Public Engagement

This morning's Star Tribune has an article about the decision of the University of Minnesota's Department of Theater Arts to keep a production of Dario Fo's The Pope and the Witch on this year's schedule. As summarized by the play's director, Robert Rosen, on the department's web site

With The Pope and the Witch, Dario Fo creates a world turned upside down. 

The Pope is in crisis. 100,000 poor, starving orphans from third world countries are arriving in St. Peter’s Square in what he believes is a plot by fanatical birth control activists to embarrass him and the church.  He becomes, literally, frozen with anxiety. There begins a surreal journey, guided by a healer from Burundi, into a world of poverty, drug addicts, Mafia hit men and illicit commerce.

Faced with these realities the Pope takes an unpopular stand: The man of great power takes the side of those who have no power.  He puts out a revolutionary Encyclical and the world explodes into anarchy.

Absurd, grotesque frightening, and thought provoking, The Pope And The Witch will simultaneously amuse, engage and provide perspective.  A fusion of comedy and vital reality.

The play has provoked strong protests from some Catholic organizations and their spokespersons. From the Star Tribune article:

The New York-based Catholic League, whose president, Bill Donohue, calls the play "pure hate speech," has criticized its appearance at theaters that receive public money from the National Endowment for the Arts. Demonstrations have been held at several colleges where the play has been staged.

Colleen Perfect of St. Paul, a representative of Catholic Parents Online, said [via email]
"Tolerating this type of hate is giving license to defamation ... One can only imagine what kind of upheaval would take place on campus if the U staged a play smearing Mohammed.

Rosen explains: "I chose this play because it is political. It takes a stand on issues in the forefront of our daily lives. It is funny, irreverent and to the point.  It was written, after all, by an epic clown, the foremost political farceur of our time. Some people will disagree with the message and still others with the means with which the message is conveyed.  Students of the theatre must learn to use their art form to express their views of the world in which they live."

University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks met with Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Archdiocese of St. Paul to discuss the U's intended performance, and (through U spokesman Daniel Wolter) averred that "the academic and artistic value of the satirical play ... is stronger than Catholic claims that it's blasphemous." Appropriately, several forums will be held at the U next year that will offer opportunities to debate ideas about the play,

This is the proper outcome. Colleges and universities, while wary of offending various groups, need to remember that their prime role in society is to critically examine received wisdom and existing intellectual and sociopolitical structures. Critical examination demands fair opportunities for both challenge and response. Only in this way can higher education fulfill its responsibilitiy to engage with important public issues.