The University of St. Thomas banned conservative Catholic author Michael Knowles from speaking about transgenderism on campus, The Washington Times reports.
Officials at the Minnesota university announced last week that they rejected a request from the College Republicans to invite the Daily Wire host to speak after learning of his past comments on the topic.
"After reviewing the online content available for Mr. Knowles, I concluded that the event does not meet the criteria for an approved club event," an unidentified administrator said in an email. "Statements he has made do not align with our St. Thomas Conviction Statements on dignity and diversity.
"Specifically, Mr. Knowles has made statements that are derogatory to the transgender and autistic community."
On Wednesday, Knowles, 32, took to Twitter to question the school's purportedly Catholic views.
"If my views on transgenderism are Catholic, and those views 'violate the University's Core Convictions,' then what does that say about the core convictions of the allegedly Catholic @UofStThomasMN?' he tweeted.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "By creating the human being man and woman, God gives personal dignity equally to the one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity."
The catechism also states, "Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law."
Knowles also tagged the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the post.
According to the Times, Knowles previously spoke about "transgenderism madness" at Washburn College in Kansas in March.
"We are looking at a phenomenon rooted not in biology, but in a kind of social mania," Knowles reportedly told his audience at Washburn, a public school.
The president of Washburn denounced Knowles' timing of the speech, which was given on Trans Visibility Day, according to the Times.
In a press release, St. Thomas' College Republicans said that an event approval policy gives university administrators the right to "prohibit any speaker from coming to campus that they determine to violate the St. Thomas Conviction Statements." The group invited Knowles to speak in March.
"They want to keep the Catholic face without the Catholic faith," David Povolny, the group’s president, told Alpha News on Sunday.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 1,000 people had signed a petition to appeal the university’s decision.
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