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Manhattan Declaration Petitions Apple After Being Stripped of iPhone Application
The application mysteriously vanished from the iTunes Store after a vocal group of opponents petitioned Apple. Manhattan Declaration supporters call for reinstatement of the application.
WASHINGTON DC (Catholic Online) - In early October of this year, the Manhattan Declaration, a "Call of Christian conscience," signed by some of the most prominent Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical Protestant leaders including 56 Catholic Bishops and Cardinals, launched an iPhone/iPad application for its followers.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Apple discreetly removed the application from its iTunes Store with no warning or reason given to Manhattan Declaration leaders. Further perplexing many Christians, when Apple developers first accepted the application for the iTunes Store, the company rated it 4+, which means it displayed "no objectionable material."
The application allowed signers, which now breach 478,000 individuals, to sign the declaration, read the 4732-word document, post and share events and take a quiz testing the reader's knowledge of orthodox Christian teaching on the issues of sanctity of life, dignity of marriage, and religious liberty.
The application - or "app" as they are commonly called - was removed after Change.org, a progressive website supporting abortion and homosexuality, issued a petition to its followers asking Apple to remove the application, claiming the Manhattan Declaration "is offensive to Americans who support equality and free choice." The petition also said, "The Manhattan Declaration application exists to collect signatures on a website which espouses hateful and divisive language."
After several days with no response from Apple, reporters were finally able to pull a statement out of the corporate monolith of Apple headquarters. The media team at Apple responded by saying, "it [the Manhattan Declaration app] violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people." If the application offered no objectionable material, than why did Apple remove it for being offensive to a relatively small group of people?
Catholic blogger Matthew Warner blogged today about this story with the title "Apple Finds Christianity Offensive To Large Groups of People, Removes App." Warner points out that Change.org only gathered 7000+ petitioners. Is that a large group, compared to the nearly 500,000 Manhattan Declaration signers?
Warner also writes, "Apple is making a huge mistake choosing to make this entirely traditional and innocuous declaration their example of what constitutes "offensive to large groups of people." Not only because the language used in the Manhattan Declaration is more civil and has been more thoughtfully chosen than that used in just about any other app, but mostly because of what they are calling so offensive: Christianity. There is nothing in the Manhattan Declaration that isn't completely in line with Christian teaching. To call it offensive is to call Christianity offensive."
The three primary drafters of the declaration--Chuck Colson, Dr. Robert George, and Dr. Timothy George--sent a letter to Steve Jobs, President of Apple Inc, on Monday with no response. The Manhattan Declaration has since launched a petition and social media campaign to make all orthodox Christians aware of what Apple has done through Twitter and Facebook .
The petition says, in part, "Civil discourse is a hallmark of a civilized and free society. Disagreement is not hate. We urge you and Apple, therefore, to promote communication and civil dialogue on these important social issues by reinstating the Manhattan Declaration App." They are also calling on Manhattan Declaration signers to call Apple and email Steve Jobs, voicing their disagreement.
Showing equal frustration to having the app pulled, the Manhattan Declaration leadership has voiced concern that a small group of opponents are able to sway the opinion of a multi-billion dollar company with lies about their intent. Their website blog reads, "We emphasize with great sincerity that "disagreement" is not "gay-bashing." Anyone who takes the time to read the Manhattan Declaration can see that the language used to defend traditional marriage, the sanctity of human life, and religious liberty is civil, non-inflammatory, and respectful."
The website also asks its signers to "reject 'disdainful condemnation" and "declares that all people are worthy of respect, because all are loved by God."
If the Manhattan Declaration uses Biblical and classically Christian language to articulate an orthodox Christian belief, as Warner indicates, then do Bible apps, Christian apps of various sorts, and other applications pose an equal threat of being "offensive to large groups of people?"
[Editor's Note: Catholic Online strongly supports the Manhattan Declaration. Our Editor-in-Chief is a signatory. We stand in solidarity with this call for reinstatement. We ask our readers to do the same. We call upon Steve Jobs and Apple to restore access to this application. To selectively exclude orthodox Christian expression is not only discriminatory, but fails to recognize that disagreement, when expressed with civility and respect, is a hallmark of authentic freedom. Selective discrimination against Christians is not.]
-----
Billy Atwell contributes to Catholic Online, and blogs for The Point and the Manhattan Declaration. As a young lay Catholic and two-time cancer survivor he offers commentary on faith, culture, and politics. You canfind all of his writings at For the Greater Glory.- - -
Deacon Keith Fournier asks that you join with us and help in this vital mission by sending this article to your family, friends, and neighbors and adding our link (www.catholic.org ) to your own website, blog or social network. Let us broadcast, we are PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC!
>> APPLE Removes Manhatten Declaration App
December 1st, 2010
Apple pulls Manhattan Declaration App from the iTunes store saying it broke the rules and offended too many people.
From Manhattan Declaration officials:
Dear Friends,
We sent a letter to Steve Jobs at Apple asking that our app be reinstated to the company’s iTunes and iPhone application store (read that letter HERE). Despite having approved and posted the app on its online store in October – and giving the app a 4+ rating for “no objectionable content” – Apple quietly pulled the app from its site over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Although Apple has not communicated directly with us, a public relations representative from Apple told Family News in Focus radio that the app violated Apple’s developer guidelines by being “offensive to large groups of people.” Apple’s action followed a small but vocal protest from pro-gay “marriage” and pro-abortion groups.
4 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP!
1. CONTACT: Email or call Steve Jobs and tell him why he should reinstate the Manhattan Declaration app to the iTunes Store. Email him at steve@apple.com or call his media team at (408) 996-1010.
2. SIGN: Sign our petition to have the app reinstate the app. Apple listened to a small group of dissenters and took action, so we expect they will take action when every Manhattan Declaration signer signs this petition.
3. RECRUIT: Get all of your pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-religious liberty friends to read and sign the Manhattan Declaration. We need to grow in both unity and numbers if we hope to have our voices heard.
4. GET SOCIAL: Use your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts to keep the discussion going. We have been engaging countless people through our Facebook and Twitter pages – and you should too.
Sincerely, Chuck Colson, Dr. Robert George, Dr. Timothy George
The goal of those who released the Manhattan Declaration is to build a movement of Catholic, Evangelical, and Eastern Orthodox Christians who will stand together alongside other men and women of goodwill to advance the sanctity of life, rebuild and revitalize the marriage culture, and protect religious liberty. We therefore ask you to send an email to your family and friends and ask them to visit http://www.manhattandeclaration.org to read the declaration and, if they agree, to sign it and share it to others.
article source: http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/theologyinthenews/apple-removes-manhatten-declaration-app/
Manhattan Declaration Petitions Apple After Being Stripped of iPhone Applicationarticle source: http://catholic.org/technology/story.php?id=39391
Does Apple find Christianity offensive?
56 Catholic Bishops and Cardinals signed the Manhattan Declaration, a call of Christian conscience, taking a stand for life, marriage, and religious liberty. The Declaration launched an iPhone/iPad application for its near 500,000 signers in early October with a 4+ rating, which means that it contains "no objectionable material," according to Apple.The application mysteriously vanished from the iTunes Store after a vocal group of opponents petitioned Apple. Manhattan Declaration supporters call for reinstatement of the application.
WASHINGTON DC (Catholic Online) - In early October of this year, the Manhattan Declaration, a "Call of Christian conscience," signed by some of the most prominent Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical Protestant leaders including 56 Catholic Bishops and Cardinals, launched an iPhone/iPad application for its followers.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Apple discreetly removed the application from its iTunes Store with no warning or reason given to Manhattan Declaration leaders. Further perplexing many Christians, when Apple developers first accepted the application for the iTunes Store, the company rated it 4+, which means it displayed "no objectionable material."
The application allowed signers, which now breach 478,000 individuals, to sign the declaration, read the 4732-word document, post and share events and take a quiz testing the reader's knowledge of orthodox Christian teaching on the issues of sanctity of life, dignity of marriage, and religious liberty.
The application - or "app" as they are commonly called - was removed after Change.org, a progressive website supporting abortion and homosexuality, issued a petition to its followers asking Apple to remove the application, claiming the Manhattan Declaration "is offensive to Americans who support equality and free choice." The petition also said, "The Manhattan Declaration application exists to collect signatures on a website which espouses hateful and divisive language."
After several days with no response from Apple, reporters were finally able to pull a statement out of the corporate monolith of Apple headquarters. The media team at Apple responded by saying, "it [the Manhattan Declaration app] violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people." If the application offered no objectionable material, than why did Apple remove it for being offensive to a relatively small group of people?
Catholic blogger Matthew Warner blogged today about this story with the title "Apple Finds Christianity Offensive To Large Groups of People, Removes App." Warner points out that Change.org only gathered 7000+ petitioners. Is that a large group, compared to the nearly 500,000 Manhattan Declaration signers?
Warner also writes, "Apple is making a huge mistake choosing to make this entirely traditional and innocuous declaration their example of what constitutes "offensive to large groups of people." Not only because the language used in the Manhattan Declaration is more civil and has been more thoughtfully chosen than that used in just about any other app, but mostly because of what they are calling so offensive: Christianity. There is nothing in the Manhattan Declaration that isn't completely in line with Christian teaching. To call it offensive is to call Christianity offensive."
The three primary drafters of the declaration--Chuck Colson, Dr. Robert George, and Dr. Timothy George--sent a letter to Steve Jobs, President of Apple Inc, on Monday with no response. The Manhattan Declaration has since launched a petition and social media campaign to make all orthodox Christians aware of what Apple has done through Twitter and Facebook .
The petition says, in part, "Civil discourse is a hallmark of a civilized and free society. Disagreement is not hate. We urge you and Apple, therefore, to promote communication and civil dialogue on these important social issues by reinstating the Manhattan Declaration App." They are also calling on Manhattan Declaration signers to call Apple and email Steve Jobs, voicing their disagreement.
Showing equal frustration to having the app pulled, the Manhattan Declaration leadership has voiced concern that a small group of opponents are able to sway the opinion of a multi-billion dollar company with lies about their intent. Their website blog reads, "We emphasize with great sincerity that "disagreement" is not "gay-bashing." Anyone who takes the time to read the Manhattan Declaration can see that the language used to defend traditional marriage, the sanctity of human life, and religious liberty is civil, non-inflammatory, and respectful."
The website also asks its signers to "reject 'disdainful condemnation" and "declares that all people are worthy of respect, because all are loved by God."
If the Manhattan Declaration uses Biblical and classically Christian language to articulate an orthodox Christian belief, as Warner indicates, then do Bible apps, Christian apps of various sorts, and other applications pose an equal threat of being "offensive to large groups of people?"
[Editor's Note: Catholic Online strongly supports the Manhattan Declaration. Our Editor-in-Chief is a signatory. We stand in solidarity with this call for reinstatement. We ask our readers to do the same. We call upon Steve Jobs and Apple to restore access to this application. To selectively exclude orthodox Christian expression is not only discriminatory, but fails to recognize that disagreement, when expressed with civility and respect, is a hallmark of authentic freedom. Selective discrimination against Christians is not.]
-----
Billy Atwell contributes to Catholic Online, and blogs for The Point and the Manhattan Declaration. As a young lay Catholic and two-time cancer survivor he offers commentary on faith, culture, and politics. You canfind all of his writings at For the Greater Glory.- - -
Deacon Keith Fournier asks that you join with us and help in this vital mission by sending this article to your family, friends, and neighbors and adding our link (www.catholic.org ) to your own website, blog or social network. Let us broadcast, we are PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC!
Opine:
The very people (genetic anomalies, baby killing profiteers and their fellow (travelers) who today want "special treatment" and to be classified by the government to receive "preferential privileges" were among the 1st targeted by every oppressive regime in history. For them to denigrate Judaeo-Christian American Values is hyprocrisy. It was those very same Values that has saved millions of them throughout the world.
If they want a "solution" to their problems, let them move to Iran where they can be given the treatment (hanged) they so eagerly want dispensed upon themselves. Of course, they could remain here in America where 25% of Negroes are murdered by abortion and where genetic defectives are now being selected for elimination by the abortionists.
The 'self styled' 'special classes' of minorities may rue-the-day they silenced Traditional American Values when a society with an "amoral" foundation, like the Nazis, finds a "Final Solution" for their kind. -- rfh
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