WASHINGTON, April 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Calls by prominent Catholic organizations grew stronger as American Life League demands that HBO fire Bill Maher for his hate-speech directed at Pope Benedict XVI on April 11th.

The call to fire Bill Maher comes after several Catholic organizations and media outlets expressed their shock at Maher's attack on the Catholic Church just days before Pope Benedict XVI was scheduled to visit the United States. Maher's "New Rules" segment has been openly criticized for its anti-Catholic tone on several Catholic and independent media outlets.

"If Maher had made equally vile comments about a Muslim or Jewish leader, the media would be jammed with calls for HBO to fire him," said Judie Brown, president of American Life League. "But because he attacked the Catholic Church, the vast majority of the media is silent. It seems that anti-Catholicism is the last remaining acceptable prejudice left in America."

American Life League's website, http://www.firebillmaher.com/, contains the offending video clip of Maher's more than three minute rant, calling Pope Benedict XVI a "Nazi" and "the leader of a pedophile cult." A petition to have Maher fired, a call for HBO subscribers to cancel their subscriptions until Maher is fired, and a summary of Maher's history of anti-Catholic hate-speech is also available on the website.

"When Sinead O'Conner tore a picture of Pope John Paul II in half during a broadcast of Saturday Night Live in 1992, media and celebrities on the left and right denounced the act," said Brown. "Bill Maher's vile commentary went far beyond that."

American Life League was co-founded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Michael Hichborn at 540.659.7900.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: American Life League: Fire Bill Maher (17 April 2008) http://www.firebillmaher.com/

CNS News: 'Nazi' Pope Runs 'Child-Abusing Cult,' Says HBO's Maher (15 April 2008)

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200804/CUL200 80415b.html

News Busters: Bill Maher: Pope 'Used to be a Nazi'; Compares Church to Cult, Bear Stearns (14 April 2008)

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2008/04/14/bill-maher-pope-used -be-nazi-compares-church-cult-bear-stearns

Denver Post: Don Imus Fired by CBS (12 April 2007) http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5652023

Washington Post: 'Seinfeld' Comic Richards Apologizes for Racial Rant (21 November 2006)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/21/AR20061121 00242.html

CONTACT: Michael Hichborn

540.226.9178 | mhichborn@all.org

CONTACT: Michael Hichborn of American Life League, +1-540-226-9178,
mhichborn@all.org

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