The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights took out an ad on the Op Ed page of The New York Times (Feb. 28) condemning the upcoming ABC-TV series, “The Real O’Neals.” The ad points out that ABC is owned by the Disney corporation.

The ad boldly describes the series as “a comedy about an Irish-American family, loosely based on the life of one of its producers, Dan Savage. For those not acquainted with him, his maniacal hatred of Catholicism is so strong that it would be as though David Duke were hired to produce a show about African-Americans.”

Bill Donohue, president of The Catholic League said that his original ad was rejected by The Times because he quoted some “foul comments” by Savage that were “deemed too incendiary for its readers.”

“When it comes to getting down and dirty, Savage has no equal in public life,” said Donohue, citing Savage’s “filthy remarks” about Jesus and the Blessed Mother.

The ad says: “ABC has won awards from the gay community for its show, ‘Modern Family.’ It has won awards from African-Americans for ‘Black-ish.’ So concerned was the network that it might offend Asians with its new show, ‘Fresh Off the Boat,’ that it invited leaders to meet with producers. But when it comes to Catholics, ABC delivers Dan Savage.”

The Catholic League’s ad invites readers to go to its website catholicleague.org to read more about “Savage’s cruel record of bigotry,” and to view the original ad that was presented to and rejected by The Times.

“The Real O’Neals” has been marketed as the story of a typical Irish-Catholic family that pretends to be perfect but only becomes stronger when it learns it is not.

Topics include the parents getting a divorce, a money-hungry priest and a gay son.

ABC’s promotion of the show has sparked protests from Catholic groups across the country.

The conservative website TownHall.com called it “likely the most anti-Catholic thing you’ll see today” for a “parade of Catholic stereotypes.”