ATLANTA--During the final days of his life Cardinal Joseph Bernardin persuaded the House of Blues nightclub to remove the symbol of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from their logo, according to a Nov. 18 press release from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

The logo will be replaced by the symbol of a heart and rose.

"It is a further tribute to His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Bernardin that during his final days he took on this battle and won," said William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, in a prepared statement.

The nightclub, which opened in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics and is scheduled to open in Chicago later this month, is owned by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe. Other clubs can be found in Cambridge, Mass., New Orleans and West Hollywood, Calif.

The Atlanta chapter of the Catholic League worked with the Archdiocese of Atlanta in challenging the logo and supplied the Archdiocese of Chicago with the results of its work.

"Cardinal Bernardin deserves tremendous credit for pursuing this issue," Donohue said. "It was his leadership that brought Isaac Tigrett to his senses. The Catholic League was delighted to assist the Archdiocese of Chicago in this matter and is especially grateful to the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Chicago Board of Rabbis for registering their outrage over this misuse of a Catholic symbol. Thanks must also be given to Archbishop (John) Donoghue of Atlanta for the invaluable work that his attorneys did on this subject."

Previously the nightclub sought a patent for its symbol of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The U.S. Patent Office refused its registration after determining that the use of the Sacred Heart "may disparage or bring into contempt or disrepute persons of the Roman Catholic faith."

"The misuse of religious symbols for crass commercial purpose is an abuse of power," said Donohue. "While the motive behind such decisions is not always ascertainable, the effect of the harm done certainly is. Let the House of Blues become a profitable enterprise, but let it do so without disparaging the icons of the Catholic Church, or those of any other religion."