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NEWS FROM . .
.
State Senator
Joe
Gimse
Proudly Serving Senate
District 13
the Counties of Pope,
Stearns, and Kandiyohi
For Immediate Release:
January 16,
2007
Our
Public Universities Should Respect, Not Reject Our Culture
As many of you may already know, the University of
Minnesota has scheduled a performance of the highly controversial “The
Pope and the Witch” on the university campus starting March 1, 2007.
For those who don’t know, the play revolves around a plot that Newsday
describes as “a heroin-addicted, paranoid Pope called John Paul II,
along with scheming priests, bumbling nuns and monks.”
The play is offensive, sacrilegious and hateful.
Christians in general and Catholics in specific should be offended by
such disregard for the sanctity of our religious practices by an
institution funded by taxpayers.
There is no shortage of examples of our civic leaders
bending over backwards to accommodate other cultures and religions,
but when Christianity comes under attack, we are expected to take it
in stride. It is defended by calling it free speech; or, as University
of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks calls it, “a very broad
diversity of points of view.”
President Bruininks should know that diversity does not
mean only considering “everyone else’s point of view”. Diversity
includes respect for traditional points of view as well. If the U of M
is going to hide behind their respect of diverse points of view, they
must respect the Christian tradition as well.
The university experience is supposed to be about
immersing yourself in an environment dedicated to academic freedom,
learning and discussion. As a state funded institution, it should be
free of hate and intolerance.
This play is a false display of academic growth that is
offensive to the Catholic community. Is there no other option or
setting to bring forth discussions about religion than a play so
filled with hate? An institution priding itself on higher learning and
academic integrity should be intelligent enough to find other avenues
of expression that do not prey on any religion, sex, age, or race. It
is disappointing to see a well respected educational institution
supporting this kind of intolerance. No one should fall victim to such
hate.
I have personally written President Bruininks asking
him to reconsider his decision to allow this play to be performed on
the campus, and I would encourage you to do the same. (For a copy of
my letter, click
here.)
It is only when taxpayers make their voices heard that they can hope
to change things.
President Bruininks contact information:
Mail: President Robert
Bruininks
University of Minnesota
202 Morrill Hall
100 Church St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Email:
bruin001@umn.edu
Phone: 612-626-1616
Senator Gimse encourages and appreciates citizen input.
He can be reached by telephone at (651)296-3826 by mail at 105 State
Office Building, 100 Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul,
MN 55155, or via e-mail at
sen.joe.gimse@senate.mn.
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