By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Parents of parochial school children in America might be surprised to learn that the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) has invited actor and radio personality, Garrison Keillor, to speak at this year’s convention. Keillor, an Episcopalian, is pro-abortion, pro-gay “marriage” and supports embryonic stem cell research.
LifeSiteNews.com is reporting that Keillor has not only been outspoken about his support for numerous practices that defy Church teaching, but he has also gone on record for labeling pro-life and pro-family activists as “shrieking ninnies and pompous blowhards.”
His opinion about abortion was given during a 2004 interview when he said: “The use of abortion as birth control is one thing, the use of it to end pregnancy caused by incest or rape is another, and then there is the decision to destroy an embryo that shows signs of debilitating disease or severe retardation.”
In a January column appearing in the Salt Lake Tribune, Keillor voiced his support for same-sex marriage. “I believe that if voters actually knew gay couples, they would not vote to ban gay marriage. This particular cruelty is the result of social separation, which breeds contempt.”
After reading about the Keillor invitation on the popular Deacon’s Bench blog, one former Catholic teacher posted the comment: “As a former high school theology teacher who got caught being Catholic, I have seen the atrocities foisted upon children whose parents thought that they were providing a Catholic education for their children. One colleague in the theology department shook with rage at the elevation of Pope Benedict to the papacy. The chair of the theology department had an altar set up in her classroom dedicated to Buddha. She also had a female student’s work prominently posted as exemplary for her “lifestyles” class that described her homosexual first kiss with her girlfriend. God have mercy on those entrusted with the formation of young souls!”
This is not the first time the NCEA has invited a controversial speaker to its conference. LifeSite reports that In 2001, the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Penn. and Peoria, Ill. boycotted the NCEA for granting a speaking spot at their convention to the Sr. Joan Chittiser, a Benedictine nun known for her dissent from Catholic teaching on homosexuality and female ordination.
Anyone wishing to voice their concerns can contact NCEA president Dr. Karen M. Ristau, Ed.D.
at president@ncea.org
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