From The Arizona Republic via RawStory:
PHOENIX – Politicians who support issues like abortion and gay rights have been banned from speaking at Catholic churches in the Phoenix Diocese.
More below.
I’ve got mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, it seems like censorship. The speakers aren’t being banned from speaking about issues that the church disagrees with; they’re being banned from speaking altogether, regardless of the subject, because of their views on those two issues. But on the other hand, it is the Church’s right to screen people who are going to speak at their institutions.
So, what brought this whole thing up in the first place, I wonder?
So far, Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano has been the only one affected by the edict from Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted.
Napolitano was forbidden to speak last year at a Catholic church in Scottsdale at an event opposing Proposition 200, a ballot measure that restricted the rights of undocumented immigrants. The event was moved to another site.
OK, so here we have immigration being brought into the mix. If you’ve been keeping up with Man Eegee’s diaries (here and here), you know that immigration is a pretty hotbutton issue right now in Arizona. I’m not sure how informed the church considers their congregation to be, but I know that I would be interested to hear the governor of my state talk about an important issue, regardless of if I agree with her.
So why wasn’t she allowed to speak? She wasn’t going to talk about the “baby-killers” or the “happy-homos”. What’s the big deal about talking about immigration?
An invitation “would provide them with a platform which would suggest support for their actions,” Olmsted wrote.
Uh-Oh. This isn’t a very clear statement at all, if you ask me. Usually a platform is a place where you would speak about your positions. Is the church claiming that just by letting people who disagree with them on certain issues speak about one issue, that they are endorsing that persons position on all issues? That’s ludicrous. Show me a person who doesn’t know the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion or equality in marriage rights, and I’ll show you someone who’s never had contact with another human being in their life.
This really seems to me to be another way to divide people. They’re saying that, if you disagree with us on these issues, then we can’t endorse your thoughts or positions on anything. Shouldn’t the church be preaching understanding and respect, instead of creating their own hallowed echo chambers?