The South Dakota Catholic Conference supports House Bill 1178, which will prohibit the use of state-owned facilities or public moneys to support or facilitate obscene live conduct at public universities under the control of the Board of Regents.
Public authorities should work to uphold morality, rather than undermining it by subsidizing activities that are obscene or pornographic in nature. The Church has long taught that a proper respect for human dignity precludes the production and consumption of certain forms of debased “entertainment.”
“Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate. It requires of the communications media that their presentations show concern for respect and restraint. Purity of heart brings freedom from widespread eroticism and avoids entertainment inclined to voyeurism and illusion.”(Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2525)
“So-called moral permissiveness rests on an erroneous conception of human freedom; the necessary precondition for the development of true freedom is to let oneself be educated in the moral law. Those in charge of education can reasonably be expected to give young people instruction respectful of the truth, the qualities of the heart, and the moral and spiritual dignity of man.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2526)
HB 1178 will help ensure that South Dakota’s taxpayer-funded institutions of higher education do not use funds or facilities to promote objectionable programs that undermine public morality.
