Sr. Helen Prejean uninvited to Diocese of Duluth for signing an anti-Bush ad in the NYTimes:
The problem wasn’t the political nature of the issues raised in the ad, Eller said, noting that the church and Prejean often take stands on political issues. But the ad’s partisan attack of Bush crossed the line, Eller said.
"When it gets into attacking (a political figure), that becomes partisan," Eller said, noting the church has both moral and legal obligations to remain nonpartisan.
During the last national election, several churches were criticized, and some investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, because they were alleged to have endorsed specific candidates or political parties, a violation of their nonprofit status.
The ad in question, titled "The World Can’t Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!" carried the endorsement of 90 individuals, including Prejean, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille in New Orleans.
The World Can’t Wait organizers are sponsoring a mass day of protest against the Bush administration on Oct. 5.
Prejean, 67, is on a three-month sabbatical for renewal and writing, her office said Tuesday, and is unavailable until Sept. 1. But in a letter on her Web site, Prejean said the ad properly criticizes Bush’s "reckless pursuit of war in Iraq, which has helped to destabilize the entire middle East; his approval of torture; his zealous promotion of imprisonment and executions; his fiscal policies which make the wealthy people more wealthy and poor people poorer."
The ad also criticized Bush’s stand against abortion and contraception, and Prejean has since asked to be removed from the ad because she did not agree with its stand on abortion.
On her Web site, she said, "There is… one issue addressed in the ad that I cannot endorse, which if I had seen the final version of the ad would have led me to withhold my signature. My stance on abortion is a matter of public record. I stand morally opposed to killing: war, executions, killing of the old and demented, the killing of children, unborn and born."
But Prejean offered no apologies for her direct criticism of the Bush administration, saying her faith demands action against Bush.
"I signed the ad because as a follower of the way of Jesus and a U.S. citizen, I cannot stand by passively and silently as I witness my government wage such grievous oppression and violence," Prejean wrote on her Web site. "For me, personally, it would be sinful not to raise my voice publicly in opposition to the life-destructive policies and practices of the Bush administration."
I know there have been questions raised on other blogs about Sr. Helen’s stance on abortion – she states it pretty clearly there.
The ad – which has a few more problematic elements than just the abortion business:
"YOUR GOVERNMENT is moving each day closer to a theocracy, where a narrow and hateful brand of Christianity will rule."
Etc. the list of signers is not exactly groaning with heavyweights either…from Jessica Lange to Ed Begley, Jr. to…Casey Kasem.
Yeah, looking at a final product before you sign: good idea….
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