By Allie Martin
August 9, 2001

(AgapePress) - The nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization is criticizing an Oregon advertising company which recently accepted a billboard proclaiming the Pope as the Antichrist.

Officials with the Catholic League say they’ve tried numerous times to contact the Oregon-based Outdoor Media Dimensions to post a rebuttal to a sign along Interstate 5 near Medford. The billboard sparking the controversy reads “The Pope is the Antichrist ... Free Proof” and offers a website for more information.

Louis Giovino of the Catholic League says concerned Catholics deserve equal time. “They’re claiming free speech. They’re saying free speech is the highest order here,” he says. “We’re shown here that it isn’t free speech because they won’t allow us to put up this billboard. So, they’re saying that it’s not just a matter of money that they’re putting up this billboard that says the Pope’s the Antichrist. So, they’re not entertaining this offer from us.”

The message is sponsored by Larry Weathers, a 50-year-old barber from Talent, Oregon, who says he will not take the sign down despite several threats on his life. Weathers is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Remnant Ministries.

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