COMMENTARY: Worcester Diocese Was Wrong to "Cave In" to Muslim Pressure

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester (Massachusetts) last week rescinded an invitation to Robert Spencer -- a Catholic whose work depicts Islam as a violent religion -- to speak at its annual Catholic Men's Conference next month.

The invitation was withdrawn, after several Muslims expressed their concerns to the Worcester diocese about Spencer as a speaker.

Spencer is director of the anti-Islamic blog called Jihad Watch. He has also written several books critical of Islam, and he believes that jihad is a major principle of Islam.

We believe that the Worcester diocese was wrong in rescinding Spencer's invitation to speak at its Catholic Men's Conference. Doing so only reinforces the Islamic belief that pressure on Catholics -- as well as other Christians -- will be effective in intimidating their organizations to silence when they want to be critical of Islam. In other words, the Worcester diocese is setting a bad precedent.

Moreover, rescinding Spencer's invitation is contrary to the democratic principles upon which the United States was founded, in that it negates the freedom of speech and the free exchange of ideas to which Americans are entitled.

Indeed, American organizations must not be pressured into silence with respect to having a speaker who may be critical of Islam.

To do so conveys a message of cowardice toward Islam by that organization, as well as a denial of the constitutional rights that should be an integral part of the American democratic process.