Australia: Christian Apologizes to Pagan

Olivia Watts brought a legal complaint against Rob Wilson, mayor of the city of Casey in Victoria State, after he alleged that she was a satanist. Now Wilson has apologized and publicly stated that Watts is not only not a satanist, but hasn't done anything illegal either.

CNS News explains:

In a press statement issued in June 2003, Wilson had warned Casey residents that a "satanic cult" was attempting to take over the city council, saying that a number of recent scandals affecting the council bore "all the hallmarks of being linked to the occult." The statement referred to a declaration by Watts -- made in a local newspaper article five days before -- that she was a practicing witch. Wilson called that "a matter of concern for all Casey residents."

Several months earlier, Watts had stood unsuccessfully for election to the council. Wilson and another Christian councilor, Brian Oates, expressed concern that local Wiccans may have been trying to insert someone onto the council who was sympathetic to their cause. They pointed to an earlier, failed attempt by a "satanic cult" to get permission to build a "place of worship" in an adjoining area.

After the press released received local media coverage, Watts -- a transgender naturopath -- said her life and home-based business were affected. Vandals scrawled graffiti at her home and threw stones at her windows. A man had arrived at her door and attempted an exorcism, she said.

I’m torn about whether the laws Casey apparently violated are appropriate. Of course, it doesn’t seem quite so bad if we imagine similar comments had been made against a person because of their race. When a public official attempts to vilify an entire race and get a community up in arms about a member of that race, should they be able to take them to a tribunal? When that minority doesn’t have enough political power to change things by any other means, perhaps that is a reasonable situation — whether the minority is racial or religious.

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