Posted on 04/06/2013 12:02:04 PM PDT by Steelfish
Catholic Gonzaga University Won’t Allow Catholic Students To Form Catholic Group The Daily Caller.
Roman Catholic, Jesuit-affiliated Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington has refused to recognize the Knights of Columbus as an official student group because — wait for it — the Knights of Columbus is a Catholic organization.
Gonzaga administrators notified the students who had sought the school’s official seal of approval last month, reports The Cardinal Newman Society’s Catholic Education Daily.
“The Knights of Columbus, by their very nature, is a men’s organization in which only Catholics may participate via membership,” reads a letter written by Sue Weitz, vice president for student life. “These criteria are inconsistent with the policy and practice of student organization recognition at Gonzaga University.”
Right here seems like a sufficiently good place to observe that Gonzaga is under the umbrella of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) — a men’s organization in which only Catholic men may participate via membership.
Anyway, Weitz’s letter went on to explain that she feels “strongly” about Gonzaga’s “commitment to non-discrimination and inclusivity” and is troubled by the fact that “all members of a student Knights of Columbus group must be Catholic.”
“If Gonzaga was an institution that served only Catholics and limited the benefits of the collegiate experience only to them, the decision-making process may have been different,” she also opined. “To embrace the diversity and yet endorse a group based on faith exclusivity is a challenge that cannot be reconciled at this time.”
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I am sure he would have quite a bit to say on this.
From my experience on these matters, they’ll say that the Black Students Association is open to students of all races (i.e., non-blacks are not expressly banned from joining in the club’s by-laws), while the KoC’s membership is expressly reserved for Catholic men. When I was in college, the university threatened to take away the College Republicans’ school charter if we didn’t change the by-laws to allow *registered Democrats* to join; I quit the club when members voted to capitulate.
Sad when people give in to their ideals.
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