In Aftermath of Notre Dame Controversy, Catholic College Commencement Scandals Decline in 2010

At least nine Catholic colleges and universities in the U.S. have invited spring commencement speakers and/or honorary degree recipients whose public positions and actions are clearly at odds with fundamental Catholic teachings, The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) announced today as part of its annual commencement review.

“The U.S. bishops have stood publicly and in unison against Catholic honors for those who publicly and clearly oppose Catholic teaching, most dramatically in response to last year’s Notre Dame ceremony,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society, which sponsored the online petition against Notre Dame’s honor to President Barack Obama that garnered more than 367,000 signatures.

“It remains a dark stain on those Catholic colleges and universities that would persist in undermining the Catholic faith at their commencement ceremonies for the sake of publicity and prestige, whether by handing out degrees or honoring individuals with commencement platforms,” Reilly said. “On the other hand, it appears that more than 95 percent of our Catholic college leaders this year have taken the high road, and Catholics should applaud that.”

For 17 years, CNS has encouraged the renewal of Catholic identity at Catholic colleges and universities. CNS haspublicly identified Catholic institutions that choose commencement speakers and honorary degree recipients whose public actions and statements are contrary to key teachings of the Catholic Church. Recent years have seen a marked decline in these scandals, from 24 in 2006 to just nine in 2010.

In 2009, at least 11 commencement scandals occurred despite the unprecedented public opposition of 83 U.S. bishops to the University of Notre Dame’s honor for President Obama.

Most of the protesting bishops referenced the 2004 USCCB statement “Catholics in Political Life,” which reads: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

The Cardinal Newman Society compiled the following list of Catholic colleges and universities whose commencement speakers have publicly opposed or acted contrary to Catholic values on fundamental teachings:

Boston College (Mass.)
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric (GE), will be the commencement speaker and honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree recipient at Boston College’s commencement ceremony on May 24. GE has an official company policy permitting experimenting on embryonic stem cells and last year launched a partnership with Geron Corp. to sell products derived from embryonic stem cells.

Boston College Law School has invited U.S. Senator Scott Brown to address its May 28 commencement ceremony. While running for office in 2002 in Massachusetts, Brown made public his position in support of legalized abortion with some restrictions.

College of the Holy Cross (Mass.)
Mark Shriver will be the commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree at the College of the Holy Cross on May 28. Shriver is currently Vice President and managing director of Save the Children. While a 2002 candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland, Shriver stated in a Washington Post interview, “Women's issues are critically important and I will continue to fight for a women's right to choose; family planning funds; maternal and child health funding and education for girls both here and abroad.”

Georgetown University (D.C.)
Baroness Brenda Hale will be the commencement speaker at Georgetown University Law Center on May 23. In 2004, Hale became the first woman to serve in the British House of Lords as a “Lord of Appeal in Ordinary,” the equivalent of a U.K. supreme court justice. Hale has “argued for gay civil partnerships and no-fault divorces” (The Guardian) and supports gay adoption as well as better rights for “cohabitees”. The Independent reported in 2003 that Hale stated: “My present view is that there is a strong case for introducing a legal commitment between people who are unable to marry, principally gay and lesbian partners.”

Loyola Marymount University (Calif.)
The Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, was the commencement speaker at Loyola Marymount University on May 8. Prior to serving as governor, Patrick was assistant attorney general for the civil rights division during Bill Clinton’s presidency. Patrick’s campaign website boasts that that he "helped lead the fight to keep discrimination out of the Massachusetts constitution and preserved the right of same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts."

Marlene Canter was the graduate commencement speaker for Loyola Marymount University on May 9. She is a former member of the L.A. Unified School District board. According to LifeSiteNews, Canter has called the legalization of same-sex marriage an "issue of simple fairness and basic human rights." The same article reports that Canter has opposed a parental notification abortion law.

Loyola University Chicago (Ill.)
Clarence Page will be the commencement speaker for the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago on May 14. Page is a syndicated columnist and a senior member of The Chicago Tribune editorial board. He haswritten that people who want to ban abortion are “yahoos”. As a guest on the MSNBC program Hardball last year, Page described proposed pro-life language to the healthcare bill as “worse… because this is declaring that even a woman can’t use her own money to pay for an insurance plan that also covers abortion.” He has stated, “I stand firmly on the pro-Roe side of the abortion debate.” Page also supports same-sex “marriage” as evidenced by hiseditorial “In defense of same-sex marriage”.

Notre Dame de Namur University (Calif.)
Jan Yanehiro was the commencement speaker at Notre Dame de Namur University on May 8. She is a broadcast journalist and a host on HGTV. In 2001 and again this year, Yanehiro was the mistress of ceremonies for the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) annual “Power of Choice” luncheon. Yanehiroproclaimed, “What we celebrate on this anniversary is the fact that we still have the power of choice because Roe vs. Wade remains the law of the land.”

St. Joseph’s College (N.Y.)
Dr. John Sexton, President of New York University, will be the commencement speaker at St. Joseph’s College on June 2. In a March 2010 interview on PBS with Bill Moyers, Dr. Sexton said, “Okay, my view of infallibility as a Catholic is this. The Pope says something, and I disagree with it. I think again. If I think he’s wrong, I think yet again. By the time I’ve thought again the fourth time, if I still think he’s wrong, I think he’s wrong. Okay, so—but I cut him a break to begin with, even on issues on which I have deep, passionate feelings. Now, you know, on in vitro fertilization, on condoms in Africa, he’s wrong.”

St. Mary’s College of California
Jack O’Connell, California Superintendent of Schools, will serve as St. Mary’s College of California’s graduate and professional programs commencement speaker on May 23. O’Connell was featured in a TV ad opposing California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

University of San Francisco (Calif.)
On May 22, the University of San Francisco will host as commencement speaker Dale Minami, who will also receive an honorary degree. A supporter of same-sex “marriage,” Minami is lead partner at Minami Tamaki LLP, which in December 2007 sponsored a fundraiser and donated funds to Asian Pacific Islander Equality, a group that advocates for same-sex “marriage.”

Catholic Seton Hall U. to Offer Gay 'Marriage' Course by Homosexualist Prof

By Kathleen Gilbert

SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey, April 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Seton Hall University, the oldest Catholic diocesan university in the U.S., will be offering a same-sex "marriage" course taught by a homosexualist professor.

The Setonian, the university's newspaper, reported that the new course offering for Fall 2010 would be offered by associate professor W. King Mott, an open homosexual who was demoted in 2005 after complaining about the Catholic Church's stance against homosexuality.

The course will be offered under the Women and Gender studies department, and will be available to upper level students of any major.

“The Roman Catholic Church is prima facie homophobic,” Mott had told the press. “The Roman Catholic Church considers me to be inherently disordered. I don't know how much more homophobic one can be.” However, the university insisted that it was not rebuking Mott for his personal views, but only for failing to disassociate himself from the school.

Mott claims that next semester's course is not an advocacy course, but will, in the words of the Setonian's Jessica Sutcliffe, "[teach] the issue of gay marriage from an academic perspective."

“It is one thing to say ‘I am for or against gay marriage,’” Mott said. “It’s another to actually understand the issue. ... I hope my students gain an appreciation and respect for disinterested analysis that can be used to formulate an informed opinion."

Students in the course will write a report on same-sex "marriage" from "a perspective they choose after they have been educated on the issue," according to the article.

Junior Anthony Angelella, a secondary education and mathematics major, quoted by the Setonian, said he was "surprised" but "excited" about the class, and that it "just shows that a Catholic campus doesn't have to be so cut and dry about controversial issues.”

Mott, who as of 2005 lived with his male partner, openly maintains an affiliation with Lambda Legal, the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, and Human Rights Campaign, all leading homosexualist groups.

TFP Student Action points out that, in a paper entitled "The Sanctity of Marriage: Current Boundaries and the New Vocabulary," Mott said that maintaining marriage as between one man and one woman was "laughable."

"The notion that marriage is a stable and ancient human arrangement, derived from divine revelation, limited to that existing between one man and one woman, and binding save through the permission of a single Church is contrived," he wrote, as quoted by the student group. "It is laughable to consider that human relationships could ever find satisfaction and expression in this single interpretation of marriage."

TFP Student Action's John Ritchie questioned the rationale behind allowing Mott to offer the course. "Why should any Catholic university sponsor a course that leads students away from the truth?" he asked.

"Why should the Catholic classroom be used as a tool to advance the homosexual movement and undermine traditional marriage?

"In our hyper-sexualized culture, Seton Hall University would do well to cancel this course and replace it with one that teaches students how to appreciate the beauty of abstinence, modesty and heroic purity."

Seton Hall University responded to LifeSiteNews.com's request for comment with a statement declaring that the class was a "special topics" course that, as such, professors could offer "on an experimental basis three times" and therefore was "not reviewed by the college curricular committee."

"This course has been scheduled for the fall semester to examine one of the most significant political policy questions of our time. It is not presented to our students as an advocacy course. Thus, we fully anticipate that the Catholic position on same-sex marriage will be robustly explored," stated the school.

The University declined to give further comment.

Contact:

Monsignor Robert Sheeran, president, Seton Hall University
400 South Orange Ave
South Orange, NJ 07079
(973) 761-9620
president@shu.edu

Catholic Loyola Marymount University Announces Pro-Abortion 2010 Commencement Speakers

By James Tillman

April 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, has announced that Deval Patrick, the current governor of Massachusetts, and Marlene Canter, former member of the Los Angeles Unified School District board, will be speaking at their 2010 commencement; both are on record as being in favor of abortion and homosexual “marriage.”

Deval Patrick, who served as Assistant Attorney General during the Clinton administration, worked to prevent a referendum eliminating same-sex “marriage” from coming before the people while governor of Massachusetts. His campaign website boasts that he "helped lead the fight to keep discrimination out of the Massachusetts constitution and preserved the right of same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts."

In 2007 he signed a bubble-zone measure that prohibited pro-life counselors from coming closer to abortion clinics than thirty-five feet.

Marlene Canter, similarly, called the legalization of same-sex “marriage” an "issue of simple fairness and basic human rights."

She continued: "We have an obligation to educate every student and support every family in this District - we can not stand by while the right to marry for all is threatened."

She has also opposed a parental notification abortion law, and even gave over $10,000 dollars to help elect President Obama.

A request for comment from Loyola had not been returned at press time.

Loyola Law School has previously had California Attorney General Bill Lockyer as commencement speaker. Lockyer had attacked a federal law signed by President Bush that denied federal funding to states that discriminate against health organizations that do not provide abortions or abortion referrals.

To respectfully contact Loyola Marymount University's President:

Loyola Marymount University
Fr. Robert Lawton, S.J., President
rlawtonsj@lmu.edu

Notre Dame Anti-Military, Pro-Gay Protesters Let Go; Pro-Lifers Still Face Fines, Imprisonment

The fact is that Notre Dame is not only no longer a Catholic institution, opting instead to adopt secular "morality" in cases like abortion and gay marriage. But it also has taken action against those who would call them out for their anti-Catholic actions. They have not only embraced dissent but have entered into the realm of persecution. - ITH

By Kathleen Gilbert and John Jalsevac

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, April 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - While numerous pro-life protesters who were arrested for trespassing at the University of Notre Dame last year continue to face up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine, anti-military and pro-gay demonstrators who were previously arrested on campus had their charges dropped, according to a shocking new investigation by the Sycamore Trust. Furthermore, the president of the University, Fr. John Jenkins, has reportedly refused to discuss the disparate treatment.

William Dempsey, Notre Dame alumnus and president of the Sycamore Trust, notes in the organization's latest bulletin that Jenkins has responded to inquiries about the pro-lifers (who were arrested last May while peacefully protesting Obama’s commencement speech and honorary degree) by saying that, "The University cannot have one set of rules for causes we oppose, and another more lenient set of rules for causes we support. We have one consistent set of rules for demonstrations on campus – no matter the cause."

While Notre Dame does not have power to drop the charges, the University's recommendation to dismiss would likely carry great weight with the St. Joseph County prosecutor.

Dempsey says that "we doubted that any organization would saddle itself with such an inflexible policy." Hence, his organization set about investigating how past trespassers have been treated.

It turns out that members of the pro-gay group Soulforce, and Catholic Worker anti-ROTC demonstrators, who were arrested for trespassing on campus in March 2007, were let off scot free. Dempsey says that he interviewed participants in each case, who "all state that, after they were taken into custody and processed on the campus, they were released and heard nothing more." It is unclear whether the decision not to pursue the cases further was made by the university or the district prosecutors, although the Trust suggests that it originated with the university.

Having related the information to Notre Dame, says Dempsey, a spokesman replied that "this exchange is no longer serving any purpose from our perspective, and, as a result, we have decided to discontinue communications with you on this topic."

After writing Fr. Jenkins, the Trust reported that "his brief response was not encouraging."

"He seconded the spokesman’s termination of the discussion and he characterized as 'not warranted' unidentified 'inferences' and 'assumptions' in Bill Dempsey’s wide-ranging exchanges with the University spokesman, but he did not dispute the facts respecting the Soulforce and Catholic Workers arrests."

"The stark facts, then," the Trust alleges, "are that the University has treated pro-gay and anti-military demonstrators far more generously than pro-life demonstrators and that it declines to explain why.

"The mystery of the University’s attitude toward the pro-life demonstrators deepens."

The bulletin further points out how the prosecution of the pro-life "Notre Dame 88" can and already has wreaked havoc on the defendants' lives, even prior to sentencing: the Trust reports that one defendant and her husband have already been declined as foster parents thanks to the trespassing charges.

"The University’s position is bewildering, for there are many compelling reasons for the University to recommend to the prosecutor that he drop these cases," notes the group. "The University’s stance obviously impairs Father Jenkins’s post-Obama efforts to shore up Notre Dame’s pro-life credentials. The demonstrators are intensely dedicated and include many notably sympathetic individuals."

"The question, then, is why the University persists in endorsing these prosecutions."

To sign a petition to free the ND 88, click here.

For University of Notre Dame contact information, click here.

See recent LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Notre Dame Releases New Pro-Life Statement after Obama Dust Up
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10041310.html

Document Reveals Inconsistencies in ND's Jenkins Claims on ND88
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10020811.html

Scheidler: Jenkins Remains Utterly Immovable on ND 88
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10012505.html

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10042208.html

Jesuit U. of Detroit Mercy Criticized for Keeping Pro-Abort Nun Board Member

DETROIT, Michigan, April 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The University of Detroit Mercy, a Jesuit Catholic institution, has come under fire for failing to remove links to pro-abortion groups on its website, as well as for keeping a renowned pro-abortion, pro-same-sex "marriage" nun on its Board of Trustees.

According to TFP Student Action, at least 11,000 students and concerned parents have petitioned the Catholic University of Detroit Mercy to remove links to abortion promoters from its web site. So far the request has not been granted.

Links to Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women (NOW) are still listed in two places: "career & professional resources" and "external sites of interest."

TFP Student Action has vowed to continue peacefully protesting the school.

"The average internet savvy webmaster could remove these pro-abortion links with ease in less than five minutes," said the group in a press release. "Yet this Jesuit-Mercy university has not removed them so far, thus giving scandal to students who are faithful to Catholic teaching on abortion."

The student advocacy group suggested that the school's insistence in keeping the links may be related to the presence of Sr. Margaret Farley, a Sister of Mercy, on its Board of Trustees. Farley, who earned her Ph.D. at Yale Divinity School, was one of 40 Catholic religious who infamously signed a 1984 statement by "Catholics for Choice" upholding abortion as justifiable from a Catholic standpoint. Several of the co-signers were subsequently excommunicated.

Since then, Farley has published her dissention from Catholic Church teaching on several key issues, including abortion, homosexuality, same-sex "marriage," masturbation, sterilization, divorce, and women priests. Many of these viewpoints are available in her 2006 book "Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics," in which Farley challenges the "simpler ways of interpreting human experience" of traditional Catholic values on marriage and sexuality, with a new framework for "just" sexual gratification outside of marital relations and family life.

Another co-signer of the "Catholics for Choice" ad, long-time Detroit Mercy faculty member Prof. Jane Schaberg, is a radical feminist and author of the book, “The Illegitimacy of Jesus.”

“What type of faith-damaging message does this send to Catholic college students?" questioned TFP Student Action. "How can we expect the next generation to respect innocent life when professors like Dr. Jane Schaberg and board members like Sister Farley publicly reject Church teaching and Natural Law on procured abortion?"

U. of Detroit Mercy did not respond to LifeSiteNews.com's request for comment as of press time.

Contact:

President Rev. Gerard L. Stockhausen, S.J., Ph.D.
University of Detroit Mercy
4001 West McNichols Road
Detroit MI 48221-3038

phone 313.993.1455
fax 313.993.1534
gstock@udmercy.edu

In Wake of V-Monologues and 'Sex Positive' Week, Georgetown Students Vote to Fund Pro-Abortion Panel

In early March, the Student Activities Commission (SAC) of Georgetown University, a Jesuit, Catholic university, voted in favor of funding an abortion “rights” panel on campus, according to The Hoya. Earlier the university partially funded "Sex Positive Week" and held performances of "The Vagina Monologues."

“While Catholics the world over are engaged in penance, prayer and alms giving during this Lenten season, students at America's oldest Catholic university have participated in a perverse series of events that vividly reminds us why our culture is in such trouble” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society.

The Hoya article said the pro-abortion event would feature three male panelists in favor of abortion “rights” speaking on the role of men in the pro-abortion movement. It would be sponsored by a new coalition recently formed by United Feminists and H*yas for Choice called “Plan A: Hoyas for Reproductive Justice”.

The Plan A event was initially denied a request for University support in a Feb. 24 letter from Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olsen. He wrote: “Through its speech and expression of policy, the university provides students the opportunity to participate in a dialogue on a wide range of issues.” He continued, “As a Catholic and Jesuit institution, however, Georgetown cannot support organizations whose stated purpose conflicts with Catholic moral teaching.”

According to The Hoya, since SAC voted in early March to allocate $175 for the Plan A event to United Feminists, which is university funded, there has been no official University statement in response.

Plan A’s group website reads, “Plan A: Hoyas for Reproductive Justice is a coalition of students dedicated to changing the way that Georgetown University approaches issues of reproductive justice and choice.”

According to the blog of the Georgetown Voice, Plan A started its events on March 21 with the panel discussion, which was the first event in Georgetown history to not include the pro-life argument in an open discussion of abortion. Members of the panel included representatives of the National Abortion Federation, Choice USA and GU Men Creating Change. They “spoke about the importance of male involvement in the pro-choice movement, why male involvement is especially important to the pro-choice movement now, and how Georgetown students can lobby the school to fund more similar events.”

A member of Plan A reportedly said that Sunday’s panel discussion was the only event funded by Georgetown University in the overall Choice Week which is now taking place, also according to the Georgetown Voice blog.

The pro-abortion panel discussion was not the first time this semester that Georgetown students have organized activities that directly undermine fundamental Catholic values or teachings. In early February, the SAC voted to approve funding for parts of Sex Positive Week, which CNS harshly criticized last year. Among the events this year that received funding and/or approval were “Virginity and Losing It,” “Disability and Sexuality,” and “God and the Erotic.”

The Cardinal Newman Society reported in its March 2010 Campus Notes newsletter that Georgetown University was among the Catholic colleges and universities that were listed as holding a production of the vile play The Vagina Monologues. The play favorably describes lesbian activity, group masturbation and the reduction of sexuality to selfish pleasure. Performances at Catholic colleges and universities are down to 14 in 2010 from 32 in 2003.

According to the website of V-Day, the sponsor organization for the Monologues, performances for the Spring 2010 semester were also scheduled at the following institutions which claim a Catholic identity: Barry University, College of the Holy Cross, College of Saint Benedict, College of Saint Rose, DePaul University, Fordham University, John Carroll University, Loyola University of Chicago, Regis College, Saint Mary’s College of Cal., Seattle University, and the University of San Francisco. In addition, a student newspaper at Boston College reported that the play was hosted on that campus.

The University of Notre Shame

It’s understandable that student newspapers at public universities are left-leaning. The advisors of the papers are usually left-leaning and they often have a left-leaning administration leaning on them. So their coverage of issues like abortion and homosexuality is often skewed. But private religious universities once provided a safe haven for those who wished to express views not approved by the immoral minority. It’s tough to comprehend the extent to which they have fallen prey to political correctness in recent years.

The Observer, the student newspaper at the University of Notre Dame, has shown that our nation’s Catholic universities no longer provide an escape from the politically correct orthodoxy running rampant on our nation’s public campuses. And the paper has shown a remarkable contempt for intellectual honesty – not to mention the Ninth Commandment.

The Observer declined to print a column that defends Church teachings on homosexual activity, which was written by Charles Rice - a Notre Dame Professor of Law. Rice has written a regular column with the Observer for nearly two decades.

At 996 words, Professor Rice’s column is a little long. At first, Observer Editor Matt Gamber used the column’s length as an excuse for non-publication. The excuse sounded credible but, after doing a little research, I’ve concluded that his excuse is an outright lie.

When Barack Obama came to speak at Notre Dame, Professor Rice wrote an 1172-word column, which harshly criticized his appearance as at odds with the school’s principles. Note to Matt Gamber: An 1172-word column is longer than a 996-word column. That much is as clear and obvious as the Bible’s teachings on homosexuality.

But, now, Matt Gamber is saying that the subject matter of homosexuality could best by handled by printing opposing views on the subject. But why must a student newspaper at a Catholic university censor Professor Rice in the absence of some “opposing viewpoint”? And what are the implications of this new policy?

If Professor Rice decides to write a column opposing polygamy, will the Observer withhold its publication until someone submits a pro-polygamy column?

If Professor Rice decides to write a column opposing incest, will the Observer withhold its publication until someone submits a pro-incest column?

If Professor Rice decides to write a column opposing adultery, will the Observer withhold its publication until someone submits a pro-adultery column?

Finally, if Professor Rice decides to write another column opposing abortion, will the Observer withhold its publication until someone submits a pro-abortion column?

The answers to my four hypothetical questions follow: No, no, no, and no.

And the reason for the pattern is simple: The Observer carves out a special “opposing viewpoint” exception for homosexuality because the Observer is intensely homophobic.

And the reason for the intense homophobia manifested by Matt Gamber and the Observer is also simple: Homosexuals are less tolerant of criticism than any other portion of the American population, including feminists and Muslims.

But the consequences of homosexual intolerance are not as simple. They are twofold: 1) Homosexual intolerance tends to result in the suppression of contrary views, and 2) Such intolerance tends to make others fearful of talking to homosexuals. In other words, homosexual intolerance actually promotes homophobia.

The present situation at Notre Dame is damaging to both sides of the debate. The Observer should allow Professor Rice to present his views (as unthinkable as it may seem to present the views of the Catholic Church at a Catholic university). Then, they may decide whether the views of the opposition warrant publication.

I believe the other side should be presented after Professor Rice’s column is printed if someone at Notre Dame actually thinks the Holy Bible is unclear on the issue. If they do, the Notre Dame community will wind up with a greater appreciation of the truth via its juxtaposition with falsity.

But the prior restraint of the views of Professor Rice is not defensible. While not a technical violation of the First Amendment – Notre Dame is a private school - it is an assault on both Catholicism and common sense. And it leaves many Catholics wondering whether there is any safe haven in this land that once placed religious liberty above political correctness.

Notre Dame Paper Snubs Prof's Column Upholding Church Teaching on Homosexuality

My take: It's time to recognize that Notre Dame is no longer Catholic. To declare so is the only leverage the bishop has. Notre Dame is an insult to observant Catholics, the Bishop, the Pope and most importantly to Our Lady for whom it is named.

By Kathleen Gilbert

Updated 6:18pm EST 3.3.2010

NOTRE DAME, Indiana, March 3, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The editor of the University of Notre Dame's campus newspaper has refused to publish an installment of a former ND professor's biweekly column because he said the column, which defended the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality, required a "differing viewpoint" as a counterbalance.

Dr. Charles Rice, Professor Emeritus of law and faculty member, resigned writing for the column after receiving an email from the editor of the Observer, who explained that his most recent column had been rejected due in part to its pro-family content. In his column, Rice cited the Catechism to lay out the Church's teaching against homosexuality, and explained that homosexuality's current push for legitimacy was a natural consequence of the contraceptive mentality.

Rice, who spoke with LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) about the matter today, has written for the "Right or Wrong?" column since 1992.

“I personally had some concerns with the content of the column," Editor Matt Gamber told Rice in an email, "particularly considering The Mobile Party comic incident earlier in the semester at The Observer." Gambler was referring to a cartoon published in the Observer that was seen as degrading to homosexuals.

Gambler said Rice's piece was "factually correct," but that he "did not feel it lent itself to creating a productive discussion, all things considered. I was a bit concerned with certain language as well."

Gambler continued: “In the future, if you would like to examine this topic, we thought it might be beneficial to do so in a point-counterpoint format, perhaps with an author of an opposing or differing viewpoint. That way, each ‘side,’ to speak, would have the opportunity to present relevant facts, evidence and analysis to define its position.”

In response, Dr. Rice stated that, “ In a university that claims to be Catholic, I am not willing to restrict my presentation of Catholic teaching to a format that treats the authoritative teaching of the Church as merely one viewpoint or ‘side’ among many."

"If you require that future columns of mine on homosexuality comply with a format such as you propose, it will be inappropriate for me to continue writing the column for the Observer.”

The editor also cited the column's length, which he said "far exceeded" the newspaper's guidelines; Rice, however, responded that the column "is in fact significantly shorter than each of the three previous columns published this semester in the Observer. I was not asked to shorten any of them.”

The column by Dr. Rice laid out the "governing principles as found in the teaching of the Catholic Church" regarding homosexuality. Rice cites the Catechism to explain that the Church considers homosexual conduct to be "acts of grave depravity," and that while the inclination to homosexual acts is not a sin, it is also intrinsically disordered.

While "unjust discrimination" against homosexuals is wrong, he notes, this "does not rule out the making of reasonable and just distinctions with respect to military service, the wording of university nondiscrimination policies and other matters including admission to seminaries."

The encroaching viewpoint of homosexuality as legitimate, Rice points out, is "a predictable consequence of the now-dominant contraceptive ethic," which deliberately separates the unitive aspect of sex from the procreative.

"Further," Rice notes, "if individual choice prevails without regard to limits of nature, how can the choice be limited to two persons?

"Polygamy (one man, multiple women), polyandry (one woman, multiple men), polyamory (sexual relations between or among multiple persons of one or both sexes) and other possible arrangements, involving the animal kingdom as well, would derive legitimacy from the same contraceptive premise that justifies one-on-one homosexual relations."

In a subsequent email to Rice, Gambler stated that he did not wish "to question the Church teachings or argue the points you presented in your essay, but rather, because the paper is still recovering from the incident with The Mobile Party comic, we would prefer to examine this issue at a later time."

Notre Dame, which hosts a gay-friendly student group on its campus, has been known to host pro-homosexuality viewpoints with some regularity.

Last April, Notre Dame launched a series of events known as "StaND Against Hate Week" designed to promote an "inclusive spirit" for homosexuality.

"The whole thing is - I think 'disappointing' is a mild term," Rice told LSN, adding that he did not plan to respond to Gambler's latest email.

(Read Prof. Rice's full column here.)

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Notre Dame Announces Homosexual-Themed Events for Easter Week
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09041402.html

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030310.html

National Catholic Education Conference Keynoter is Pro-abortion, Pro-Sodomy Liberal Garrison Keillo

2/28/2010 10:50:00 AM

By Florence Sebe

Yes. You read that right.

Keynote speaker for the National Catholic Education Association convention in Minneapolis, April 6-8, 2010, is none other than Garrison Keillor -- "author, storyteller, and host of Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion."

http://www.ncea.org/UserFiles/File/Convention/10_MN_Prelim_Program_v6.pdf

Garrison Keillor is also outspokenly and publically pro-abortion and pro-sodomy. In his own words:

http://www.nathancallahan.com/garrison2.html

http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/the_old_scout/archives/2009/09/29/stuck_in_the_shallows.shtml

What is a man, who personally and professionally works against the teaching of the Catholic Church, doing at a national Catholic education conference -- much let alone as a keynote speaker? (And if you ante up, you can participate in the private meet-and-greet photo op, too!)

Ask the question! Demand accountability!

Below are contacts for the NCEA and the USCCB Secretariat of Education. Dr. Ristau, President of the NCEA is also a member of the Education Secretariat for the USCCB.

Additional Contact Information:

Dr. Karen Ristau, President

National Catholic Education Association

president@ncea.org

NCEA Executive Committee

Stephanie Welling, Chairman

swelling@archstl.org

Frederick S. Lenz, Jr.

flenzjr@aol.com

Sr. Donna Marie O'Brien, OP

dmobrienop@hotmail.com

Sandra Leatherwood

sleatherwood@catholic-doc.org

Henry A. Sorbet, Jr.

hsorbet@lcpa.org

Craig A. Kubiak

kubiak@kubiaklawoffice.com

Sir Thompson M. Faller, Ph.D.

faller@up.ed

Anne Wuycheck

wuycheck@cox.net

Br. Lawrence Harvey, CFX

lharvey@xaverianbrothers.org

Br. Celestine Algero, SC, Ed.D.

algeroc@mcgill.pvt.k12.al.us

Regina M. Haney, Ed.D.

haney@ncea.org

D. Michael Coombe, M.Div.

mcoombe@ncea.org

USCCB Secretariat for Education

Most Reverend Thomas J. Curry

info@la-archdiocese.org Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

Members

Most Reverend Oscar Cantú mailbox@archsa.org

Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio

Most Reverend John C. Dunne bishopsoffice@drvc.org

Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre

Most Reverend Walter J. Edyveanhttp://www.bostoncatholic.org/West.aspx

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainerhttp://home.catholicweb.com/lexingtonbishop/index.cfm/contact

Bishop of Lexington

Most Reverend Francis J. Kane

Auxiliary Bishop

Archdiocese of Chicago

Vicar for Vicariate II

1641 W. Diversey Pkwy.

Chicago, IL 60614

Phone: 773-388-8670

Fax: 773-388-8676

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago

Most Reverend Joseph P. McFadden Bjmcfadd@adphila.org

Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

Most Reverend Richard E. Patescommunications@dmdiocese.org

Bishop of Des Moines

Most Reverend John C. Wester shirley.mares@dioslc.org

Bishop of Salt Lake City

Bishop Consultant

Most Reverend Michael J. Sheridan egriffith@diocs.org

Bishop of Colorado Springs

Consultants

Dr. John Convey convey@cua.edu The Catholic University of America

Sr. Mary Elizabeth Galt, BVM

info@la-archdiocese.org Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Jennifer Kraska ccc@cocatholicconference.org Colorado Catholic Conference

Dr. Mary McDonald tallie.hodges@cc.cdom.org Diocese of Memphis

Rev. Martin Moran moran@ccmanet.org Catholic Campus Ministry Association

Dr. Karen Ristau president@ncea.org National Catholic Educational Association

Mary Ellen Russell info@mdcathcon.org Maryland Catholic Conference

Dr. Richard A. Yanikoski accu@accunet.org Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities

Staff

Marie A. Powell mpowell@usccb.org Executive Director, Secretariat of Catholic Education

Sr. Suzanne Bellenoit, SSJsbellenoit@usccb.org Associate Director for Public Policy, Secretariat of Catholic Education

Barbara Humphrey McCrabbbmccrabb@usccb.org Assistant Director for Higher Education, Secretariat of Catholic Education

Terry ThamesOGR@usccb.org Associate Director, Office of Government Relations

Had enough pussyfooting? Copy all correspondence to the Papal Nuncio:

His Excellency The Most Reverend Pietro Sambi

The Apostolic Nuncio to the United States

The Apostolic Nunciature

3339 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20008-3687

phone: 202-333-7121

fax: 202-337-4036

His Excellency Archbishop Celestino Migliore

Permanent Observer of the Holy See to The United Nations

25 E. 39th St.

New York, N.Y. 10016-0903

fax: 2l2-370-9622

email: office@holyseemission.org

email: hsmission@holyseemission.org

email: HolySee@un.int

http://www.holyseemission.org/contact_us.html

Note: Archbishops Sambi and Migliore are positioned in the U.S. and are important to notify as they relay news daily back to the Holy See.

NATIONAL CATHOLIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATION CONVENTION PROGRAM

List of Exhibitors is the last page in the PDF.

http://www.ncea.org/UserFiles/File/Convention/10_MN_Prelim_Program_v6.pdf