through the article while he and the others made fun of it. At the account of how all four local TV news affiliates sent camera crews to the press conference but did not air coverage, Rickards said, "I can tell you why they didn't put it on TV...And I'm telling you right now, two words: You are boring!"

"You got [local Catholic League chapter president] Carl Horst up there at a microphone," interjected Randolph in a thick Scandinavian accent, "sweating like Chris Farley in a sauna, saying that 'Lash Wednesday' is no good..."

"Click," said Rickards. "...Gone." He continued reading: "'The San Diego diocese' -- this is the actual, official Catholic Church -- 'has a policy not to comment' to this newspaper that wrote this. Do you know why? You're lu-lu!" Co-host Dunn laughed. "That's why!" Rickards said. "They don't want to talk to people who are lu-lu!"

"And you're looking for trouble," added Dunn. "Shut up, go to church, and do what they tell you to do."

Rickards, reading: "'In December a spokeswoman' -- I guess for the diocese -- 'told a caller concerned about "Lash Wednesday," 'There may have been comments by pastors or different clergy out there, but there has been no formal diocesan statement.' You know why? They don't care. They don't care!...They get it. It's a bit!"

Then a caller named Kelly dialed in: "Well you kind of covered it, talking about the bias of that paper, but I'm one of those Catholics who that's the newspaper I love to hate. They hate everything about the diocese. They think that Catholics are too liberal, if you can believe that. They criticize your show, obviously. They criticize the local Catholic schools for teaching sex education. They criticize local Catholic schools for taking their kids to Disneyland because Disneyland has the whole homosexual policy.... They would like everything to go back to like the pre-change days when you couldn't do anything, you couldn't have any fun because it was bad, and you should feel guilty and you should kill yourself because you're going to hell anyway."

"It's not helping the cause," Rickards responded. "This News Notes and people like the Catholic League are a great big gun that's aimed at the foot of the Catholic Church."

"Yeah, exactly," said Kelly.

"So these are people who don't like the fact that Mass is not said in Latin anymore," said Dunn.

"Right, uh-huh," said Kelly.

"They don't like the fact that nuns are able to wear street clothes and a little bit of makeup," Dunn continued. "...They don't like any of those changes that were made in the '60s that made the Church a little more accessible to people...."

Kelly: "Yeah. So just from another Catholic, you're right, it's the paper that most Catholics are embarrassed about."

"Oh, it's so aggravating to read," said Rickards.

"No credibility," said caller Kelly.

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