Christian Leaders Call for a 'Ceasefire in the Christmas Culture Wars'

Washington, DC - Catholic social justice leaders and Evangelical Christians called for a "ceasefire" in the Christmas culture wars challenging Bill O'Reilly and others who have lashed out against a so-called secular "War on Christmas" to join them in a campaign that restores a focus on the common good during this holy season. In an "Open Letter to Christmas Culture Warriors" the group says that outrage over some department stores using "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" is a distraction from the profound moral challenges we face in confronting the threats to human dignity in our world.

To sign on to the statement, visit the Christmas Campaign website www.ChristmasCampaign.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, December 03, 2007

Christian Leaders Call for a 'Ceasefire in the Christmas Culture Wars'

Open Letter Urges Bill O'Reilly, Bill Donohue and John Gibson to Join a Campaign that focuses on the Common Good

Washington, DC- Catholic social justice leaders, religious sisters and evangelical Christians have called for a "ceasefire" in the Christmas culture wars and challenged Bill O'Reilly and others who have lashed out against a so-called secular "War on Christmas" to join them in a campaign that restores a focus on the common good during this holy season.

In an "Open Letter to Christmas Culture Warriors" published as an advertisement in the New York Post, Washington Times and the National Catholic Reporter, the group says that outrage over some department stores using "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" is a distraction from the profound moral challenges we face in confronting the threats to human dignity in our world.

"We believe the real assault on Christmas is how a season of peace, forgiveness and goodwill has been sidelined by a focus on excessive consumerism," the letter states. "The powerful message Christ brings to the world is 'good news for the poor.' Instead, Christmas is being reduced to a corporate-sponsored holiday that idolizes commerce and materialism."

The letter will be published in the Dec. 4 issue of the Washington Times and New York Post and in the Dec. 14 issue of the National Catholic Reporter. Fox News commentator John Gibson's 2005 book, The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse Than You Thought, denounced what he and other pundits describe as a secular agenda intent on destroying Christmas and driving religion from the public square. William Donohue, executive director of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, has warned of "cultural fascists" taking over Christmas. Bill O'Reilly has made the "War on Christmas" a prominent seasonal feature of his popular Fox broadcast.

"Christmas marks a season of hope, peace and the light of justice illuminating the dark corners of our world," said Alexia Kelley, Executive Director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. "At a time of a real war in Iraq, and 37 million of our American neighbors living in poverty, we should be focusing on promoting peace and human dignity in our world."

"When we consider the true meaning of Christmas, its sacredness is not validated by prescribed greetings or slogans in department stores," said Rev. Derrick Harkins, Senior Pastor of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC and a board member of the evangelical humanitarian relief agency World Relief. "If we are truly serious about the importance of Christmas, we will remember that its message of love and hope was shared with disenfranchised shepherds first, which should prompt us to be far more concerned with how the season is shared in word and deed with the poor and hurting among us."

Click here to view the complete text of the letter and the signatories.

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