The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is campaigning against a University of Minnesota professor who intentionally descrated the Holy Eucharist -- the Communion wafer that according to Catholic doctrine literally becomes the body of Christ.
Here's what the Catholic League reported on its website last week (here's a link to the site):
University of Minnesota professor Paul Z. Myers made good on his pledge to desecrate the Eucharist today. According to his statement on the subject, “I pierced it [the Host] with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus’s tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash.”
Saying he did not want to “single out just the cracker,” Myers also tore pages from the Koran along with a few pages from Richard Dawkins’ "The God Delusion" and nailed them to the Host. He then said, “They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your lord, you are not disciples of any charismatic prophet.”
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The University of Minnesota's response? Again, this is from the Catholic League, which I'm am assuming is accurate:
The Chancellor of the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMN) released a statement today regarding the intentional desecration of the Eucharist by Professor Paul Z. Myers. “I believe that behaviors that discriminate against or harass individuals or groups on the basis of their religious beliefs are reprehensible,” said Jacqueline Johnson. Importantly, she added that the school’s Code of Conduct prohibits such behavior. However, she also stressed that academic freedom allows faculty members “to speak or write as a public citizen without institutional discipline or restraint….” Nowhere did she say Myers would be disciplined.
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(Note: An interesting parallel case in Toledo occurred in May when a University of Toledo administrator, Crystal Dixon, was fired for saying in a public forum, written as a private citizen and not as a university employee, that homosexuality is wrong according to her religious beliefs and the Bible. I genuinely wonder what would have happened to Ms. Dixon if she had worked at the University of Minnesota. Would the university have supported her "academic freedom" ... "without restraint"?)
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Here is the Catholic League's response to the U of Minnesota's statement:
Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:
“This is classic: Johnson admits that Myers has violated the UMN’s Code of Conduct and then proceeds to tell us why he is being allowed to do so with impunity—it’s a matter of academic freedom.
“Academic freedom is not the issue: academic malpractice is. For example, Section 10.21 (b) of UMN’s Tenure Code explicitly says that a tenured faculty member can be terminated or suspended for ‘unprofessional conduct which severely impairs a faculty member’s fitness in a professional capacity.’
“In 2001, this part of the Tenure Code was invoked against a professor at UMN because he had images of child porn on his computer. It should now be invoked against Myers, and that is why we will appeal to UMN’s Board of Regents to do just that. It strains credulity to maintain that Christian students can expect fair treatment by a faculty member who has publicly shown nothing but contempt for their religion.
“It is a sure bet that UMN would not tolerate a white professor who worked a comedy club on weekends trashing blacks. Indeed, it would say that such behavior disqualifies his ability to be objective. In many respects Myers is worse, and that is why sanctions are warranted.”
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As a citizen and a journalist, I strongly support free speech, even though it can be distasteful at times.
Even so, there are limits. That's why we have libel and slander laws, and laws against making threats against others. There are considerations that our legal and judicial system must weigh in each individual case.
Sometimes, unfortunately, free speech can be used as a smokescreen to espouse bigotry, and used as an excuse to bully and insult others.
It may be within his legal rights to descrate a Eucharist, Qur'an, and atheist's best-selling book, but it irresponsible for a professor at a public university to promote hatred and insult millions. Despite Myers' assertion, some things really are sacred.
Toledo, Ohio
July 28, 2008