For years, the “War on Christmas” has struck even conservative Christians as a tad over-wrought. Though half of Americans still consider Christmas a religious holiday, only 32 percent believe “Merry Christmas” is the only acceptable seasonal greeting. The rest either prefer something non-descript like “Happy Holidays” or don’t care either way. America’s Culture War is colder than President Trump’s Twitter feed might lead one to believe. But the Catholic Church is coming under fire in Washington, DC for ad space it bought on city buses. The ads themselves are subtle: the silhouette of shepherds, sheep, and twinkling stars surround a banner reading, “Find the Perfect Gift”. It leads one to a website owned by the archdiocese that declares (spoiler alert): “Jesus is the perfect gift.” The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority refused to run the ad, citing a rule against religious advertising. However, as the Archdiocese’s communications secretary Ed McFadden writes in RealClearReligion, the WMATA “indicated that if there was a way we could make the ads more ‘commercial’ they might be able to run them.” Let that sink in. If the Archdiocese charged admission to attend Christmas Mass, that would be fine. But because the Church’s services (feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, reconciling sinners to God, etc.) are offered pro bono, she cannot advertise them. McFadden goes on to ask:
2:20 PM
The Christmas message: not commercial enough for Washington
The city's transit authority said it could only run a Christmas ad by the Archdiocese if it was more 'commercial'
Michael Warren Davis

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