www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Number one supporter of abortions to speak at Notre Dame Commen..

I can't believe it. How is the Church ever to be taken seriously when things like this go on?

http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=32752

CDL

Website of the campaign to "Help Stop the Scandal at Our Lady's University":

http://notredamescandal.com/

LC,

Thanks for that link. The switchboards at the University are lit up. The voice mail boxes are full. I sent an email earlier. Let's keep up the pressure.

CDL

I don't oppose the petition that notredamescandal.com is talking about. I'd skip graduation because of this (but then, I spent my own graduation drinking German beers with a friend).

But before I jump on, I wonder, is simply being pro-abortion (or a pro-abortion politician) enough to make one unfit to speak at a Catholic University's commencement? What if it were - to pick a random pro-abortion figure - Colin Powell? I know that Colin Powell doesn't have Obama's record and hasn't done what Obama's already done. But I still pause when I think about the implications of such a requirement.

Markos

Good point, Markos. It's true that in the Catholic Church we like to say "On the one hand... on the other hand..." and end up with some kind of synthesis (both... and...), meaning that we can both be against abortion and appreciate our opponents' good side.

Still, I think that given Pres. Obama's record so far, he doesn't merit a doctorate of laws from a Catholic university (remember that the Catholic Church teaches that abortion is against the natural moral law, meaning that you don't have to be a Catholic to see that it's wrong). As for the commencement address, I'm sceptical too. Of course we should listen to Pres. Obama, but we shouldn't endorse his anti-life views.

In one word--YES

And there's one more thing that needs to be done here. The bishop in whose jurisdiction this school lies should step up and tell the administration in no uncertain terms that should this go on he will go public with a statement that this school is no longer to be considered Catholic.

Then he needs to remove the Blessed Sacrament from any tabernacle located on the campus.

BOB

The bishop for South Bend is Bishop D'Arcy. Here's his website http://www.diocesefwsb.org/

I suggest we contact him.

If I were the Bishop in which that University was located, I would #1 revoke the right of the religious to reside and teach there. #2 revoke its mandate to call itself a Catholic institution. #3 forbid local catholics from teaching there or attend the university.
Stephanos I
Didnt this happen also in San Antonio?
But the university was taken to task.

I sent an email calling their attention to the matter.
Stephanos I
PS I would suggest that everyone here do the same.

What email address did you use? I couldn't find any on the website.

CDL

I emailed it to the editor of the Catholic Newspaper.
One they might overlook but several might cause a stir.
Stephanos I

Write! Complain! Picket!

And pray! If we all pray maybe Notre Dame will adopt Catholicism and Catholic Values.

How much theological and moral correctness is required to be able to speak publicly at a Catholic university?

And I realize that there is already an oath for those who teach Catholic theology in theology departments, but why not just have an oath for everyone, faculty, staff, students, parents of the students, donars, speakers, etc. that they will do all that is in their power to uphold Catholic doctrine?

There are schools that do this sort of thing; such as Bob Jones University, Liberty University, and other schools in that religious family.

Joe

By the way, I'm not saying that I agree with ND's decision to invite the president. I'm just throwing this out for some discussion, since I think it could be useful to clarify expectations.

Joe

Well, unfortunately, there is alot that is much more rotten that this going on at top name Roman Catholic universities...I think that you will comprehend the reason behind Notre Dame's invitation and many other non-Catholic minded activities and actions in the sentence I highlighted from the article below..

Also, please note, highlighted in red, something I have been opinionated on this board about many, many times in reference to the sexual culture which young people are indoctrinated and initiated into on just about every single college campus in this country, so that while Christians are vocal about abortion, they close their eyes to what is going on that contributes to it, all the while taking out expensive loans, and writing outrageous checks to colleges and universities which are corrupting our young, as if to say: "okay, it is fine, here is my money, continue doing as you please"....

2-March-2009 -- Catholic News Agency

Jesuit Universities Criticized for "Obscene" Events Promoting Sexual IdeologiesCNA STAFF, Mar 1, 2009 (CNA).-

Three Jesuit universities are facing criticism for hosting events promoting sexual license, cross-dressing and homosexual ideologies just as Lent begins, with Georgetown University being accused of promoting only the orthodoxy of “sexual liberation.”

Georgetown University is hosting “Sex Positive Week” from Feb. 23 to 28, an event sponsored by feminist and homosexual student clubs such as GU Pride, United Feminists and Georgetown Solidarity.

The Cardinal Newman Society reports that a Monday session featured a speaker from an organization that “provides a forum” for activities such as fetishism, cross-dressing, and bondage.

A talk on Ash Wednesday, “Torn about Porn?” advertised itself as including a discussion about “arguably alternative forms of pornography that are not supposed to be exploitative.”

A Saturday talk from a pornographic filmmaker will address “Relationships Beyond Monogamy.”

GU Pride political chair Olivia Chitayat explained the purpose of the week, saying to the Georgetown Voice:

“The focus of this week is to introduce the idea of Sex Positive, and that’s really about acceptance of a wide range of desires and sexual expressions as a way of understanding one another.”

“People have sex, and if they don’t, it still impacts them. This is encouraging a dialogue in a way that people don’t feel ashamed about engaging in it or not engaging in it.”

David Gregory, Editor-in-Chief of the Catholic-focused student publication The Georgetown Academy, said he was “absolutely furious” that the Student Activities Commission funded the event.

“I think about Gaston Hall and you have ‘Wisdom’ on one side of the ceiling and ‘Virtue’ on the other side,” he told the Georgetown Voice, referring to a campus building. “And a discussion like the one that took place there on Monday does not promote a healthy view toward human relationships. I’m so upset [because] there was no one to counter this anything-goes point of view.”

Georgetown University political science professor Patrick Deneen also commented on the event at writer Rod Dreher’s BeliefNet blog “Crunchy Conservative.”

He said observers should not assume that Christian teaching about human sexuality is made known at Georgetown.

“It is not,” Prof. Deneen charged. “The university feebly attempts to pretend to be concerned about matters of sexuality, but addresses them in terms of ‘health.’ Students who are required to take two courses in Theology are rarely, if ever, introduced to something like Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. The only orthodoxy on campus is sexual liberation.”

Noting that the university had established a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Questioning “Resource Center,” he said there is no comparable center on campus dedicated to “an expressly Catholic teaching on human sexuality.”

“So what is the message being sent to today's students? Sex, like everything else, is a matter of preference, choice, personal liberty and utilitarian pleasure. It is largely consequence-free recreation. We should recognize that the same moral climate that contributed to the devastation of the worldwide economy is the same moral climate that informs ‘Sex Positive Week’,” Prof. Deneen argued.

He accused Georgetown of wanting “desperately to be accepted on the terms set by the broader culture.” “Rather than taking a part in attempting to shape, even change that culture, Georgetown is shaped in its image,” he said.

“Parents and university caretakers have been deeply complicit in what goes on in today's universities. They have largely reneged their responsibilities to set a proper tone as their young make the transition from childhood to adulthood, instead offering them a responsibility-free zone for four years at the same time when most cultures have elaborate rituals and practices to assist young people in that difficult and dangerous transition.”

At Loyola University of Chicago on Tuesday, the university’s Student Diversity and Cultural Affairs Office presented a film about a homosexual African-American who is transported in time to “cavort” with the supposedly homosexual writer Langston Hughes, the Cardinal Newman Society reports.

The film is part of a semester-long “Color of Queer Film Series” sponsored by the university. Another upcoming film in the series concerns a 12-year-old boy who falls in love with a male police officer.

At Seattle University, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the student Trans and Allies Club are sponsoring “Transgender Awareness Week” which includes a session on supposedly transgender Bible heroes and heroines. The week also includes “Criss-Cross Day,” which encourages students to “come dressed for the day in your best gender-bending outfit.”

“These obscene abuses of Catholic values come just as Christians begin a holy season of penance, fasting and almsgiving,” said Cardinal Newman Society President Patrick J. Reilly. “Faithful Catholics have good reason to be outraged and heartbroken.”

“That Catholic universities would permit these events on their campuses at any time of the year is unthinkable, but to do so during the holy season of Lent is unconscionable,” he added. “The saddest part of this story is that there is no indication that these universities are ashamed or embarrassed by what is taking place on their Catholic campuses. Parents and potential students might begin to wonder how these universities can in good conscience consider themselves Catholic when they allow such perverse distortions of Catholic values to take place.”