Professor acted within school rules

On July 10, the Daily Herald featured a front-page story with the headline "Teacher fired for stating beliefs." My initial reaction upon reading the whole article was shock and disbelief. Professor Ken Howell of the University of Illinois, who taught classes on Catholicism, was fired because a student accused the professor of engaging in "hate speech" by saying "he agrees with the church's teaching that homosexual sex is immoral."

How can a professor who is teaching about the Catholic faith be fired because he is simply relating a long-standing teaching of the Catholic Church? Professor Howell stated correctly that his "responsibility in teaching a class on Catholicism is to teach what the Catholic Church teaches." It is worth noting that this is a teaching of the church that has been in place for hundreds of years.

It is enough to recognize that the professor was merely doing his job, but also consider that the university's academic staff handbook says that faculty "are entitled to freedom in the classroom in developing and discussing according to their areas of competence the subjects that they are assigned."

What could be simpler? The professor was not only stating what the Catholic Church has always taught but also acting within the guidelines of the university's own handbook.

The University of Illinois and President Michael J. Hogan need to re-examine why Professor Howell was indiscriminately fired and come up with a better answer than what university spokeswoman Robin Kaler stated, that she "couldn't comment on Howell or his firing because it's a personnel issue." That empty response may satisfy some, but if I had a son or daughter there and I was paying $10,000 in tuition and expenses yearly, I would demand that this blatant injustice be corrected or the school would not get another dime.

Larry O'Neill

Palatine