Fox News' Todd Starnes is reporting that the incident occurred when two homosexual students, Damian Legacy and Blake Bergen, launched a campaign to oust Father Greg Shaffer because of his anti-gay and anti-abortion views. The two told the GW Hatchet student newspaper that they were particularly offended by a blog post written by Fr. Shaffer in which he called gay relationships “unnatural and immoral.”
“To have my faith leader view me that way, just because of one piece of the way that God made me, and to think that one part is responsible for the destruction of my human dignity, it just didn’t, I can’t even begin to describe the mental conflict that it creates,” Legacy told the newspaper.
They also criticized Fr. Shaffer for counseling students with same-sex attraction to remain celibate.
The pair are now demanding that the University's Office for Diversity and Inclusion investigate the priest and are calling upon the student government association to defund the Newman Center.
However, a GWU spokesperson told Fox that they have not received any complaint about Fr. Shaffer and no investigation is underway.
They released a statement saying that the university strives to embody a spirit of mutual respect and reasoned debate. “We are therefore committed to ensuring that all members of our community are free to express their religious beliefs while honoring the right of others to express theirs."
By the time this statement reached the press, the incident had already gone virile, and is now causing a growing number of religious liberty groups to mobilize in defense of Fr. Shaffer and petition the University to uphold his right to preach the Catholic faith.
Fr. Greg Shaffer“It’s discrimination against Catholics,” said Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society to Fox News. “Secular colleges are fast becoming a very unsafe place for Catholics who hold true to their faith. This is a very, very sad situation.”
He added: “Chastity outside of marriage has been the Catholic church teaching for more than 2,000 years. The only discrimination occurring there is trying to silence a priest for trying to teach the Catholic faith.”
Catholic League president Bill Donohue was even more vocal when he penned a letter to the University saying that he had been contacted by GWU students who were disturbed by this blatant attack on religious liberty.
Calling it a "serious civil liberties issue", Donohue said that Legacy and Bergen are upset with Fr. Shaffer because he refuses to give their homosexual relationship his blessing.
"Nothing that has been reported by the media suggests that Father Shaffer has said anything inflammatory about these subjects, and the students themselves do not offer any evidence of abusive speech or behavior," Donohue writes. "Make no mistake about it, their complaint transcends Father Shaffer: it is an attack on the freedom of expression of Catholics on campus to discuss their religious beliefs and practices with impunity. In short, this is a civil liberties issue involving both freedom of religion and freedom of speech."
Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Center also denounced the incident to Fox News, calling it a "shot across the bow to anyone who would dare speak out and dare to express a biblical view on homosexuality."
“The world they seek to create is one in which no one ever says anything wrong about people engaging in homosexual conduct,” Sprigg said. “The attitude of some of these homosexual activists seems to be that religious liberty has to be thrown out the window for the sake of preventing any kind of situation that might make homosexuals feel uncomfortable.”
Meanwhile, online reaction to the incident is leaning toward Fr. Shaffer rather than Legacy and Bergen. In fact, students have already created a website filled with messages of support for the popular priest.
“Over time, I have noticed that a certain narrative had emerged about Father Greg that was not actually in line with the Chaplain we all love," said the website's creator, GWU Junior Chris Crawford to the GW Hatchet. "We know him as a man of humility, patience, and unconditional love, and this blog reflects that.”
The blog is filled with posts about how much Fr. Shaffer means to the many students at GWU who have been touched by his ministering spirit.
For instance, one student wrote about how the priest dropped what he was doing to drive nine hours to the bedside of his father who was dying of stage four cancer. The time he spent with the family was unforgettable.
“During the 24 hours that he was with us, Father Greg also was able to celebrate Mass with my family and give my father a blessing with Lourdes water. I will never forget or be able to truly express my gratitude for the selflessness and charity he showed by coming to be with my family over this past Christmas break,” the student wrote.
Michael Sheehy, a 1997 GWU graduate, told Fox no one was forcing the gay students to attend the Newman Center.
“No student is forced to attend Catholic Mass and religious programs at the Newman Center, nor condemned for doing so,” he said. "The students in this article are certainly free to avoid this campus center, but also have no right to dictate how other students can or should practice their faith.”
He called the whole episode “diversity gone too far, and disrespectful to freedom of thought, conscience and practice of established religious doctrine.”
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