The Tribune this weekend reported on the continuing tragedy of the LDS church's pressure on dedicated members who complain publicly about the church's stance on homosexuality.

Peter Danzig, a musician, came under church scrutiny and was barred from performing with a church orchestra because he wrote a letter to the Tribune in support of BYU instructor Jeffrey Nielsen who was fired for arguing in the Tribune that the church was misguided in its stance on gays.

The struggle of Danzig and his wife Mary, who resigned their membership to avoid excommunication is worth reading in detail here. Danzig's account of angry leaders and subtle pressure, overlaid with internal politics echoes accounts of Galileo's persecution by the Catholic Church of his day (except, presumably, Danzig doesn't face burning at the stake).

An aside I found interesting, for obvious reasons, is the apparent view within the LDS hierarchy that the Tribune is an enemy of the church. Mormon Tabernacle Choir officials (one was Mr. Mac) told Danzig that writing a letter to the Trib "looked like rebellion."

I was informed that the Tribune was viewed as an "enemy" of the Church and that by publishing a letter critical of the leadership of the Church in the paper I had appeared to declare myself an enemy. I explained that I did not feel that I was an enemy and that was not my motivation. I merely wished to speak out about public injustices that were happening within the Church.

Of course, judging by the LDS hierarchy's draconian reaction to questioning, it would not take long for the limpest newspaper to get on the church's wrong side.

The church's sensitivity to the issue is obvious in a official statement that followed the Tribune story. I found this to be particularly ominous:

The Church felt compelled to defend its position when Mr. Danzig made this information public and because of the blatant, inappropriate editorializing by the Salt Lake Tribune in what was purported to be a news story.