The Continuing Saga of the Professor Who Threatened to Desecrate the Holy Eucharist

The following update was gleaned from this article on the Catholic News Agency's website today (7/23/08): http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13329.

"This past Sunday, Professor Myers wrote on his blog that he would desecrate a Koran in addition to desecrating a consecrated Host, writing, 'Thanks to all who have demanded that I treat that silly book [the Koran] with disrespect, I’ll have to treat both equally.'

Catholic League President Bill Donohue had recently noted that in 2006 Myers had criticized those who published inflammatory cartoons disparaging the Muslim prophet Mohammed. In a Tuesday statement, Donohue said:

'The latest threat by Myers only makes matters worse. Instead of treating Catholicism with the respect he has previously shown for Islam, he now pledges to disrespect Islam the way he pledges to disrespect Catholicism (once again!). This is his idea of equal treatment.'

Donohue argued that Myers had an opportunity to either rebut or sustain claims that there is a 'moral vacuity' in Darwinian visions of society, depending on whether or not he engaged in the threatened desecrations.

In an interview with Catholic Radio International, Professor Myers portrayed his threats as the result of what he perceives to be Bill Donohue’s forceful tactics rather than any official actions by the Church.

Myers was asked by radio show host Jeff Gardner if any official representative of the Catholic Church had told him he had to believe in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. 'Well, that’s actually a very good point,' said Myers. 'There’s been no official response from the Catholic Church and I would make a deal here, that I would return these wafers to the nearest Catholic church if the Church would come out and disavow the tactics of Bill Donohue and the people who have threatened my job and have threatened my life,' Myers said."