And Now...The Bishop Responds. And Gets It Wrong.

This is a follow-up to this post.

KDKA's Andy Sheehan (who broke this most important story in late April) has an update on CMU President Cohon's email from earlier today.

By the way, he's got a link to the email at CMU.

He also has a reaction from Bishop Zubik:

The Catholic Church of Pittsburgh acknowledges the fact that Carnegie Mellon University has taken the time to treat this unfortunate incident in a serious manner.

Once again, and as I have said over these last few weeks, this is an opportunity for all of us to be reminded that freedom of speech and freedom of expression do not constitute a freedom to dismiss or disrespect the beauty of anyone’s race, the sacredness of anyone’s religious belief or the uniqueness of anyone’s nationality.

Dialogue, disagreements and even demonstrations must be conducted in an atmosphere of decency, self-respect, and esteem for the community in which we live and those who live in it. I hope that all of us – including the students involved – can learn and grow from this very important lesson in living.

I am not sure which update the good bishop is reading but when he writes that:

...this is an opportunity for all of us to be reminded that freedom of speech and freedom of expression do not constitute a freedom to dismiss or disrespect the beauty of anyone’s race, the sacredness of anyone’s religious belief or the uniqueness of anyone’s nationality.

He's got it exactly wrong.  Note his weaselly addition of "race" and "nationality" into the discussion.  Nowhere was there any mention of either at the derby, so let's ignore them as the deflections that they are and concentrate on the what the Bishop really wants to talk about.

He's got it exactly wrong because that's exactly what "freedom of speech and freedom of expression" can constitute: freedom to dismiss or disrespect "the sacredness" of anyone's belief.  However offensive that expression may be to the believers.