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	Fred Phelps, Foolishness, and Freedom of Speech By Matt C. Abbott Renew America November 4, 2007 http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/abbott/071104 I don't care for Fred Phelps, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., or his followers. I don't like his tactics or his over-the-top, foul rhetoric. However, being a pro-life activist, I do support freedom of speech. Thus, a jury's recent decision to have Mr. Phelps' church — whose members protest at funerals of American soldiers — pay nearly $11 million in damages is a bit troubling to me. The National Organization for Women sued pro-life activist Joe Scheidler and other pro-lifers for protesting at abortion mills. Thankfully, NOW wasn't successful, but it took three trips to the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure NOW's defeat. I'm certainly not putting Mr. Scheidler in the same category as Mr. Phelps — the former is a pro-life hero while the latter is a fool — but there are those who may argue that pro-lifers' protests are worse than Mr. Phelps' protests. And they could very well sue. In fact, they already have. The prospect of legitimate pro-life organizations and activists being censored, sued, and even imprisoned scares me. It's not out of the realm of possibility, either. It may not happen in the near future, but it could happen down the road. For that reason, I hesitate to celebrate the jury's decision. Of course, morally speaking, there's no comparison between Mr. Phelps' ridiculous protests and those of peaceful pro-life activists. I asked a few traditional Catholics for their thoughts (via e-mail) on the case. Bill Grossklas, of Elmhurst, Ill., said: "If, in these protests, they are stating their religious beliefs, then, as far as I'm concerned, that speech is protected by the First Amendment. As for Phelps, rudeness and bad taste, the last I checked, were not crimes." Attorney James Bendell said: "The basic assumption of this group is ridiculous. If God is punishing America for tolerating homosexuality, then why not picket the families of motor vehicle fatalities too? The cruelty they inflict on the families of soldiers is unconscionable." John Grasmeier, an Army veteran, said: "Mr. Phelps and his crew claim to be Baptist. While I can't say how one or another of the multitudes of Protestant sects may view their activities, from a traditional Catholic standpoint, I can say that their clownish interpretation of God's view on homosexuals is pure heresy. He and his family's appalling antics at the funerals of grieving families are inexcusable sins against charity. Catholic teaching, from any theological standpoint, is such that Mr. Phelps and his cohorts have little or no chance of salvation without, at the very least, full and sincere repentance of these contemptible sins. "One further point any well-catechized Catholic should fully understand is that the American legal understanding of 'freedom of speech' does not apply to the faithful. We have no freedom whatsoever to speech that is harmful, sinful, immoral or heretical. Mr. Phelps should be thankful he's getting off with being sued into poverty. In a proper Christian society, he would not only be bankrupted, but jailed as well." Contact: mattcabbott@gmail.com
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