Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Nelson Mandela. Both men were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

A powerful network of right-wing Catholics is trying to ban Archbishop Desmond Tutu from speaking at Gonzaga University next month.

Archbishop Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his courageous opposition to South African apartheid, is beloved around the world as a powerful voice for peace and justice. But that doesn’t matter to the extremists who’ve been waging a McCarthyist campaign of fear and intimidation on Catholic college campuses across the country.

The Cardinal Newman Society, which led the opposition to President Obama’s commencement speech at Notre Dame three years ago, is circulating a petition demanding that the President of Gonzaga University disinvite Archbishop Tutu—but so far this time they only have a few hundred signatures. Let’s make sure Gonzaga doesn’t give in to the Religious Right!

That’s why I created a petition to Thayne McCulloh, President, Gonzaga Univeresity on SignOn.org, which says:

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a powerful voice for peace and justice, and Gonzaga University graduates deserve the honor of hearing him speak at commencement this year. Don’t give in to the Religious Right extremists who are trying to silence him.

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274584&id=39706-8463490-3keIT6x&t=2 <http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274584&amp;id=39706-8463490-3keIT6x&amp;t=2>

Thanks!

–Michael Sherrard, Faithful America

The text above was written by Michael Sherrard, not by MoveOn staff, and MoveOn is not responsible for the content.