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RNS News Briefs

Pennsylvania Catholic bishop criticized for Hitler comment

By DIANA FISHLOCK
©2012 Religion News Service

HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS) — The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Pa., is being criticized for saying Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini would love the country’s public school system because it teaches all children one set of beliefs.

Bishop Joseph P. McFadden made the remark while advocating for school vouchers during a televised interview last week.

“In totalitarian governments, they would love our system,” McFadden said. “This is what Hitler and Mussolini and all those tried to establish: a monolith so all the children would be educated in one set of beliefs and one way of doing things.”

McFadden’s words sparked outrage from the area chapter of the Anti-Defamation League and a rebuke from the legislative director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

In an email sent to The Patriot-News on Jan. 25, McFadden said he didn’t mean to cause offence and that he was not trying to trivialize the Holocaust.

“The reference to dictators and totalitarian governments of the 20th century, which I made in an interview on the topic of school choice, was to make a dramatic illustration of how these unchecked monolithic governments of the past used schools to curtail the primary responsibility of the parent in the education of their children,” McFadden said.

“Today many parents in our state experience the same lack of freedom in choosing an education that best suits their child as those parents oppressed by dictators of the past. I intentionally did not make reference to the Holocaust in my remarks,” he said.

ADL regional director Barry Morrison said McFadden’s remarks are offensive to people who suffered through the Holocaust or fought fascism.

“We appreciate his commitment to the education of children and the viability of Catholic schools,” Morrison said. “However, he should not be making his point at the expense of the memory of six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Holocaust.”

Andy Hoover, legislative director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said that while everyone makes mistakes, McFadden’s remarks were “completely inappropriate.”

Besides, public schools are diverse, not monolithic, Hoover said.

“Sure, there are standards that are set by the state, but everything is done in an open, public process and is checked by the political system,” he said. “School boards are elected, the people from the Department of Education work for the governor. So, our public school system is actually very democratic and very open.”

Fishlock writes for The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa.

Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims blast Rick Santorum on ‘equality’ comment

By OMAR SACIRBEY
c. 2012 Religion News Service

(RNS) — Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus are accusing Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum of bigotry and ignorance after he said that “equality” is solely a Judaeo-Christian concept.

“Where do you think the concept of equality comes from?” Santorum said on the campaign trail Jan. 20. “It doesn’t come from Islam. It doesn’t come from the East and Eastern religions. It comes from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Not everyone agreed.

“Sen. Santorum’s presidential campaign is now playing to the lowest common denominator of religious bigotry and prejudice by attacking Eastern religions and Islam,” said Aseem Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation. Santorum’s comments, Shukla added, “show a profound ignorance of the teachings of Dharma spiritual traditions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.”

Santorum’s campaign did not answer repeated requests for comment.
Critics said Santorum — a devout Catholic — not only has his politics wrong, but also his history.

For example, in the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu Scripture, the god Krishna writes, “I look upon all creatures equally; none are less dear to me and none more dear.”

“Indian religions predate Abraham, Jacob and all that Rick Santorum was talking about,” said Sulekh Jain of Sugar Land, Texas, chair of the International School for Jain Studies. “All souls are equal in every way. All feel pain and all feel pleasure. This concept is deeply embedded in the whole philosophy of Jainism.”

Sikhs, who also trace their religion to India, were equally upset.
“In Sikhism, all human beings have equal status in the eyes of God. No differentiation in status or ceremonies or rights is made between men and women, rich and poor, foreigner and countryman, high caste or low caste,” said Manbeena Kaur, education director for the New York-based Sikh Coalition.

“Sikhs have had this belief in and practice of equality as a spiritual mandate long before the political revolutions that brought freedom to America and much of the western world.”

Buddhism expert Toshie Kurihara argues equality was a foundational teaching of the Buddha.

“The Buddha preached against the caste system and advocated equality of all people. From the beginning, Buddhism espoused the concept of equality of all people,” she wrote last year in the Journal of Oriental Studies.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would send Santorum a copy of the Quran, Islam’s holy text.

“The Quran is the best refutation of Mr. Santorum’s inaccurate and offensive remarks,” said Ibrahim Hooper, a CAIR spokesperson.

The group cited Quran verses and sayings of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad that supported equality. For example, Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said, “All people are equal as the teeth of a comb.”