Thursday, January 17, 2008

No Free Speech even for a Pope

It appears that Italian universities are just as intolerant as American ones:

"Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday abruptly called off plans to speak at Rome's prestigious La Sapienza university, after students and professors rallied to proclaim him pontiff non grata.

More than 60 professors signed a letter to the public school's rector saying the pope's appearance, which had been scheduled for the opening of the academic year Thursday, was an affront to people of science and to the "secular" nature of the institution.

Students staged a sit-in Tuesday, waving banners scrawled with angry slogans ("Knowledge needs neither fathers nor priests") and launching what they dubbed "anti-cleric week."

Source