Posted on 03/03/2004 8:15:27 AM PST by LiteKeeper
ANN ARBOR, MI — A federal judge in Kansas has ruled that Washburn University did not violate the constitution by prominently displaying a sculpture that mocks the Catholic faith. The sculpture, entitled “Holier than Thou,” depicts a Roman Catholic bishop with a grotesque facial expression wearing a miter that resembles a phallus. The sculpture was selected for display by the Campus Beautification Committee , whose goal is to make the University “one of the most beautiful campuses in Kansas.”
The lawsuit was brought by the Thomas More Law Center after the University refused to act on complaints by numerous Catholics including the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City. University President Jerry Farley defended the display as fulfilling a purpose of art: “to engage us intellectually and emotionally.” The case against the University was brought on behalf of Dr. Thomas O’Connor, a professor of 39 years at Washburn, and Andrew Strobl, a senior at Washburn, both devout Catholics. The laws uit alleged that Washburn’s display of the sculpture conveyed the impermissible state-sponsored message of hostility toward the Catholic faith in violation of the Establishment Clause.
In his decision dismissing the case, the judge held that Washburn had a secular purpose for displaying this sculpture because “[i]t functions to aesthetically enhance Washburn’s campus [,] broaden the educational experiences [and] increase the intellectual capacities of Washburn’s students.” The judge concluded that the presence of “Holier than Thou” on “Washburn’s campus would [not] cause a reasonable observer to believe that [Washburn] endorsed hostility towards the Catholic religion.”
According to Robert Muise, the Law Center attorney handling this case, “This is a very disappointing decision. We brought this lawsuit because it was the right thing to do, and we intend to appeal the judge’s decision because it is the right thing to do. Catholics will not remain silent while their faith is being publicly ridiculed by a government institution.”
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, “Unfortunately, this and several other recent decisions by federal judges have demonstrated that there is a double standard when it comes to applying the Establishment Clause. The Ten Commandments and the Christian Nativity scene are out, but an anti-Catholic display of a bishop wearing a miter that resembles a phallus is permissible because it allegedly enhances aesthetics. Apparently, the religion clauses protect atheists but a fford no comparable protection for Christians. This disturbing trend in our federal courts must be reversed.”
An appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is expected.
University President Jerry Farley defended the display as fulfilling a purpose of art: “to engage us intellectually and emotionally.” >>>
Yea right, "to engage us to bash the Catholic Church" is more likely.
A federal judge in Kansas >>
Must be a Clinton appointee
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Apparently, the religion clauses protect atheists but afford no comparable protection for Christians. This disturbing trend in our federal courts must be reversed.” ........
you got that right.
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An appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is expected.Stay tuned.
Fr. Norm Weslin has long attested to the very real presence of Satan in that place.
If you can bear to see the devil's handiwork: http://www.drtiller.com/chap.html
Washburn University is a public school. No governmental organization has any place whatsoever in financing or supporting art work denigrating a particular religion, or religion in general.
If the courts are going to follow the incorporation doctrine and apply the first amendment to the states, then we would be fools to let them apply a "first amendment" that reads "nobody shall make any law respecting an establishment of religion, except that it's okay to use tax dollars to trash Catholicism".
I have passed on your sage advice to some I know in the area. It is more than time to do so. God bless.
2. I wonder what the judge would have ruled if instead of the statue, there was a mosque with a phallus adorning the top in place of the crescent.
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