Posted on 04/10/2006 9:13:53 AM PDT by John Geyer
A SCULPTURE OF the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, proposed as a "memorial for the victims of abortion" at Villanova University, has upset some students, including some who oppose abortion.
Villanovans for Life, which spearheaded the monument effort, says the statue "will memorialize those who have died as a result of legalized abortion and all those who suffer physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually due to abortion," according to the group's Web site.
The school's board of trustees is expected to approve the monument at its meeting tomorrow.
The objections range from the monument's proposed location to its political significance.
Some students think its placement along a high-traffic area in south campus is inappropriate. Others feel the monument is more of a political statement than a religious one. And still others believe it counters Villanova's goal of attracting non-Catholics to the school.
Pro-life freshman Clint Gilliam agrees with the concept of the statue, but thinks its high-profile placement is a bad idea.
"It's just a little in your face," he said. "It sort of makes people who don't believe in those things uncomfortable."
Adds freshman Peggy Costello, "I'm personally pro-life and I don't like the statue at all.
"I feel that putting up a statue like that completely counters the diversity we're trying to advocate or uphold," said Costello, 19, who thinks the memorial could alienate non-Catholics.
University spokeswoman Barbara K. Clement said that while Villanova does seek racial and economic diversity, it is a Roman Catholic, Augustinian university.
"The statue would be within the precepts of faith," Clement said.
The anti-abortion monument might be the first on the East Coast.
At least two schools in the Midwest have such memorials, the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., and the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio.
Senior Lauren Homans, 22, monument coordinator for Villanovans for Life, acknowledges there's some controversy but said, "We don't have any reason to think that the board won't approve it."
Homans, who hopes someday to work for the pro-life movement, began her efforts to get a memorial more than a year ago. She found a photo of the 300-pound bronze statue, called "Maternal Bond," in an ad while browsing through a copy of the Catholic magazine Immaculata.
The statue portrays Mary kneeling and huddled in a fetal position, cradling baby Jesus. It measures 3 feet high, more than 3 feet wide and nearly 2 feet deep.
The sculptor is a Canadian, Timothy P. Schmaltz, who has produced two other copies of the work for churches. The piece is meant simply to convey the image of maternal love as symbolized by Mary and Jesus and is not advertised as an anti-abortion monument.
But Homans hopes the sculpture at Villanova will be a "daily reminder" of the unborn and those who suffer from the effects of an abortion.
One female student who has had an abortion was infuriated about the proposed memorial.
"They're making an assumption on how someone who has had an abortion feels about it," said the student, who requested that her name be withheld.
"Guilt and shame are two of the most difficult things to deal with after an abortion," the woman said. "I don't know if they have talked with any woman who has had an abortion - about what they actually need and if the statue will provide solace."
The piece is set to be erected near a walkway that freshman dorm residents take to get on the main campus, resulting in heavy foot traffic.
The path, because it is shrouded by trees and dark at night, has come to be known by students, staff and faculty as the "Rape Trail" although there's never been a reported rape in the area.
Many students interviewed had just learned about the pro-life memorial. Gilliam, a finance major, says the university's effort were done "under the table."
"The university didn't seem to publicize it well," Gilliam said. "Especially considering the placement of the statue."
But the proposed memorial was featured in the campus newspaper, The Villanovan, and the student group had sought funds for the $20,000 enterprise by posting fliers around campus and on its Web site (prolife.villanova.edu/ monument.html).
A January fund-raising drive ended when Massachusetts alum Joseph McCullen, class of '59, saw The Villanovan article and offered to fund the effort, Homans said. The donation covers the sculpture, base, shipping and installation.
Kathy Byrnes, associate vice president for student life at Villanova, said the memorial will be "an opportunity for those who are somehow affected by abortion and also those people who are pro-life and don't believe in abortions... to reflect on the real sadness that abortion brings to our society."
The university just last year sanctioned a plaque in a student lounge for Villanova professor Mine Ener, who, suffering from post-partum depression, killed her baby daughter and herself. The news of the plaque's dedication provoked a storm of criticism and the university took down the memorial 12 days later.
Senior Vanessa Pralle, 22, a pro-choice senior who wrote a letter to The Villanovan opposing the anti-abortion memorial, said she didn't get the university's logic with regard to memorials.
"They'll resurrect a $20,000 statue for lives that haven't even matured and yet we take down a plaque commemorating a beautiful and wonderful life," said Pralle. "I don't think the university should impose the values of a certain group of people. That's such a slap in the face."
The idea of something being 'in your face' is very subjective anyway. What someone means by this is that they don't want to see or hear it, but so what? The main point you refer to is going out of your way to do it, which a statue obviously does not since statues (most anyway) don't 'go' anyplace.
And as such, it should have the right to put up whatever fits Catholic theology and philosophy.
However, if it gets tax dollars, then you and I are paying for this.
That is one reason I'm proud that my alma mater does not accept government funds in any form.
Let's see. Liberal christianity. Jesus was not divine, but 'just a man'. No 'immaculate conception'. He was born out of wedlock. Therefore, Mary should have aborted him. That's the problem. Mary didn't have an abortion and so the liberal PC crowd is offended.
I actually saw a bumper sticker this morning--"Jesus was a liberal." I couldn't read the two lines under it before the car turned off...probably better that I couldn't, I've got enough of a headache right now as it is.
}:-)4
Catholic and pro-life ping!
I like it that "Catholic" and "pro life" are so firmly associated in people's minds that a concern for the inclusion of the non-Catholics is aroused by a pro-life statue.
I am getting fed up with these so-called "catholic" students who feel a memorial to mark the holocaust of babies murdered through abortion is somehow the wrong message to send. They better take another look at their own milque toast value system and quit worrying about offending others
I am getting sick of these so-called "catholic" students who feel a memorial to mark the holocaust of babies murdered through abortion is somehow the wrong message to send. They better take another look at their own milque toast value system and quit worrying about offending others. These people offend me mightily.
'nuff said!
Not that the article was necessarily unbalanced, but I didn't see where there were ANY students who approved of the statue. Rather curious.
My niece is getting married this year. We haven't been on very good terms since the year that Clinton ran a second time. She was attending the local Catholic college and it was her first time to vote in a national election so I asked her what her thoughts were. Typically, she said what the people around her thought, "Most people here are pro-Clinton." I asked them how on Earth students at a Catholic college could support a man who had vetoed the partial birth abortion ban. She didn't know that or even what it was. I enlightened her but she had to go do something so she avoided the issue. Now she's having a huge wedding in her parish Church. Maybe I'll stand up and object. LOL that would get the family going. "I object because the bride claims to be a Catholic but couldn't be because she supports pro-abortion candidates."
Nice statue. I'm not Catholic but if this is a Catholic university then why shouldn't they be able to put up the statue?
I think the only ones opposed to this are pro-abortion.
Oh Lord, he should just apply for the sex change now.
(back to Confession for me)
aaarrrrgggghhhh VILLANOVA!!!!! aaaarrrrrgghhh!
These are just the things we dream about to fall asleep at night. It would be fun to go to the wedding and hear you stand up and say that.
LOL! I hear you. ;-) How's the family doing?
Well, of course, she deserves to have her day ruined for daring to disagree with you.
Hey, maybe you can get close enough to set fire to her dress! :-D
Everyone is healthy and well. Thanks for asking. Mom is especially well these days.
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