Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester rescinds invitation to critic of Islam
WORCESTER (ap) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester has rescinded an invitation to a speaker at a men’s conference after Muslims objected to what they call the speaker’s anti-Islamic views.
The diocese on Wednesday withdrew an invitation for Robert Spencer to speak at the March conference. Spencer, a Catholic, runs blogs and has written books that some consider anti-Muslim.
A spokesman for the diocese says Spencer’s appearance at the conference “is being seen as harmful to Catholic-Islamic relations.”
A spokesman for the Islamic Council of New England called Spencer a “hatemonger” and lauded the diocese’s decision.
Spencer in emails to The Boston Globe (http://b.globe.com/11a1CKU ) said there is “nothing hateful or bigoted” about his views, and called the diocese’s decision to pull his invitation “evidence of the cowardice of Roman Catholic officials.”
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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe
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