A Catholic university in Minnesota has barred conservative Catholic author Michael Knowles from speaking about transgenderism based on his past comments about the topic.
University of St. Thomas officials announced in an email last week that they rejected a College Republicans’ request to host the Daily Wire host after vetting his public record.
“After reviewing the online content available for Mr. Knowles, I concluded that the event does not meet the criteria for an approved club event. Statements he has made do not align with our St. Thomas Conviction Statements on dignity and diversity,” reads the email from an unidentified administrator.
“Specifically, Mr. Knowles has made statements that are derogatory to the transgender and autistic community,” added the email, which the Daily Wire published.
Mr. Knowles, 32, tweeted on Wednesday that St. Thomas “wasn’t able to cite any of those allegedly problematic statements.”
Reached on Monday, a university spokesperson declined to comment.
The school’s College Republicans, who invited Mr. Knowles to speak in March, said in a press release that an Event Approval Policy allows administrators to “prohibit any speaker from coming to campus that they determine to violate the St. Thomas Conviction Statements.”
“They want to keep the Catholic face without the Catholic faith,” student David Povolny, the group’s president, added during a video interview with Alpha News on Sunday.
As of Monday afternoon, more than 1,000 people had signed a College Republicans petition to appeal the university’s decision.
Mr. Knowles, who books campus lectures through Young America’s Foundation, previously spoke about ending “transgenderism madness” at Washburn College in Kansas on March 31.
“We are looking at a phenomenon rooted not in biology, but in a kind of social mania,” Mr. Knowles told a crowd at the public school.
Washburn’s president criticized the choice of Mr. Knowles to give the speech, which fell on Trans Visibility Day.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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