New petition supports Tutu speaking at US university

Pretoria News 06 May 2012

A petition demanding that Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu be banned from a Catholic university in America has been challenged by a counter-petition that has received 16 times the number of signatures. The first petition calling for his invitation to be revoked slammed Tutu’s pro views on abortion and same-sex marriage, writes Michelle Jones for the Pretoria News.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner accepted an invitation from Gonzaga University in Washington to deliver the keynote address at the senior commencement ceremony as part of Gonzaga’s 125th anniversary celebrations. He was also to be awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree.

A member of Tutu’s staff, who asked not to be named, said Tutu was gratified so many people had signed the petition welcoming him to the college. By yesterday afternoon 784 people – alumni, faculty and students – had signed the first petition, championed by the Cardinal Newman Society, which aims to renew and strengthen Catholic identity in Catholic higher education, calling for the university to withdraw Tutu’s invitation. The petition in support of Tutu, with 12,192 signatures, said “religious right extremists” should not be allowed to silence Tutu.
Full report on the Independent Online site

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