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Anti-Pope Billboard Angers Oregon Catholics

MEDFORD, Oregon, Aug 3, 01 (CWNews.com) - Oregon Catholics have demanded the removal of highway billboard that says, "The Pope is the Antichrist."

The sign on an interstate highway outside Medford was paid for by Larry Weathers, a member of the Rogue Valley Historical Seventh-Day Adventist Church, a splinter group that broke off from the main Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

The Catholic Sentinel newspaper ran an editorial urging western Oregon's 290,000 Catholics to call Outdoor Media Dimensions, which leased the sign, and demand removal. A spokesman for Outdoor Media said the billboard does not express company opinion.

"We're not against Catholics or against their religion, just the political, religious organization of the Vatican," said Weathers.

http://www.cwnews.com/browse/2001/08/16118.htm 

ANTI-POPE BILLBOARD ANGERS OREGON CATHOLICS

MEDFORD, Oregon, Aug 3, 01 (CWNews.com) - Oregon Catholics have demanded the removal of highway billboard that says, "The Pope is the Antichrist."
The sign on an interstate highway outside Medford was paid for by Larry Weathers, a member of the Rogue Valley Historical Seventh-Day Adventist Church, a splinter group that broke off from the main Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

The Catholic Sentinel newspaper ran an editorial urging western Oregon's 290,000 Catholics to call Outdoor Media Dimensions, which leased the sign, and demand removal. A spokesman for Outdoor Media said the billboard does not express company opinion. "We're not against Catholics or against their religion, just the political, religious organization of the Vatican," said Weathers.

Mary Jo Tully, of Portland's Archdiocese, said similar billboard messages have appeared around Western Oregon since 1993. 

According to the Catholic League website, for the past week, Catholic League policy staff members have been calling Outdoor Media Dimensions for the purpose of placing a billboard in the same location as the offensive Catholic-bashing ad. The woman who answers says she will pass along the information to Steve, but neither he nor anyone else returns their calls.

Catholic League president William Donohue spoke about the billboard: 

“In the pages of the July 22 edition of the Catholic Sentinel, the diocesan newspaper of Portland, it is reported that an upper-level manager for Outdoor Media Dimensions justifies the anti-Catholic billboard by saying ‘the company believes in freedom of speech.’

 I don’t believe them. Now here’s how they can prove me wrong. 

I have a proposal, one that the company continues to snub. The Catholic League is prepared to pay for a billboard along Interstate 5 near Medford that reads, ‘Outdoor Media Dimensions Sponsors Anti-Catholicism.’ If free speech is their god, they’ll go for it. But the fact that they won’t even entertain our offer tells us everything. Nevertheless, it would be great if the local media could squeeze them to speak. After all, true free speech advocates should not be allergic to speaking freely.” 

http://www.ewtn.com/news/index.htm 

Pope billboard ignites Catholic outrage, death threats

By Joe Kovacs
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. – A billboard proclaiming the pope is the Antichrist has unleashed the wrath of the Catholic community, sparked a debate over First Amendment rights, and led to death threats against the man behind the message.

The red, white and blue sign, located along Interstate-5 just north of Medford, Oregon reads, "The POPE Is The ANTICHRIST, Free Proof," and provides a website address for more information.

"It was like, 'Oh my God, why would anyone want to do that?'" exclaims Rose Khng describing her initial reaction to the billboard. "It was very offensive, extremely."

Larry Weathers, a 50-year-old barber from the small town of Talent, sponsored the sign. He says he has no intention of taking it down, despite a flurry of death threats.

"As long as they're threatening this and not shooting," Weathers tells WorldNetDaily. "And they've got to go through God [to kill me]. If He says it's all right, then I can't argue with that."

Weathers has been flooded with reaction – both negative and positive – since an editorial published this week in the Catholic Sentinel urged the public to call for the sign's removal. The Portland-based publication bills itself as the oldest Catholic newspaper on the West Coast.

"It's just about 50-50," Weathers says of the nature of the calls. "Many people tell me what my mother is for bringing me into this world."

Meanwhile, officials with the Catholic Church are by no means turning the other cheek, and are encouraging the public to become more vocal about the billboard.

"By saying the pope is the personage of Satan, that really grates off on Catholics," says Bud Bunce, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Portland.

Bunce is also critical of the company allowing it to be posted, Outdoor Media Dimensions.

"This is not a First Amendment issue; it's not a free-speech issue," Bunce tells WorldNetDaily. "It's a matter of what kind of advertising that a media outlet will accept ... [a billboard] is not a media outlet you can turn off like a car radio."

Bunce says he has called Outdoor Media Dimensions on several occasions to discuss the matter, but has yet to receive a return call.

The company, when contacted by WorldNetDaily, would not comment on the matter.

A prepared statement reads, "The content expressed on billboards leased by Outdoor Media Dimensions does not in any way express the opinion or beliefs of our company or staff."

"It's no big deal. The sign's been up for years," says Alan Herson, Outdoor Media Dimensions' attorney. Herson's son served as president of the company until this month. The elder Herson explains the billboard company was sold to two Seattle residents, whom he did not wish to identify. Herson says the sale was unrelated to the uproar over the pope billboard.

Meantime, Weathers has been assured by the company that his sign would remain on display. The current billboard was erected two months ago, but a previous sign with a similar message had been up for two years.

"We had hoped that it would just go away," says Bunce. "That hasn't happened."

When visitors log onto the website referenced on the billboard, they are greeted by a well-known piece of classical music, "Toccata and Fugue," by Johann Sebastian Bach. Viewers are encouraged to leave their name and address to be sent a book at no charge.

The book, "National Sunday Law" by Jan Marcussen, is an examination of biblical prophecy, and makes the case that the pope is the Antichrist and a key figure in world events heralding the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It purports that the American public may even expect laws to be passed enforcing the sanctity of Sunday, including possible bans on working on that day.

Weathers contends any examination of end-time prophecy will clearly demonstrate that the pope is identified in the Bible as the "man of sin," "son of perdition" and "whore of Babylon."

"I wasn't looking to join a church, I just wanted to join the truth," explains Weathers, who meets with about 40 people as part of The Rogue Valley Historic Seventh-day Adventists (which has no connection to, and is shunned by the more well-known Seventh-day Adventists.)

It was Weathers' belief that the seventh day of the week, Saturday, is the Sabbath day of rest for followers of God that originally prompted him to post billboards. It has been a labor of love for him since 1993.

Despite the harsh rhetoric and threats against his life, Weathers insists he's neither hateful nor bigoted in any manner. In fact, he believes he's acting out of love for Catholics and the public at large. He likens himself to Noah of the Old Testament who warned of coming catastrophe unless people repented and followed God.

"I can't see Noah saying 'Forget about all those raindrops!' as he's shutting the door to the ark," laughs Weathers. "Noah warned 'em and that's what we're doing."

"It's no different from yelling 'Fire!' to save people from being burned," he adds.

Rose Khng, a member of the Valley View Seventh-day Adventist Church in Medford doesn't see it that way.

"If someone is yelling, 'Fire!' ... everyone recognizes fire is a danger," she says. "But if someone is yelling 'The pope is the Antichrist!' then they're not going to respond in the same way. How are you going to reach someone by offending them?"

In the Sermon on the Mount recorded in the 5th chapter of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told his disciples, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."

When asked if Christians should expect to hear statements that are offensive to them, Bunce at the archdiocese responded, "I don't necessarily assume that because I'm a Christian, people will attack me." - Joe Kovacs is a news editor for WorldNetDaily.com

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=23831 

July 31, 2001

OREGON BILLBOARD COMPANY SNUBS CATHOLIC LEAGUE OFFER

“The Pope is the Antichrist,” is what the billboard owned by Outdoor Media Dimensions says.  Paid for by Larry Weathers, a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Remnant Ministries (a splinter group of the Seventh Day Adventists), the anti-Catholic ad is posted on Interstate 5 near Medford, Oregon, in the southern part of the state.  Many such ads have appeared since 1993 in that part of Oregon.  Local Catholics have protested the latest attack and so have many non-Catholics.

For the past week, Catholic League policy staff members have been calling Outdoor Media Dimensions for the purpose of placing a billboard in the same location as the offensive Catholic-bashing ad.  The woman who answers says she will pass along the information to Steve, but neither he nor anyone else returns our calls.  Today, when we requested to speak to Jeff Herson (an employee whose name was printed in a local newspaper), we were told that he no longer works at the company.

Catholic League president William Donohue spoke to this issue today:

“In the pages of the July 22 edition of the Catholic Sentinel, the diocesan newspaper of Portland, it is reported that an upper-level manager for Outdoor Media Dimensions justifies the anti-Catholic billboard by saying ‘the company believes in freedom of speech.’  I don’t believe them.  Now  here’s how they can prove me wrong.

“I have a proposal, one that the company continues to snub.  The Catholic League is prepared to pay for a billboard along Interstate 5 near Medford that reads, ‘Outdoor Media Dimensions Sponsors Anti-Catholicism.’  If free speech is their god, they’ll go for it.  But the fact that they won’t even entertain our offer tells us everything.  Nevertheless, it would be great if the local media could squeeze them to speak.  After all, true free speech advocates should not be allergic to speaking freely

http://www.catholicleague.com/01press_releases/pr0301.htm 

The contract runs out next May between the billboard company and the anti-Catholic group that rents this billboard.

Billboard company won’t renew ‘Antichrist’ billboard contract

MEDFORD — After receiving hundreds of angry phone calls, a southern Oregon billboard company will not renew a contract for a sign that calls the pope the Antichrist.

The sign, on Interstate 5 near the small town of Gold Hill, will stay up until May 2002, when the contract expires, says Steve Croft, general manager of sales for Medford-based Outdoor Media Dimensions.

"Now that the principals know what the message of the sign really is and how it has bothered people, they will not accept any more of these messages," Croft says.

Following an Archdiocese of Portland public campaign, pressure mounted on Outdoor Media Dimensions via phone calls and newspaper articles. A short statement repeated more than 300 times by receptionists early this week said that the company does not believe the message of the offending sign, but supports free speech.

But then the firm’s controller, Carl Park, began calling church leaders to announce that his business will no longer take on advertising with anti-Catholic messages.

"It was not our intention to harm anyone in any way," Park says.

Croft and Park say the sign, which appeared in May, will need to stay up until next spring because the contract with Rogue Valley Historic Seventh-day Adventist Church is legally binding.

The company leads the billboard market in the region, selling space to major advertisers such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Dodge trucks and Super 8 Motels. The hotel chains Best Western and Shiloh Inn and the Casino Seven Feathers also do business with the firm.

The controversy apparently hastened a corporate shake-up at Outdoor Media Dimensions. An employee reports that the regional sales manager, Jeff Herson, has been fired and the firm bought by an undisclosed Seattle company. Officials would discuss neither the dismissal nor the sale. Ackerley Outdoors, the largest Seattle business that deals in billboards, this week denied making the purchase.

In 1993, Herson vowed to stop placing billboards that called the pope "the man of sin." He did admit anger at what he called his critics’ lack of openness to free speech.

A few years later, Herson again began posting messages given by a Talent barber named Larry Weathers. Some signs criticized veneration of Mary; others questioned the Sunday sabbath. Weathers, who recently moved to Hawaii, is the leader of Rogue Valley Historic Seventh-day Adventist Church, formerly SDA Remnant Ministries.

In the past few years, Weathers has been the only Outdoor Media Dimensions customer interested in using the Gold Hill sign, which is unlighted and partially blocked by trees.

"It is not a great location," says Croft. "He seems to be the only one who wants it."

Weathers, who says his congregation of 40 people received much support from out of state, paid almost $5,000 to keep the sign posted for a year.

Weathers is part of a loose association of renegade Seventh-day Adventists who believe the papacy is leading a plot to undermine modern liberties. The intrigue was prophesied in the Bible, adherents claim, referring to The Great Controversy, a book written in the 1840s by Ellen White, a prophetess of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

"The Bible in no way comes out and damns the Catholic people," Weathers told the Sentinel in 1994. "If they follow Christ and are Christ-like, that is fine. It is when people obey a system instead of Christ, than there is a problem."

Nationwide, dozens of congregations calling themselves "Historic Seventh-day Adventists" cling to anti-Catholic beliefs that mainline Adventists cast aside decades ago.

One leader in the movement estimates a U.S. following of about 400,000. Some of the well-heeled splinter groups share costs with local sympathizers in other regions, hoping to spread their message via billboards, newspaper ads, leaflets and even radio programs.

A large Florida congregation, Eternal Gospel Church, recently lost a court case and was barred from using the name "Adventist" and the acronym "SDA."

Catholic leaders in southern Oregon are speaking out about the billboard, but don’t want to further ignite anti-Catholic sentiment.

"Our concern is that if we make too much out of it. it’s liable to become a freedom of speech thing, and we lose," says Dominican Father Raymond Finerty, vicar of Catholics in southern Oregon. "There is not much we can legally do other than appeal to the community."

Father Liam Cary, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Medford, urged parishioners and anyone concerned to speak up about what he calls "a deliberate gratuitous insult" against Catholics.

"This lowers the level of civility, which is the basis of social peace," says Father Cary. "If that same billboard had a statement against Jews, against Blacks, against Hispanics, there would rightly be an outcry against it."

Leaders at the Archdiocese of Portland have countered the idea that free speech means the billboard should be kept in place. Freedoms intended to promote the common good, understanding and tolerance are being used to promote bias and discrimination, they say.

"While it may be legal, it cannot be morally justified," says Mary Jo Tully, chancellor and director of ecumenical and interreligious affairs for the Archdiocese of Portland. "We stand by the right to free speech, but no one has the right to issue blanket attacks against a community of faith."

Tully called for the groups to end anti-Catholic "diatribes" and instead embrace the "Gospel values" that Christians share.

The leader of the state’s ecumenical organization says messages like the one found on the Gold Hill billboard too often can incite hate and perhaps even violence.

"There is no place for this in Oregon," says David Leslie of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. "Freedom of speech comes with responsibility. We know good and well that words do mean a lot and are rallying cries and messages for those who live by hate. I don’t know if Mr. Weathers means to rally the troops, but he can’t control everyone. It opens the doors to hate."

During the campaigns over physician-assisted suicide in 1994 and 1997, Oregon Catholic churches were the explicit target of vandals.

Current publicity surrounding the billboard has brought more anti-Catholicism out of the woodwork.

"We pray that the roman church [sic] will suffer horrible torture," says one e-mail message to the Catholic Sentinel, which published a story about the billboard last week.

"It would have been more correct to assert that the Whore of Babylon is the apostate Catholic Church," said another e-mail message. "This should not be taken to indicate that your denomination is now this apocalyptic entity. My own belief is that you are now merely apostate."

Other letter-writers have come out in support of the Catholic position.

"I do not believe you should let money sway you to printing hate messages to display in public places," Cindy Brown of Wasco wrote to Outdoor Media Dimensions. "In the name of ‘free speech,’ would you allow the KKK to put up and ugly claim about African Americans or the Neo-Nazis to put up a hate message against Jews?"

http://www.catholicsentinel.com/top-news.shtml 

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