Posted on 01/25/2008 6:02:55 AM PST by NYer
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Roman Catholic archbishop's call this week for Saint Louis University to discipline its popular basketball coach for publicly supporting abortion rights has put the Jesuit school in a bind.
If the university takes action against Rick Majerus, no stranger to controversy throughout his career, it risks criticism for clamping down on the free exchange of ideas.
If it doesn't, it looks like it's brushing off Archbishop Raymond Burke, who chastised Majerus for airing his views at a Hillary Rodham Clinton rally last weekend.
The university hasn't publicly heeded Burke's call to discipline Majerus, who coached Utah to 10 NCAA tournament appearances and whose hiring last April electrified supporters of the Billikens.
University spokesman Clayton Berry would not say Thursday if the school is considering disciplinary action against Majerus. He has said previously that Majerus was speaking at the rally as an individual, not as a representative of the school.
University athletics spokesman Chuck Young said Majerus refused to comment Thursday to The Associated Press.
Majerus took a typically defiant stand in an interview published Thursday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"These beliefs are ingrained in me," Majerus told the paper. "And my First Amendment right to free speech supersedes anything that the archbishop would order me to do. My dad fought on Okinawa in World War II. My uncle died in World War II. I had classmates die in Vietnam. And it was to preserve our way of life, so people like me could have an opinion."
The dispute between the archbishop and the coach puts students and faculty in the midst of a common clash pitting Catholic doctrine against intellectual freedom. The private university is independent of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and therefore beyond the bishop's purview, but is tied to it culturally as a Catholic institution.
"I'm a Catholic, and I support the church's stance. As an American, I also support people's free speech," said Andrew Clifton, the Student Government Association president.
Berry said Burke doesn't have any direct control over the university, which is operated by priests in the Jesuit order, also known as the Society of Jesus. He said ultimate authority lies with the school's Board of Trustees, several of whom did not return messages seeking comment.
A spokeswoman at the archdiocese said Burke was not available to comment.
Burke has spoken out before against Catholics or Catholic institutions that stray from church doctrine. During the 2004 election, he said he would not administer Holy Communion to presidential candidate John Kerry, a Catholic, because he supported abortion rights.
Last year, Burke dropped his seat on the board of a charity that let singer Sheryl Crow perform at a benefit concert. Crow supports abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research.
On Tuesday, Burke said he would ask Saint Louis University officials to take "appropriate action" against Majerus after the coach gave a TV interview at the Clinton rally during which he said he was Catholic and pro-choice.
"I'm concerned that a leader at a Catholic university made these comments. It can lead Catholics astray," Burke said Tuesday. "I just believe that it's of the essence for people to understand as a Catholic you just cannot hold these beliefs."
Majerus told the Post-Dispatch he "respectfully" disagreed.
"I do not speak for the university or the Catholic Church. These are my personal views. And I'm not letting him change my mind," the coach said. "I think religion should be inclusive. I would hope that all people would feel welcome inside a church, and that the church would serve to bring people together, even if they happen to disagree on certain things."
The dispute has been the buzz on campus, Clifton said.
"A lot of students like Coach Majerus. He's been a great coach. We all want to see him do well," Clifton said. "I would hope he's not punished in any way."
Sarah Hale, the opinion page editor of the school newspaper, The University News, said a handful of letters to the editor appear to show a split in the student body.
"Some are backing the decision of the archbishop, some are backing Majerus. They're really all over the board," she said.
The two faced clergy stands by and watches the John Kerry family, Kennedy’s and other politicians ignore the church.
Going after a coach would be stupid unless they apply the same rules to the elitist Catholic politicians.
Here’s the only pressure the Archbishop can bring to bear; is this a Catholic institution or not? If not, there’s no need for all these priests, who I believe need his permission to say Mass in the archdiocese.
He can of course instruct priests under his jurisdiction to refuse the sacraments to Majerus. Let’s see how big those balls really are.
MO Ping!
It would be interesting to see how coach Majerus would react to member(s) of his basketball team, in a public forum, directly criticizing his coaching theories and methods.
This man is an idiot. The First Amendment has absolutely no bearing on his relationship with the university or the bishop, neither of which are government entities.
If the bishop and the university, private entities, refuse to let him use their platform to speak his mind, his one and only recourse is to go elsewhere.
It's simple, Ricky Boy:
Go Away, or Shut Up.
“The free exchange of ideas?” Fine. If encouraging sucking broken baby parts out of wombs is an “idea” worth exchanging, then what isn’t? THe school paper should run front page headlines of walrus boy there shoving cheeseburgers down his throat, asking “Should we allow our investment to harm itself?” If someone married Tubby, why not run some “Freely Exchanged Ideas” on her too? God help anyone every shut up for any reason.
What discipline other than dismissal could be considered? If the coach believes in abortion rights then his beliefs are at odds with his employer. Hitting him with a fine or something isn’t going to change those beliefs. If the school considers him wrong for believing as he does then they should dismiss him and find someone else.
What job in the Catholic Church does John Kerry hold?
Oh, yes: He doesn't hold one ... he can't be fired.
Use your brain.
If they back down, they just become another Georgetown.
Surely he will have every liberal and civil libertarian and member of the elite intelligentsia championing the right to free speech and exchange of different ideas. How different that is from Choate School here in CT where Karl Rove is supposed to be the commencement speaker. There are already howls of protest against that. I suspect the school will have to back down. Rove is pure evil, some students say. Well, of course he is far worse than a commencement speaker like, let’s say, Mumia....
So the Catholic Church will have to bear more criticism? Whatever will we do? Coach Majerus is free to exchange any idea he wishes, but while he is employed as a basketball coach for a Jesuit Catholic university, he is a representative of that university, and should uphold that institution's mission.
An employee does not have carte blanche to speak ill of their employer in public settings, while they remain in that same employ.
By the way, after scoring only 20 points against George Washington, in a basketball game earlier this year, someone should reprimand Majerus for that sorry output, alone.
Just like talking about which flavor bagel he prefers.
Fire him.
SI did a profile on him last month. This guy’s a ticking time bomb.
“These beliefs are ingrained in me,” Majerus told the paper. “And my First Amendment right to free speech supersedes anything that the archbishop would order me to do. My dad fought on Okinawa in World War II. My uncle died in World War II. I had classmates die in Vietnam. And it was to preserve our way of life, so people like me could have an opinion.”
This flatulent fatass is an embarrassment to himself, to the university, to the Church, and most of all, to his friends and relatives who died for this country protecting our freedoms.
The idiot can spew all the filth he wants. It’s a free country. But it’s a free country - no Catholic institution should be obligated to hire/retain such an imbecile.
Let’s see if the university has the guts to do the right thing - fire his sorry butt.
Unless you can convince me otherwise.
Did your father, uncle and classmates put their lives on the line to insure that unborn children would be killed?
At first I thought Majerus was simply an unthinking buffoon.
Now I see that he is a really slimy character.
While Majerus is using the honorable military service of others to justify his belief in slaughtering innocents, one must ask: if Majerus feels so strongly about military service, why didn't he sign up in 1968 when he was 20?
I'm assuming that he was not yet morbidly obese in 1968.
I am not a Catholic, but I agree with Burke. He is trying to clean up the mess the church has gotten into. He is trying to abide with the Bible.
Pro-Life is the staple of the Catholic church. This man knew that and shouldn’t have taken the job. A deeper search on him should have turned this up, and he should not have been hired.
It amazes me how Catholics here in St Louis are against him.
He has spoken out against politicians who are pro-choice. His own clergy do not support him.
Are they Catholic are not. Pro-Life is the position of the Catholic church.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.
(Matthew 5:11,12)
Archbishop Burke has actually disiplined pro-abort Catholic politicians within his episcopal jurisdiction. As well, during the 2004 election, he made it clear that Mr. Kerry would not be permitted to receive Holy Communion should he visit Archbishop Burke’s archdiocese.
Remember that in the Catholic Church, a bishop can only act within his own diocese.
sitetest
The guy should have kept his mouth shut on his personal opinion. But I think it’s also less than forthright for someone to claim that the coach is “publicly supporting abortion rights.”
He’s not campaigning. He’s not pushing anything. Who asked him the question and why?
Moreover, IMO, on the basis of the quoted remarks he comes off like a whiner.
The church ignores Catholics supporting abortion. The lawmakers are ignored. The MDs doing abortions in other hospitals and clinics are still allowed to work in Catholic facilities. That is so different from coaches? Use your brain.
The abortion-loving asshat voluntarily appeared at a Hillary Clinton campaign rally and voluntarily discussed his desire for more dead babies.
He bears full responsibility for his opinions, and for their becoming public.
I have no sympathy for him.
Read the article.
The MDs doing abortions in other hospitals and clinics are still allowed to work in Catholic facilities.
Please document that claim. Then, please forward said documentation to the bishop of the diocese in which this is happening. If it is really happening.
>His fame comes from his employment at a religious school.
Now see, that’s just not accurate. The coach BROUGHT fame to that school, not vice versa. I had never even heard of it before he arrived.
I completely support the right of the Catholic Church to shutdown opinions that go against its message. It certainly has the right to NOT allow its institution (or school) be used as a bully-pulpit for opinions contrary to Catholic doctrine.
But it goes too far to claim that the coach made his name because of this school (or, in my view, to claim that Majerus is out making this an issue or actively campaigning for abortion rights).
If this baby-killer had come out for lynching Black people, the university would have dropped him like a hot potato. The fact that they haven’t dropped him means that they don’t view the killing of babies as an evil just as serious as the mass killing of any other people. Which proves that they aren’t Catholic.
After giving Majerus time to retract his heresy, Burke WILL instruct his priests and all Extraordinary Ministers of Communion to refuse Communion to this ex-Catholic.
TTGC Ping.
>> The university hasn’t publicly heeded Burke’s call to discipline Majerus, who coached Utah to 10 NCAA tournament appearances and whose hiring last April electrified supporters of the Billikens. <<
... until he actually took over, and the Billikens started to do much WORSE than the previous season.
And then after all that he identified himself as a Catholic. The U. has no right to discipline him for any of this. He has no right to identify himself as Catholic.
Why is it that those who speak out on leftist causes always seem to invoke the sacrifices of others? If your classmates served in Vietnam to defend your freedom you could have too, Rick.
I wonder if he accepts the free exchange of ideas from his players LOL.
Release a statement such as this: “This University is disappointed that Coach Majerus has publicly aired beliefs contrary to Catholicism, by advocating a supposed right to murder innocent human souls, not only because his opposition to Catholic teaching is worrisome for the sake of his own righteousness, but because such statements produce grave scandal inasmuch as his employment as a teacher at a Catholic university reflects on us, whom have been charged with professing truth to the world. As a basketball coach, he is charged with more than winning, but with instilling moral character. His defiance of moral authority is a poor example.”
No threats, no discipline, just a proclamation of the truth.
The coach needs to join another church.
Majerus believes in killing babies, yet he brags about protesting the death penalty. He only believes in executing INNOCENT lives, not murderers and rapists.
What level of profit, how many dollars, would he have to bring for you in order for you to tolerate his misbehavior? And what other misbehaviors would YOU tolerate -- say could he shag your spouse?
Exactly how much money is YOUR honor and good name worth?
IMO, the most gutless view there is.
Shows how perverted his morals and values are. Well stated. This guy should be put out of his own misery by removing him from his "coaching" position. Besides, he's fat and ugly too.
Abp. Burke has made it crystal clear where pro-abort Catholic politicians stand in his diocese.
If you want to blame someone, blame the bishops of other dioceses who have less of a spine. Arguing that Burke has to shut up about Majerus because other bishops are too spineless to discipline Kennedy is stupid.
Telling cultural conservatives that they have to shut up because somewhere, somehow, you might be able to contrive some accusation of hypocrisy against them is a liberal tactic anyway.
The coach needs to join another church.
*****************************************
UCC? Baptist? or Episcopalian?
But he is essentially the ruler of his diocese. He could crack down on the Jesuits if he chose.
Gotta start somewhere. Using someone elses bad behavior to as an excuse for other bad behavior is a canard.
“But he is essentially the ruler of his diocese. He could crack down on the Jesuits if he chose.”
I was responding to the comment:
“The two faced clergy stands by and watches the John Kerry family, Kennedy’s and other politicians ignore the church.
Going after a coach would be stupid unless they apply the same rules to the elitist Catholic politicians.”
I pointed out that Archbishop HAS gone after pro-aborts (including pro-abort "Catholic" politicians) in his jurisdiction.
sitetest
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