Opposition to McNally Play

Re “The New Censorship: Controversy in a ‘Smiley Face’ Culture,” Opinion, June 7:

Todd Gitlin needs to become a little more friendly with his dictionary before he throws around words like “censorship.” The efforts of the Catholic League and others to oppose Terrence McNally’s play, “‘Corpus Christi” (whose offensive portrayal of Jesus having sex with his apostles has been confirmed by a New York Times reporter who read the script), constitute not censorship, but American democracy in action.

Censorship involves forcible legal restraint by government. We are urging the play’s producers to exercise the same moral self-restraint that they undoubtedly would in rejecting material that was racist, sexist or defamatory to a religion other than Christianity. We do not question their legal right to go ahead with the play; neither should Gitlin question our legal right to use moral suasion to oppose it.

RICH HINSHAW

Director of Communications

Catholic League, New York

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Gitlin characterizes William Donohue’s criticism of “Corpus Christi” as the product of a “one censor fits all” philosophy. The cause of civilized discourse will be aided immeasurably when careless writers like Gitlin stop confusing criticism with censorship.

Criticism does not constitute censorship, nor can any of Donohue’s quoted words possibly be construed as a demand for censorship.

JOHN DELANEY

Costa Mesa