Nun's Speech At Fundraiser Gets Nixed Because She Approved Of Anti-Bush Ad

Diocese cancels nun's Duluth talk because of anti-Bush newspaper ad

Let this be a lesson to all of you Catholics out there -- being anti-Bush might raise the ire of your local diocese.

Catholic Sister Helen Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking" and a longtime social activist, has been uninvited as the keynote speaker at the Diocese of Duluth education dinner in October.

In a letter to some diocese residents sent Monday, Duluth Bishop Dennis Schnurr said the decision to cancel the event and Prejean's address was based on her name appearing on an Aug. 3 New York Times advertisement calling for President Bush to be removed from office.

Schnurr said the ad was brought to his attention by lay people in the diocese.

"Upon reviewing the advertisement, I find that I share their concerns," Schnurr said in the letter. "Therefore we have made the difficult decision to cancel her appearance."