You were right in what you did, but in certain parts of the country, the Catholic Church is very powerful. I know in many parts of the Northeast U.S., this is so. Where I live in in the suburbs of L.A., it is the LDS church that yields the most power. In L.A. proper, the Catholics and the Scientoligists hold the most influence. You did the right thing in protesting, but the Church probably warned the media to "stay away".