LDS Church fires back at criticism over Cheney

PROVO — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fired back Thursday at criticism of the choice of Vice President Dick Cheney as Brigham Young University's commencement speaker.

The church and the university also announced Thursday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, an LDS Democrat from Nevada, will speak at BYU on Nov. 27.

Some BYU students, alumni and faculty have criticized the invitation of Cheney as partisan, but a statement posted on the church's Web site (www.lds.org) Thursday afternoon defended the selection, saying "the invitation is seen by the university's board of trustees as one extended to someone holding the high office of vice president of the United States rather than to a partisan political figure."

Church officials acknowledged the invitation has generated some controversy, enough to spark a campus protest next week.

Administrators at the private university approved the request for a protest on school property and are considering another request for a protest on the day of Cheney's scheduled visit, April 26.

"That request is still under review, and the matter under discussion is the location," BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. "I don't know what location was proposed, but I know it didn't work out, so we've asked them to come back with other suggestions."

The invitation of Reid appears to answer the call by some critics to balance Cheney's appearance with a nationally prominent Democrat, but it doesn't address others who argue Cheney's visit violates university policy that speakers' personal and political values should not demean the principles of BYU or the church.

"I'm glad Harry's coming," BYU business professor Warner Woodworth said. "It'll be useful for our students to have a Democrat for a role model."

But Woodworth still will work to have Cheney "dis-invited" because he believes Cheney has history of lying and using profanity to describe other political leaders.

Woodworth also said that inviting Cheney sanctions corporate greed, U.S. military aggression in the Middle East and "evil practices" such as torture and secret prisons.

"It clearly stains the (business school), which historically has prized both personal and professional ideals," Woodworth said.

The church statement said the invitation to Reid to speak at a forum assembly was in the works before the White House offered Cheney to BYU. That offer was made in January to make up for President Bush turning down the university's invitation last year because of scheduling conflicts.