Omaha, NE (LifeNews.com) -- Now that Creighton University has rescinded the offer to pro-abortion author Anne Lamott to speak at the Catholic college, a group of churches in Omaha are banding together to organize an event. The university had said Lamott's views on assisted suicide and abortion were out of step with the church.
Creighton canceled the planned speech after the Catholic school received significant outcry from pro-life advocates.
Lamott's appearance was slated for September 19 at the Jesuit university but now she will speak at the Holland Performing Arts Center that day instead.
The Fremont Tribune newspaper reported that Lamott's publicist Steven Barclay issued a statement for her saying her positions on the controversial issues haven't changed.
"I feel just as strongly about assisted suicide and abortion as ever," Lamott said.
The newspaper indicated that a group led by Rev. Nancy Brink of North Side Christian Church and six other churches are banding together to pay Lamott's travel fees for the talk.
Brink said the speech will be free but the churches are accepting donations.
Meanwhile, the Omaha Archdiocese praised Creighton's decision saying the college properly followed the directive of the nation's Catholic bishops, who don't want Catholic institutions giving a platform to abortion advocates.
"We're pretty pleased with the way things went," the Rev. Ryan Lewis, vice chancellor of the archdiocese, told the newspaper. He questioned why college officials booked Lamott in the first place.
As LifeNews.com previously reported, college officials said "Creighton University and author Anne Lamott have mutually agreed upon cancellation of her public lecture."
The explained that Lamott's public disagreement with Catholic teaching against abortion and euthanasia "makes her an inappropriate choice for the Women and Health Lecture Series."
"After careful review of Ms. Lamott’s most recent writings (which postdated her contract agreement), we have concluded that key points are in opposition to Catholic teachings," the college added. "At a featured lecture like this, the degree to which the speaker's views do not harmonize with our Catholic mission becomes more salient."
Lamott had an abortion in 1984 and has been justifying it ever since.
She tells of the experience in her book "Tender Mercies" and even admits that "I was sadder than I'd been since my father died" following the abortion.
Following the abortion, Lamott drowned herself in codeine and alcohol for a week and bled profusely. She describes her personal struggle with the church and confronting God.
Yet, she continues to publicly support abortion.
"It is a moral necessity that we not be forced to bring children into the world for whom we cannot be responsible and adoring and present," she writes. "We must not inflict life on children who will be resented; we must not inflict unwanted children on society."
In an article on Lamott's life, National Right to Life author and news writer Dave Andrusko shares his analysis of her position and her life.
ACTION: Contact Creighton University at 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178, (p) 402.280.2017, (f) 402.280.57. You can also email hshew@creighton.edu to thank the college for canceling the speech. Also, contact North Side Christian Church at http://www.northsideomaha.org/ContactUs.html to express your disappointment.
Related web sites:
Anne Lamott - http://www.barclayagency.com/lamott.htm