Religious freedom
Pope will address religious freedom in the World Day of Peace
“Religious freedom, the path to peace.” This is the theme chosen by Pope Benedict XVI for the celebration of the 2011 World Day of Peace. The World Day of Peace — celebrated since 1968 on the first day of every year — will be therefore dedicated to the theme of religious freedom. As is well known, in many parts of the world there exist various forms of restrictions or denials of religious freedom, from discrimination and marginalization based on religion, to acts of violence against religious minorities. Religious freedom is rooted in the equal and inherent dignity of man, it is oriented toward the search for “unchangeable truth,” and thus can rightly be presented as the “freedom of freedoms.” As such, religious freedom is authentically realized when it is experienced as the coherent search for the Truth and the truth of man.
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A religious freedom-related item that has made a lot of waves lately is the news about Dr. Kenneth Howell of the University of Illinois. Dr. Ken Howell taught classes in Catholicism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In the context of these classes, he taught that the Catholic Church teaches–based on its adherence to natural moral law–that homosexual acts are inherently disordered. His teaching what the Catholic Church teaches in a course on Catholicism was deemed to violate University rules of inclusivity, and his position was subsequently terminated from UIUC.
- For details on this issue, sign up for “Save Dr. Ken” Facebook group.
Related articles:
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Hi,
An update on the last item of this posting: Dr. Ken Howell has been reinstated.
See: http://catinfor.com/en/2010/07/30/fired-catholic-professor-reinstated-at-university-of-illinois/
And: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/religion/2010-07-29/ui-offers-rehire-catholicism-prof-ends-funding-newman-center.html
Still, this re-hiring of Dr. Howell’s on the University’s payroll instead of the St. John’s Catholic Newman Center is something to keep an eye on: Will the University think that because it’s paying Dr. Howell’s salary, it can dictate what he will/can/should be saying, even if his courses will deal with Catholicism?
Wendy
You may have learnt that Dr. Ken has been reinstated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)!
Here’s a link: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jul/10072912.html