Good News...Fired Catholic Professor Allowed to Teach

Finally, some good news.  The Alliance Defense Fund has announced that Dr. Kenneth Howell, who had been released from his teaching position at the University of Illinois, has been invited back for the Fall 2010 academic year.  Dr. Howell will once again teach "Introduction to Catholicism."  This was the course that got him into trouble because he discussed natural law and the Church's teaching on same sex relationships.    The dismissal was based on an anonymous email from a "student" who claimed to be offended by Howell's statements, although he was not taking the class.

After the re-instatement, the Alliance Defense Fund wrote the following to the university:

"A university cannot censor professors’ speech--including classroom speech related to the topic of the class--merely because certain ideas ‘offend’ an anonymous student. We greatly appreciate the university’s move to put Professor Howell back in the classroom, but we will be watching carefully to make sure that his academic freedom is protected throughout the university’s ongoing process."

Now that this matter resolved, we can continue to pray and work for Jennifer Keeton, a counseling student at Augusta State University who was told she must go through a "re-education" program when the school learned that she opposed homosexual practices and was a bible believing Christian.  Ms. Keeton referred a client to another counseling student when it became clear that the client was homosexual. so that her personal beliefs would not interfere with the treatment of the client.  Rather than honoring Ms. Keeton's right to exercise her conscience in the matter, the school told her that she must "undergo diversity sensitivity training, complete additional remedial reading, and write papers to describe their impact on her beliefs."   If she does not change her beliefs or agree to the plan, the university says it will expel her from the Counselor Education Program.

But, have no fear, the  Alliance Defense Fund is, once again, on the case!