Earlier this month In Beaufort County, South Carolina, county council member Laura Von Harten let everyone know about her reasons for opposing a zoning request from a local Catholic church. The Beaufort Gazette has the story:
Board member disagrees with
Catholic church teachings;
will vote against expansionPublished Tue, Nov 18, 2008 12:00 AM
By DANIEL BROWNSTEINA county board voted to rezone a greater Bluffton church over the objection of one County Council member who said she’ll vote against it because of the Catholic church’s stance on reproductive rights and other issues.
The county Land Management Committee voted 5-2 Monday to rezone St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church from rural to suburban, a move that, if approved by County Council, would allow the growing parish to expand.
That change would allow the church and school on U.S. 278 near Buckwalter Parkway to build additional buildings and parking because it reduces the amount of required open space on the 63-acre site by 20 percent.
Beaufort County Councilor Laura Von Harten
During the discussion, Laura Von Harten, who represents Beaufort and Port Royal, but is not a member of the land committee, said she won’t support the rezoning when it comes before the council because official Catholic policies are an “affront to my dignity and all of womankind.”
Von Harten cited the Catholic church’s position against female clergy and “uterus rights” as her reason for opposing the rezoning request.
“I don’t want to support anything that will perpetuate that,” she said. “I just have to vote in favor of love and not hate.”
Church leaders took great exception to Von Harten’s comments.
“I’ve lived in South Carolina for 15 years and have never heard such religious bigotry,” Father Ronald Cellini said after the meeting.
St. Gregory the Great has no immediate plans to build, except for adding parking spaces and reconfiguring the lot to make it easier for people to get in and out, according to Ross Kuykendall, chairman of the congregation’s building committee.
The church is saddled with debt from its kindergarten through sixth-grade school that opened in August 2007, Kuykendall said.
“We just need the zoning so we can expand in the future,” he said.
Ms. Van Harten can be contacted at lvonharten@bcgov.net or (843)379-1367.
UPDATE 29-NOV-08: Von Harten has her defenders in Beaufort County, including Deb Welch and Walt Hartung.
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