Here’s a proclamation we’d like to hear Mike Johanns make.

“I, Mike Johanns, hereby proclaim that from this day forward I shall refrain from the issuance of proclamations that may be interpreted as favoring one religious group or class of citizens over any other.”

Normally proclamations are an innocuous part of a public official’s duties, handed out freely as a feel-good recognition of good deeds, deserving organizations or to draw attention to worthy causes.

Johanns has managed to turn the issuance of proclamations into controversy.

In 1997, he sparked criticism when he refused to sign a proclamation for the Lincoln Pride Rally on behalf of gay and lesbian citizens.

Now he has riled up some segments of the populace by issuing a proclamation for the March for Jesus Day on May 22, Carole Shields of People for the American Way Foundation in Washington said the action would create “a second class of citizens for all faiths other than Christians in Nebraska.”

Johanns attempted to show he would be more inclusive by saying that he would issue similar proclamations “for the Jewish faith, Hinduism, whatever.”

But then Johanns said he wouldn’t sign a proclamation on behalf of Wiccans, who sometimes call themselves witches. (Perhaps people should have seen this coming. After all, he once canceled Halloween in Lincoln because of bad weather.)

As it turns out, Wicca was recognized as a legitimate religion covered by the first amendment in a 1985 ruling in federal court, giving witches the same protection as Baptists, Buddhists, Hindus, Catholics, Mormons or Muslims.

If Johanns rejects a request for a proclamation from Wiccans, it would be equivalent to pouring sand in the delicate system that balances freedom and restraint in our pluralistic country.

Leaders serve best when they make it easier for the diverse groups in our communities to coexist. Around the globe and throughout history, ethnic and religious differences have sparked violence and hostility. The great American experiment is to accommodate these differences while retaining a common identity.

Johanns, a Catholic, should be no more inhibited in following their religious practices than any other citizens. There should be no question about his right to attend religious services or events.

His performance as an elected official, however, is a different matter, even in the quasi-official matter of issuing proclamations.

To quite the Wiccan controversy Johanns could agree to issue a proclamation bearing the words “Let the witches walk!”

But the best approach would be to avoid picking and choosing among religions in the first place. That simply produces unnecessary friction between groups in our Nebraska communities.
 

Given the opportunity to sign a proclamation proclaiming June 20 as Earth Religion Awareness Day,  in celebration of the summer solstice and proposed by a member of a Wiccan church, he declined. 

 Johanns is not reconsidering. 
 
"I'm not going to sign a proclamation that recognizes witchcraft," he said. "I know they are upset about that, but it is not going to happen." 
                   
Johanns, a Roman Catholic, said two weeks ago that he would sign proclamations supporting major religions such as Judaism and Hinduism but would not sign any supporting Wicca or witchcraft. He had recently signed a proclamation recognizing the annual "March for Jesus." 

His office has received more than 140 contacts, most  by e-mail and most critical, during the past nine days. 
                   
A Canadian group that promotes religious tolerance gave Johanns its first "Burning Times Award." The award was "in recognition of being the North American political figure whose behavior most closely exemplifies the spirit of the witch-burning times . . . when Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians  horribly murdered Christians and witches out of abject and cowardly religious intolerance," said the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 
                   
Former Gov. Ben Nelson was also criticized for his support of a previous March for Jesus. 
 
In 1997 a Lincoln resident, a member of the Wiccan faith, filed a discrimination complaint against Nelson with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission, contending that Nelson's support of the march discriminated against him. The commission dismissed the complaint. 
                   
Proclamations from the Governor's Office are as abundant as red jackets at a Husker football game. During his 130 days in office, Johanns has signed 177 proclamations, recognizing everything from job shadowing to grain elevators. 
 
He has rejected two proclamations, one dealing with a gay and lesbian issue and the summer solstice proposal. 
    
The summer solstice is considered holy by many earth-centered religions, including Druids, Neo-Shaman, Wiccans, goddess worshippers and other pagans, as a day of celebration and prayer for bountiful harvest in the fall, according to the proposed proclamation. 
                   
Earth-centered religions are part of European history and "focus on the agrarian cycles of planting and harvesting, the celestial cycles of the sun and moon, and the life cycle of birth, death and rebirth." 
                   
The proclamation was offered by Jason J. Blodgett-McDeavitt of Lincoln, president and high priest of a Wiccan church.