30 July 2010, 9:11 pm
The University of Illinois, a public institution in the United States, has offered to reinstate a faculty member who was fired after he explained, in response to a student's inquiry, the traditional Catholic position on homosexual act, that they violate the Natural Moral Law. Kenneth Howell was an adjunct professor teaching since 2001 a course entitled Introduction to Catholicism and Modern Catholic Thought in a Religious Studies program established in 1971. Apparently the traditional Catholic's thought wasn't modern enough, as his faculty appointment was terminated. Another student accused him of "hate speech" for sending an E-mail to a student in which, responding to the student's question, he accurately summarized the traditional Catholic teaching. Howell was reinstated on July 29, 2010, only after the Alliance Defense Fund, which defends religious liberty, announced that it would file a lawsuit against the University of Illinois unless the professor were reinstated. Howell's supporters had vigorously protested his firing, arguing that he was dismissed solely for expressing traditional Catholic views, in a clear violation of religious and academic freedom. An ongoing faculty review has been investigating whether Howell's immediate removal violated his academic freedom or right to due process.... Read More »
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