Bishop John Nienstedt of New Ulm Still Engaged in Battle with the U of Minnesota Over Sacrilegious "The Pope and The Witch" Play

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The University of Minnesota has scheduled a performance of the play “The Pope and the Witch,” beginning on March 1. This work portrays the Holy Father in a sacrilegious manner, describing him as a heroin-addicted paranoid. It is openly anti-Catholic in its intent, filled with hatred and prejudice.
University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks defends his use of taxpayers’ money for this production by saying that this is an acknowledgement of “a very broad diversity of points of view.”
Yet I dare say he would not back a similar play which criticized a Jewish or Islamic religious leader. Readers must ask themselves if we want our state universities to be teaching our youth to be religious bigots against any denomination or creed. Do we want taxpayers’ money financing such displays of social prejudice and hatred?

I encourage readers to protest this production by contacting President Bruininks.

Bishop John C. Nienstedt [West Central Tribune, Willmar, MN]