SPOKANE, Wash. (RNS) Archbishop Desmond Tutu is slated to deliver the commencement address next month to Gonzaga University's graduating class. A group of alumni, however, are saying he isn't welcome and are urging administrators to withdraw the invitation.The admirable work of an entire, long life, which includes a Nobel Peace Prize, counts not at all with the alumni because Archbishop Tutu does not agree with every teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. If there is a living saint walking amongst us today, it is Tutu.
Patrick Kirby, a 1993 Gonzaga graduate, said Tutu is pro-abortion rights, has made offensive statements toward Jews and supports contraception and the ordination of gay clergy and shouldn't be honored by a Catholic institution.
As for his "offensive statements toward Jews", I've known the archbishop to speak with great respect of the Jewish faith and the Hebrew Testament in which his own Christian faith has its roots. What he has cautioned against is the State of Israel's policies toward the Palestinians, which is an entirely different matter. I know that many Jewish people and non-Jews are quick to cry anti-Semitism at the least criticism of of the policies of the Israeli state. A good many politicians in the US do not speak out, because they fear retribution at the ballot box. Nor is this the first time that alumni of universities have objected to appearances by Archbishop Tutu, and here I am, in my naïveté, still clinging to the ideal that one purpose of universities is the exploration of a diversity of ideas.
Thanks to Ann V for the link.
UPDATE: Sign the petition in support of Archbishop Tutu.
