Fired for Stating Catholic Doctrine

Meghan Duke, at First Things, has an update on the case of Dr. Kenneth Howell, who was fired by the University of Illinois for stating that he agreed with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on homosexuality while teaching a class on Roman Catholic thought. You can read the letter sent from the Alliance Defense Fund here, which they sent to the University demanding Dr. Howell's reinstatement. The letter presents a very strong prima facie case for the University having acted unjustly.

Thomas Peters at Catholic Vote Action has a report here and an update here. You can read the actual email to his class by Dr. Howell that prompted the complaint here and you can read the complaint here.

I'm not sure why the university has over-reacted so irrationally. They appear to be terrified by "gay rights activists" and are seeking to make a sacrificial lamb out of a Christian so they won't have to take a stand. But they may have miscalculated badly; this letter from the president to the fired professor's lawyers seems to imply that they may be beginning to realize that fact.

No matter how convinced homosexuals are that their behavior is right, they do not have a right to have everyone else agree with them, just as the Roman Catholic Church does not have a right to force everyone to convert to Christianity. If homosexuals and their well-meaning but not rational friends don't back off and give Christians room to dissent, then it will be a fight to the end with one side losing and the other side winning. The anti-Christian forces may find that pushed into a corner, the other side may exhibit strength they do not suspect.