Professor Rice's Response

'In a university that claims to be Catholic, I am not willing to restrict my presentation of Catholic teaching to a format that treats the authoritative teaching of the Church as merely one viewpoint.'

SOUTH BEND, IN. (Catholic Online) - (We present Professor Charles Rice's response to the refusal of the Student newspaper, The Observer, to publish his accurate statement of Catholic teaching concerning homosexual practice.What is obvious is the decision was based on the content of this well written article. That is a serious matter. We call upon the administration of Our Lady's University to respond to the obvious implications of such a rejection. Deacon Keith Fournier, Editor in Chief) ***** Dear Mr. Gamber: Thank you for your email informing me that my column presenting the teachings of the Church on homosexuality will not be published.  Since 1992, I have been privileged to publish every two weeks a column, entitled "Right or Wrong," in the Observer.  I emphasize my appreciation for the unfailing professionalism and courtesy of the Observer editors with whom I have had contact over those years. You mention the column "far exceeded our word limit guidelines."  It is in fact significantly shorter than each of the three previous columns published this semester in the Observer.  I was not asked to shorten any of them.  The rejected column accurately presented relevant teachings of the Catholic Church on homosexuality.  I understand why you are concerned over the content of the column. 

You further propose that if I examine the topic of homosexuality in the future, "we thought it might be beneficial to do so in a point-counterpoint format, perhaps with an author of an opposing or differing viewpoint.  That way, each ´side,´ so to speak, would have the opportunity to present relevant facts, evidence and analysis to define its position." In a university that claims to be Catholic, I am not willing to restrict my presentation of Catholic teaching to a format that treats the authoritative teaching of the Church as merely one viewpoint or "side" among many. 

If you require that future columns of mine on homosexuality comply with a format such as you propose, it will be inappropriate for me to continue writing the column for the Observer. Sincerely,
Charles E. Rice
Professor Emeritus
Notre Dame Law School

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