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Key Takeaways
- The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has yet to establish the promised council to address concerns stemming from a drag show titled 'Mass,' despite a commitment made by Chancellor Rodney Bennett.
- The council was intended to provide guidance on sensitive matters, following criticism from Bishop James Conley and a national Catholic group regarding the drag show, which incorporated elements of the Roman Catholic Mass.
- Critics, including the Cardinal Newman Society, argue that secular universities like Nebraska-Lincoln are increasingly hostile to Christian values, emphasizing that performances like the drag show are inappropriate for a predominantly Christian student body.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln promised a special council would be created by the end of the summer following a controversy involving a graduate student’s drag show “Mass.” But as of October 1, there is no proof the council has been created.
The President’s Advisory Round Table on Community Engagement “will advise the university on the most effective ways and best practices in addressing sensitive and often emotional matters for which there are strong convictions,” Chancellor Rodney Bennett wrote in a letter to Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln.
The promise followed criticism from Conley and a national Catholic group, over a drag show performance by Joseph Willette titled “The Mass of Perpetual Indulgence.”
The university granted Willette his doctoral degree in musical composition based partially on his drag show.
“Ultimately, this work celebrates the queer body as a holy body, queer community as a sacred communion, and carnal pleasure as a consecrated sacrament,” the musical composition doctoral student wrote. The musical set had portions unique to the Roman Catholic Mass, including a “Kyrie,” “Sanctus,” and “Credo,” as reported by The College Fix.
Chancellor Bennett promised Bp. Conley “membership is being finalized and expected to be operational by the end of the summer.” The group would include, according to Bennett, “well-respected individuals across the state of Nebraska and our country, who are experts in their professional fields, and whose work is considered among the leading voices.”
Kim Rauscher, a staffer in Bennett’s office told The Fix on Sept. 10 that Cara Pesek, the communications director for the university system, would be responding. Pesek did not respond to a total of four emails and two voicemails left in the past month.
The Fix also reached out to Dr. Chris Kratochvil, the vice president of external relations for the university system. He did not respond to an email sent on Sept. 26 that asked for an update. The Fix left a message with a staffer in his office on Friday who said he would be back on Monday, Sept. 29.
The bishop’s office told The Fix in early September that it had not heard anything further yet from the university about the roundtable.
“We have not received any further communication from the University or information about the President’s Advisory Roundtable, but we were not necessarily expecting to either,” Dennis Kellogg, the communications director, told The Fix. “Our plan as the bishop mentioned is to let them work on the Round Table and any other efforts to create policy and procedures for dealing in a positive and effective manner with any future similar faith-based issues, and then check back with them in approximately six months to see what progress has been made.”
Marion Miner, who serves as associate director of pro-life and family policy for the Nebraska Catholic Conference, said he had not heard anything else since he met with Bennett and the bishop over the summer.
“We all care about the University,” he told The Fix. “We appreciate their sincere apology and hope they will work hard to make good on their promises–for their own benefit, the benefit of their students, and the earned goodwill of the Catholic community in Nebraska, which includes many thousands of their students, alumni, faculty, and staff.”
The drag show drew fresh criticism from Kelly Salomon with the Cardinal Newman Society. The group seeks to “promote and defend faithful Catholic education.”
“This drag show “Mass’ is just another example of the state of secular universities, which are increasingly becoming more hostile to Christian values,” Salomon told The Fix via email. “Drag shows ‘Masses’ and other offensive performances have no place on college campuses, and certainly not on a campus like the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with such a large majority of Christian students.”
The Fix left a voicemail on Tuesday with the media relations office for UNL and sent an email. No one responded to the afternoon questions.
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