An Australian news headline caught my eye this morning: “University rejects Bush presidential library.” I had for months been following the debate at Southern Methodist University about the project and was not aware that such a decision had been made.

It hadn’t. The story merely restated the situation, noted that some SMU faculty and Methodist bishops had been organizing protests, and reported that university officials were still in negotiations with library planners. Apparently, Baylor University remains an alternative site, though the president prefers SMU.

By the way, the protesting bishops are making an explicitly religious argument:

The bishops are critical of the war in Iraq and the administration’s treatment of enemy combatants.”I am hesitant to see Southern Methodist University welcoming the institute of a Methodist who has been so contrary to the teachings of the Methodist Church,” said Reverend Joseph Sprague, a recently retired Methodist bishop who helped sponsor the petition.

When pro-choice Catholic politicians are criticized or excluded by their church, some commentators rush to their defense and attack the “intrusion” of church doctrines into political debate. Will they defend Bush?