Local Christian bookstores continue to come under harassment for carrying Chick literature. The Word Shoppe in Amarillo, Texas was recently visited by a local Roman Catholic Priest who asked owner Jeanette Green what it would take to get her to stop selling Chick tracts.

She assured him that nothing he could say would make her change her mind and remove the tracts. He insisted that the Chick material was "hate literature," that Jack Chick hated Roman Catholics and that if she continued to sell it, he would have the people of his parish boycott her store.

She told him that was okay since the store did not carry anything they could use in their religion. After he left, several others came to Jeanette to, as she puts it, "share their heart with her."

One lady was not so courteous. When she saw the Chick literature, she started yelling and screaming at Jeanette that she should love and not hate. She continued to make a noisy scene until Jeanette asked her to leave, but continued shouting until she got in her car and drove away.

Soon, a letter to the editor appeared in the Amarillo Globe newspaper. The writer claimed to have "found some disturbing anti-Catholic propaganda in comic book format" in The Word Shoppe. The letter asserted that the literature targeted children, was inaccurate and hostile, and promoted fear and prejudice.

The letter ended by suggesting a boycott of the store for its "back-alley attitude."

About a week after the editorial appeared, the woman who had caused such a ruckus in the store called to be sure that Jeanette did not miss seeing it. Jeanette says that this gave her an opportunity to talk to her about her belief and encourage her to read her Bible and check on the history of Roman Catholicism.

Instead of losing customers, The Word Shoppe gained a few. "Because of this editorial, some faithful Chick tract users were made aware that the store carried Chick material and have become good customers," says Jeanette.

No one is on the front lines of the battle to get the truth to Roman Catholics like the courageous owners of Bible bookstores.

If there is one in your area which is standing strong, they need your encouragement. Pay them a visit, tell them you are praying for them and give them your business.