VICTORY: Dr. Ken reinstated by U. of Illinois!
Hot off the press…. (underlining mine):
An instructor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — dismissed after a student called his explanation of Roman Catholic teaching on homosexuality “hate speech” — is being offered his teaching job back, the university said today.
Kenneth Howell was barred last month from teaching two courses in the university’s Religion Department after explaining during class and in an e-mail why the church believes homosexual behavior violates natural moral law.
His case has been taken up by First Amendment advocates and others, and his supporters have created a Facebook page with more than 2,600 people supporting him.
The university released a statement today saying that Howell’s appointment as an adjunct instructor in the Religion Department — teaching Religion 127, Introduction to Catholicism — will be continued for the fall.
A review of whether Howell’s firing by the Religion Department violated his academic freedom is continuing, the university said.
In making the move, the university also announced it will now pay those teaching Catholic-related courses rather than have them paid by a church group. (Chicago breaking news)
Thank you to everyone who lobbied the University on behalf of Dr. Ken after following the news here on AmP. I am awaiting a statement from Dr. Ken himself, the Diocese of Peoria and the Newman Center, which I will post once I am provided with them.
This is a victory for freedom of speech, and for the freedom of Catholics to teach what the Church teaches in our public square.
UPDATE: David at Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex sounds a warning note that all may not be well yet:
On the one hand, this is positive news. The commission of the faculty senate has put the lie to the claims by LAS that teaching about the Catholic faith in a class about Catholicism is hate speech. Nevertheless, the good fruit is laced with poison.
The offer seems to be exactly what I was afraid of. The prohibition against Dr. Howell’s association with the Newman Center is another violation of his academic freedom and it is likewise a violation of his freedom of religion. How many other adjuncts or part time faculty are prevented from working for an organization associated with their faith as a condition of employment?
The U of I appears to be making an economically untenable offer with the intent of voiding a 90+ year relationship with the Newman Center. I suspect that they are banking on the fact that since Dr. Howell cannot work for the Newman Center, which paid him a full professor’s salary, he will not be able to afford to take the position. The U of I is offering him perhaps a little more than a quarter of his Newman Center salary.
Apparently we must remain vigilant and continue to ensure that Dr. Ken is in fact being treated fairly.
Tweet this
Email
RSS
29 Comments
The gay activists are proposing to boycott Target stores simply because the company donated to a candidate who opposes gay “marriage.” Of course this is getting tremendous sympathy from the MSM. I hope many of your readers will write in support of Target!
[...] today, I decided to check out the American Papist, since he’s pretty up to date on [...]
I’m also troubled by the fact that he is going to be paid by the school… and many other concerns listed by others… This culture seems to think anyone can teach about catholicism EXCEPT those who believe and practice it. I’ve encountered that with many theologically bent protestants, who actually know little about what we really believe & don’t really want to hear the truth of what we believe either… because it disturbs the “straw man” that is set up for knocking down.
It’s still a victory, and the left-wing loons at the U of I will be very, very angry. After all, they are the sole guardians of the “truth” and differing viewpoints be damned. The clown at the University that started this mess should be disciplined.
[...] Congratulations to University of Illinois Dr. Ken has been offered a job. All of those who prayed and petitioned, good work! Here [...]
Unfortunately, if the information linked by David Delaney below is accurate, this doesn’t sound like a victory at all. According to his information, Dr. Howell is being re-hired to teach only one class per semester (not two, as before), he will be paid a very low salary by the university (since he is teaching only one class), and he must cut all ties with the Newman Center. If this information is accurate, then it seems unlikely that Dr. Howell could afford to keep this job.
If we can get further confirmation that this information is accurate, then we need to continue contacting U of I on this matter.
[...] American Papist Brutally Honest Deacon Greg Comments [...]
Uh-oh. The fact that the Newman Center will no longer do the hiring is very troubling, and the diocesan lawyer, Patricia Gibson said (in the AP wire story)that “the diocese is comfortable with the university’s decision to no longer have the center pay the instructors who teach Catholic-related classes.” and “We have every indication that they’re willing to still continue to develop and examine — in a good way — how we can best serve the university and the Catholic students there,” she said.
THIS IS A UNIVERSITY THAT INVITED CHARLES CURRAN TO BE A GUEST SPEAKER! They have promised Ken Howell only ONE SEMESTER and you can imagine who they’ll hire next!!!!
People should go to the ADF (Alliance Defense Fund) site and find the pdf of the letter sent to the University outlining the Supreme Court cases that the university defied. It was this letter that got them to back off – judging from the email response I got from the university, they didn’t give a fig for my opinion, but the very real threat of being sued in a case that wold have been a sure loss for them was something else!
Caption of the Day/PPOTD
