The “Miracle on West Washington Street”
— Posted by John (December 20, 2006 at 3:56 pm)
Thanks to the tireless efforts of Jim Finnegan, one of our longtime supporters, and his attorney, Tom Brejcha — who also represented my boss, Joe Scheidler, during his 20-year court battle with NOW — the trailers for the movie The Nativity Story are now playing in Chicago’s Daley Plaza:
CHICAGO, Dec. 20 — As the holiday season of Christmas looms every nearer, Catholics and other Christians welcomed the City of Chicago’s stunning reversal of its earlier denial to air film clips of the movie “The Nativity Story” at the Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago.
Earlier, Jim Law, Chicago’s Executive Director of Special Events had denied New Line Cinema permission to show a trailer for the movie The Nativity Story at a Christmas festival in downtown Chicago. Law stated that the trailer would be “insensitive to the many people of different faiths.”
Several days after this denial, the Nativity Scene Committee, led by Jim Finnegan, which has erected a nativity scene on the Daley Center Plaza for several years, amended its permit last week and demanded the Committee be allowed to show film clips of The Nativity Story as part of their religious display. Finnegan’s attorney, Thomas Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society, assisted by attorney John Mauck, threatened litigation, and the City backed down on its unconstitutional discrimination against this religious speech and expression on Chicago’s Daley Center Plaza. The film trailer will begin running 11 am Wednesday, December 20th on Daley Plaza located at 50 West Washington Street in Chicago.
“For years our client has been the private sponsor of the life size display of the manger depicting the birth of Jesus at Daley Plaza. Now with The Nativity Story movie, they can supplement that display with visual content that brings the message of the Messiah’s birth to life,” said Brejcha (pronounced “Brekka”). “We are pleased the City has backed off its initial, unconstitutional attempt to stifle this religious expression,” Brejcha added.
“While the City of Chicago might feel it has to avoid endorsing religious speech, the Constitution and a number of Supreme Court decisions make clear that citizens and private organizations have a right to religious expression in the public square,” said John Mauck with Mauck & Baker, whose firm also represents Finnegan.“The right to show this trailer was settled in 1989 when the federal district court issued an agreed order that gave permission to erect the nativity scene and other free-standing, privately funded religious displays on the Daley Center Plaza without discrimination and without regard to the content of their expressions. Freedom of religious expression in the public square is a protected right,” said Brejcha. “And the Thomas More Society will not allow those wishing to express their Christian views in the public forum to be shoved to the back of the civil rights bus,” he added.
Thomas More Society Chairman Jennifer Neubauer had earlier secured her client’s right to erect a privately funded nativity scene on the Daley Center Plaza by prevailing in a 1989 case against the City of Chicago and the ACLU. With this precedent clearly establishing the right to freedom of religious expression in Chicago’s public square, the City’s recent discrimination against The Nativity Story was blatantly illegal.
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Lauren says:
I’m shocked that you guys haven’t put any spin on the recent Guttmacher report about abstinence.
Comment posted December 21st, 2006 at 11:12 am
John says:
Lauren,
Mark Shea pretty much summed it up.
(BTW: Your comment pertains to this post…how, exactly?)
Comment posted December 21st, 2006 at 11:32 am
lauren says:
I guess I should’ve put it on the other post that mentioned what I was talking about. Oops, there wasn’t one.
Your link did not link to anything I was referring to. I’m just wondering why you haven’t posted anything about it. Also, there is nothing miraculous about this ridiculous waste of time. Spend your time feeding someone and instead of spending the money to a nativity scene there are people literally blocks away that are in need of shelter and warm clothes. Tis the season!
Comment posted December 21st, 2006 at 2:22 pm
CC says:
Lauren, it is possible to do both… my old church not only sets up a very elaborate live nativity experience (kind of like a play but a walk-through), but they also distribute the most food to those in need every year—not just during Christmas, but year round.
Comment posted December 21st, 2006 at 4:27 pm
lauren says:
In my eyes, idolatry has always bothered me.. But i guess that’s why I couldn’t stand being Catholic. Whatever works I guess, but i think it’s hypocrisy.
Comment posted December 21st, 2006 at 4:45 pm
mary kay says:
Better to save all that idolizing and adoration for oneself I suppose…
MK
Comment posted December 22nd, 2006 at 5:32 am
mary kay says:
Lauren,
Perhaps you couldn’t stand being Catholic because it required you to face truths that you didn’t want to face and change behaviors that you didn’t want to change.
Being a Catholic or a Christian is not easy. If it was, everyone would do it. But the truth is being a Catholic requires admitting that you don’t know everything, that there is a higher authority, that you must deny your “self” and love Someone more than your own being, and that you must act accordingly. I could be wrong, but I suspect being Catholic was just too plain difficult.
# “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” - Chapter 5, What’s Wrong With The World, 1910 G K Chesterton
MK
Comment posted December 22nd, 2006 at 9:35 am
lauren says:
No. I didnt want to be a catholic because 99% of the people are hypocrites and secondly catholics ignore like half of what’s actually in the Bible.
Religion does not equal morals.
Comment posted December 22nd, 2006 at 12:46 pm
John says:
No. I didnt want to be a catholic because 99% of the people are hypocrites…
Actually, Lauren, you’re wrong. It’s not 99% of Catholics who are hypocrites.
It’s 100%.
We believe that we should act in a certain way and avoid sin, and try to be a good example to others. But we end up doing the opposite of what we should, and we sin. A lot.
So as much as we’d like to not be hypocrites, we are hypocrites.
If that’s a reason why you’ve left the Church, it’s a pretty lame one — not to mention an extraordinarily unoriginal one.
and secondly catholics ignore like half of what’s actually in the Bible.
What I said above applies here as well.
Religion does not equal morals.
Whoever said it did?
Comment posted December 22nd, 2006 at 1:29 pm
Pansy Moss says:
and secondly catholics ignore like half of what’s actually in the Bible.
What I said above applies here as well.
I think she means in doctrine, not practice.
John, like you said, we are all hypocrits. It makes it kind of hard to look at us and say we are doing something wrong by celebrating Christmas while people are starving when you refuse to give up lingerie to give to the needy and wear a burlap sack while people are starving…
Comment posted December 22nd, 2006 at 1:38 pm
John says:
Pansy said: “I think she means in doctrine, not practice.”
Oh, I know. I just didn’t feel like opening up that can of worms.
Perhaps a better reply would have been to say, “Which half of the Bible do Catholics ignore?”
Comment posted December 22nd, 2006 at 1:55 pm
mary kay says:
Just to add a thought…
People who are Catholic that are actually trying to live up to the Catholic ideal, are called practicing Catholics. Not accomplished Catholics, but practicing. If I only went places where everyone did what they said they would do, or “never sinned” I’d never be able to go anywhere. I’d rather hang with people who are at least attempting to attain a higher standard than those who say it can’t be done, therefore don’t even try.
But that’s okay Lauren. With “practice” even you might get the hang of it.
MK
Comment posted December 22nd, 2006 at 3:29 pm
mary kay says:
One more thing.
99% of people are hypocrites. Do you want to drop out of the human race too?
mk
Comment posted December 22nd, 2006 at 3:31 pm