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Minnesota Professor pledges to Desecrate Eucharist

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Paul Zachary Myers, a professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, has pledged to desecrate the Eucharist. He is responding to what happened recently at the University of Central Florida when a student walked out of Mass with the Host, holding it hostage for several days. Myers was angry at the Catholic League for criticizing the student. His post can be accessed from his faculty page on the university’s website.

Here is an excerpt of his July 8 post, “It’s a Frackin’ Cracker!”:

“Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers?” Myers continued by saying, “if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I’ll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won’t be tempted to hold it hostage (no, not even if I have a choice between returning the Eucharist and watching Bill Donohue kick the pope in the balls, which would apparently be a more humane act than desecrating a goddamned cracker), but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:

“The Myers blog can be accessed from the university’s website. The university has a policy statement on this issue which says that the ‘Contents of all electronic pages must be consistent with University of Minnesota policies, local, state and federal laws.’ One of the school’s policies, ‘Code of Conduct,’ says that ‘When dealing with others,’ faculty et al. must be ‘respectful, fair and civil.’ Accordingly, we are contacting the President and the Board of Regents to see what they are going to do about this matter. Because the university is a state institution, we are also contacting the Minnesota legislature.

“It is hard to think of anything more vile than to intentionally desecrate the Body of Christ. We look to those who have oversight responsibility to act quickly and decisively.”

Contact President Robert Bruininks at bruin001@umn.edu

Comments

26 responses to “Minnesota Professor pledges to Desecrate Eucharist”

  1. Doris Rodriguez Avatar
    Doris Rodriguez

    How utterly sad and tragic that a grown man with so much responsibility and influence among our youth can resort to something so childish and immature! The most immediate thought that springs to my mind is our Lord’s very own words from the cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!”

    Each one of us will be held accountable for our own presence at and response to Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary, therefore it should come as no surprise that Jesus, in the sacred Eucharist, would be surrounded by the same jeering, sneering crowd of unbelievers. And, like the repentent thief, we should also exclaim, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.”

    “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom!” And please work a miracle in the heart of Paul Zachary Myers so that his eyes will be opened to the Truth of Who You Are … and, like Saul of Tarsus who persecuted You relentlessly, he will be “miraculously” transformed into one of Your greatest teachers and defenders of the Faith on his own road to Damascus! + Amen

  2. slbute Avatar
    slbute

    Hopefully. God is great. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.

  3. Doris Rodriguez Avatar
    Doris Rodriguez

    In spite of all his diplomas and certificates of education, this man is truly ignorant and must be pitied … but more than this, he must be prayed for because he is tragically LOST!

    Yes, we are indignant and upset and we want to cut off the ear of anyone who would dare to accost our Lord … but Jesus would be the first to reach out and heal the very ear we have cut off!

    Our best action is PRAYER because our struggle is not with flesh and blood! The night before He faced His greatest suffering, our Lord pleaded with His disciples to stay awake and pray with Him! He is still asking us to do this today! In response to this horrific act, we should all get before the Blessed Sacrament to keep watch and pray with Jesus for one hour at the very least!

    “He returned a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough. The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.’” – Mark 14:41

  4. sillyfuzz Avatar
    sillyfuzz

    Where does this hate come from? Mr. Myers is hurting very much and needs much prayers. However, this is “hate speech” at its worst. I am very interested in seeing how the University handles this.

  5. La Sandia Avatar
    La Sandia

    How demonic.

  6. mom_to_seven Avatar
    mom_to_seven

    Before we start firing off letters to the university’s president though, we have to double check Bill Donahue’s reporting (as always). If Myer’s blog can be accessed from the university’s website, it isn’t readily available. Look for yourself!

    Here is his blog post and it is offensive: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/07/its_a_goddamned_cracker.php

    Donahue says, “The university has a policy statement on this issue which says that the ‘Contents of all electronic pages must be consistent with University of Minnesota policies, local, state and federal laws.’” That applies to web pages that are directly connected to the university and are easily recognizable as such. http://www.policy.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/policy/publishing_on_www.cfm

    Catholic League continues to makes Catholics look like morons by not getting facts straight! What this professor is saying is horrible and offensive but why can’t Bill Donahue be honest? Shouldn’t we hold him to that standard?

  7. mkochan Avatar
    mkochan

    Please clarify how you think he is being dishonest. I am puzzled.

  8. dusek04 Avatar
    dusek04

    I don’t get how he is being dishonest either. Maybe he’s been dishonest in the past??? However, in this case, Donahue is telling the truth. I checked the links given above, and Myers did say this.

    Myers’ anti-Catholic spiel is hate talk. However, apparently the Florida college student has received death threats, and that is clearly wrong.

    If you want to contact Myer’s Dean, the phone number is 320-589-6015.

  9. lonecrusader Avatar
    lonecrusader

    I emailed the university and got the lame “we disagree with his comments and have terminated his link” statement. By not firing him, they condone his hate speech. We need to stand as one voice and not let this issue go until he is fired! There are several groups forminhg already that are dedicated to this effort. Find one that suits your way of standing for the faith and do not back down until this bozo’s employment is terminated.

  10. mom_to_seven Avatar
    mom_to_seven

    Yes, Dusek4, you checked my links! The blog the appalling professor posted on is not the university’s. Donahue does not provide any links except for the email. The professor had a faculty web page (http://sci2135d1-pm.morris.umn.edu/) which Donahue couldn’t bother to provide the link for either. Apparently the university does have an issue with this hate-filled rant because the website is not accessable now. Donahue would like us to believe that somehow this had the University of Minnesota’s stamp of approval on it and it does not. Also, it was Donahue’s remarks on the Florida incident that brought on the remarks by Myers. I believe Bill Donahue is deceptive in the way he words things, he doesn’t seem to believe the exact truth is appalling enough.

    I also seriously doubt the Florida student received death threats. He says he has “even received death threats.” I like to see proof, like filing a police report or such. A college student vying for attention like Webster Cook is can say anything he wants, it doesn’t make it true, does it?

    I believe a productive way to address this is to comment on the professor’s blog to counter-act the hateful things being said there. Also, consider if you believe college is of great importance to your teen and young adult children, what will they be “taught” there? Then, make sure you and your children are critical thinkers.

  11. mkochan Avatar
    mkochan

    When I looked at his blog I saw this “PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.”

    Universities have long claimed that scientists who supported Intelligent Design on their private blogs were endangering the scientific reputation of the University if the scientist was known to have a connection with the University –even if the blog was completely independent of the University. This has been used as an excuse to terminate and ruin the careers of professors.

    So if they can claim that a blog post supporting ID by a professor damages the scientific credibilty of a school, then obviously blog post should be just as connected to the University that he comes from.

  12. mom_to_seven Avatar
    mom_to_seven

    Just to be more clear, Donahue, without providing any links, mentions the university’s policy statement regarding web pages and content. I provided the link for the policy statement. Their policy statement applies to pages directly linked to the university and easily recognizable as such. If you were to visit the science blog, would you consider it a University of Minnesota web page? If yes, I don’t understand how.

    It was dishonest to say that the professor, no matter how revolting he is, violated school policy with the school’s blessing.

  13. mom_to_seven Avatar
    mom_to_seven

    Just becaue he lists where he works doesn’t make it a university web site. And just because some in the science field don’t let those with opposing opinions speak, does not mean we should advocate the same position.

  14. mkochan Avatar
    mkochan

    I agree that it is not a University website. I see your point that he might not have violated University policy as Donahue is asserting. However, I do think that his message is rightly linked to the University by his identification of himself as a prof there. I don’t think we should let these academics have their cake and eat it too, but I can understand why opinions might differ on this and on how it should be handled.

  15. mom_to_seven Avatar
    mom_to_seven

    Thank you, Ms. Kochan. I am not trying to be overly critical, I just find the Catholic League to be somewhat reactionary and not neccessarily addressing truly problematic anti-Catholicism.

    I’m very frustrated by the blind acceptance of the death threats statements. If Webster Cook received death threats, why is no one, absolutely no one, asking him to elaborate?

  16. mom_to_seven Avatar
    mom_to_seven

    There are many comments on the original incident here: http://fratres.wordpress.com/2008/07/06/webster-f-cook-video-of-a-thief-and-his-excuses/

    There is also a letter from Webster Cook apoplogizing for his action and the pain it caused. I really don’t know where the death threat comments started…….

  17. mkochan Avatar
    mkochan

    That’s the MSM for you.

    Just like they want to to portray abortionists as risking their lives because of all the pro-lifers threatening them, when any objective analysis shows that the pro-lifers are much more often the targets of violence.

  18. dennisofraleigh Avatar
    dennisofraleigh

    For the record, here is a link to the story that appeared in the Minneapolis *Star Tribune* regarding this incident. If the comments left by some of the paper’s readers is any indication, Catholic sentiment is not getting a whole lot of sympathy. A lot of “OK, get over it” kind of responses.

    http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/faith/24313139.html?location_refer=$urlTrackSectionName

  19. christymomof3 Avatar
    christymomof3

    Prof. Myers is an equal-opportunity desecrator http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/07/desecration_its_a_fun_hobby.php, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. He’s enjoying all this uproar. I think Donohue should have prayed for the soul of this bitter man and left it at that. He has bigger battles to fight, opportunities to really defend Catholicism from true bigotry.

  20. dusek04 Avatar
    dusek04

    Many Catholics don’t understand about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. And if Catholics don’t understand it, how can we expect Protestants to understand about it? This is a “teachable moment” for many, and also a good time to pray that we can be peaceful as we explain why this is important to Catholics.

  21. sillyfuzz Avatar
    sillyfuzz

    mom_to_seven, Mr. Donahue did not state that Myers’ blog was posted on the University’s website, but rather can be accessed, “The Myers blog can be accessed from the university’s website.” It very irresponsible for any University to have links on their website without reviewing it. The average person will assume that any link on the University website will be consistent with the principles and values of the University. I believe you are letting your emotional bias against Bill Donahue and the Catholic League blur your thinking.

  22. beate Avatar
    beate

    Hi sillyfuzz,

    How do you access Myers’ blog from the university website? Would you mind sending the link? I found his e-mail addy and phone number, but not his site.

    Thanks

  23. mom_to_seven Avatar
    mom_to_seven

    Sillyfuzz – Why would not liking someone’s tactics be called emotional bias? Mr. Donahue and his Catholic League are disliked by many Catholics who, like me, find that he makes many situations worse and does not represent all Catholics by the tactics he uses in his attacks.

  24. mom_to_seven Avatar
    mom_to_seven

    Here is a comment posted by a priest in a discussion with atheists and at Mark Shea’s blog.

    http://www.haloscan.com/comments/chezami/3783504489666622753/#932412

    It’s well worth reading.

  25. INTHEBEGINNING Avatar
    INTHEBEGINNING

    myers wants to be a powerful man, like pontius pilot, he can desecrate and destroy as much as he can the Holy Eucharist, just like what they did to Christ in his Passion, but he will lose his soul at the end. We will pray for those who have never known Love and Mercy.

  26. Doris Rodriguez Avatar
    Doris Rodriguez

    Sadly, we are playing into this man’s twenty minute bid for fame by talking it to death! Pray, pray, pray without ceasing! My only solace is that I know there are religious persons EVERYWHERE who on their knees before the Blessed Sacrament in prayer for this man and this situation! I also take solace in knowing that our Lord is working it all out for good, no matter what it looks like with the physical eye. I am also praying for those who are consumed with hatred, anger, and the desire to do physical harm. Do we really think we will be spared the agony of seeing our Lord persecuted and tortured just because we live 2,000 years in the future? We always talk about joining with Christ in His agony and suffering and I think this is what is happening right now in every Catholic Christian’s heart! We must lay our feelings of helplessness, shock, and abject sorrow over what is happening to our Lord at the foot of His cross! We must don spiritual sackcloths and throw ashes over our heads and intercede with all our hearts and souls. And we need to repent of all the times we have partaken of the Blessed Sacrament without understanding the true presence of Christ ourselves. If we truly understood it, we would enter the sanctuary on our knees and humble ourselves on our faces before the Lord God the entire time we are in His presense. We must live our faith out loud! Amen.

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