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University of Minnesota Set
to Bash Catholicism
The Department of Theatre, Arts and Dance
of the University of Minnesota is planning to stage a
blasphemous play called The Pope and the Witch
starting on March 1, 2007.
According to The New York Times:
“The witch, in nun's habit, turns up as an aide
to the doctor summoned to treat the pope, and before long
the Holy Father is seized with a paralytic affliction
that, among other names, is known as ‘a crucifixion
stroke,’ leaving him with his arms outstretched.”
1
The pope figure is also portrayed as
a greedy heroin addict, while the Church is accused as
being responsible for world poverty and hunger because
of Her doctrines against abortion and contraception.2
In a review, The Yale Herald stated:
“The blasphemy aspect of the production adds another
layer of prickly humor…” 3
Anti-Catholic
Communist Authorship
The Pope and the Witch’s author, Italian
playwright and longtime Communist Party member, Dario
Fo, is as anti-Catholic as his play.
He has been criticized, arrested, censored
and denied entry into the United States. Furthermore,
the Vatican called his 1977 broadcast of Mistero Buffo
“the most blasphemous show in the history of television.”
4
Academic
Freedom Run Amok
Catholicism is coming under attack with increasing frequency.
The trend is alarming. While The Da Vinci Code
was blasphemy disguised as “fiction,” The
Pope and the Witch is sacrilegious Catholic-bashing
hiding under the hazy catch-phrase of “academic
freedom.”
However, these arguments do not hold
water. The University of Minnesota Board of Regents adopted
a policy in 1995 that seeks to establish a climate free
from “prejudice” and “intolerance,”
and acknowledges “religious” values. Consistency
demands that they stop targeting the Catholic Faith. That
is why the Catholic bishops of Minnesota have just written
a joint letter asking the university’s president
to cancel the production.
Join the
Peaceful Protest
With this in mind, the American TFP web site is asking
its subscribers to voice their rejection of the blasphemous
play. Please sign an instant e-mail protest to the University
of Minnesota president Robert Bruininks, demanding the
cancellation of The Pope and the Witch. Add your
voice to that of Minnesota’s Catholic Bishops by
sending your e-protest today. Click
here.
Also, to be more effective give the president’s
office a call after you send in your protest email. Be
polite and firm. Tell him how you feel and ask him to
respect the Pope and the Holy Catholic Faith. Call the
president’s office at 612-626-1616.
Please also send this protest alert to
your friends and acquaintances. Remember TFP Student Action
recently stopped a showing of The Da Vinci Code
movie at Saint Francis College. After another protest,
The Cavalier Daily newspaper at the University
of Virginia apologized and removed two offensive cartoons
from their web site. Protests are effective, register
yours today.
_______________________
Add
your voice to that of Minnesota’s Catholic Bishops
by sending
your e-protest today!
