Posted on 05/22/2002 1:27:04 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Catholic Colleges Invite ‘Scandalous’ Commencement Speakers, Awardees
FALLS CHURCH, VA – A national Catholic organization has called on American Catholics to protest 19 inappropriate commencement speakers and awardees at 15 Catholic colleges and universities.
“Despite the U.S. bishops’ clear call for reform of Catholic higher education, it seems that a significant minority of Catholic college leaders simply aren’t listening,” complained Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, a national organization seeking the renewal of Catholic identity at Catholic colleges and universities. “Several of this year’s speakers and awardees are inappropriate and their presence at Catholic institutions is scandalous.”
Speakers and awardees opposed by the Cardinal Newman Society include:
BOSTON COLLEGE (MA): Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Chairwoman of the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, will receive an honorary degree on May 20. The MacArthur Foundation’s Population and Reproductive Health grant program is a leading contributor to radical and anti-Catholic organizations advocating abortion, contraception and population control. (Protest: Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., President, William.leahy.1@bc.edu, 617-552-3250.)
BOSTON COLLEGE LAW SCHOOL (MA): Ambassador to Canada and former Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci will speak on May 24. While governor, Cellucci was a determined advocate of abortion rights. (Protest: Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., President, William.leahy.1@bc.edu, 617-552-3250.)
COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE (NY): Mary O’Connor Donohue, pro-abortion Lieutenant Governor of New York, will speak on May 23. (Protest: Dr. Stephen J. Sweeny, President, College of New Rochelle, 914-654-5000.)
COLLEGE OF ST. CATHERINE (MN): Pro-abortion U.S. Rep. Betty McCullom (D-MN), who has opposed legislation to ban cloning of human embryos, spoke on May 19. (Sr. Andrea H. Lee, IHM, President, Andrea_Lee@stkate.edu, 651-690-6525.)
COLLEGE OF ST. ROSE (NY): Frank Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell University, spoke on May 11. In 1987, Rhodes publicly welcomed dissident theologian Charles Curran to teach at Cornell in the midst of Curran’s high-profile battle with the Catholic University of America (DC), which eventually fired him for dissent from Church teaching on contraception, divorce and homosexual activity. His honorary degree from St. Rose is hardly appropriate when Catholic educators are striving to implement Ex corde Ecclesiae, the 1990 apostolic constitution on Catholic higher education. (Protest: Dr. R. Mark Sullivan, President, 518-454-5120.)
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE (DC): U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke on May 18. Pelosi is a dissident Catholic politician with a pro-abortion voting record, including her vote against a ban on partial-birth abortion. (Protest: Dr. John DiGioia, President, president@georgetown.edu, 202-687-4134.)
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW (DC): Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams spoke on May 18. Both are public advocates of abortion rights and homosexual rights, and therefore inappropriate despite their commendable leadership on September 11. (Protest: Dr. John DiGioia, President, president@georgetown.edu, 202-687-4134.)
LE MOYNE COLLEGE (NY): Chief Judge Judith Kaye of the New York State Court of Appeals spoke on May 19. In 1998, Kaye wrote the court’s ruling that individuals and not the state have the right to determine the fate of frozen embryos, which are not “persons”. The ruling prevented a woman from impregnating herself against her divorced husband’s wishes and thereby saving her offspring from being destroyed. In 1995, Kaye superseded New York law and wrote the court’s ruling that homosexual and unmarried partners may adopt children. (Protest: Rev. Charles J. Beirne, S.J., President, beirnecj@lemoyne.edu, 315-445-4100.)
LOURDES COLLEGE (OH): U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) spoke and received an honorary degree on May 18. Kaptur’s voting record on abortion is mixed, often earning about a 50 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee and including many votes in support of abortion rights. (Protest: Dr. George C. Matthews, President, matthews@lourdes.edu, 419-824-3809.)
LOYOLA COLLEGE (MD): Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell spoke on May 18. Mitchell authored the Freedom of Choice Act and consistently voted the pro-abortion position. (Protest: Rev. Harold Ridley, S.J., President, vweller@Loyola.edu, 410-617-2201.)
MARYWOOD UNIVERSITY (PA): Yolanda King, daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke on May 12. King is an activist for special rights for homosexuals, including efforts to change the United Methodist Church’s prohibition on same-sex marriages and ordination of sexually active homosexuals (positions similar to Catholic teachings). (Protest: Sr. Mary Reap, I.H.M., President, mreap@es.marywood.edu, 570-348-6231.)
MOUNT ST. MARY’S COLLEGE (CA): Leon Panetta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, spoke on May 11. Panetta publicly supported Clinton’s position on abortion, including partial-birth abortion. During his previous tenure as a U.S. Congressman from California, Panetta had a pro-abortion voting record and co-sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act in 1990. (Protest: Dr. Jacqueline Powers Doud, President, 310-954-4011.) Panetta also serves on the board of trustees of Santa Clara University (CA), a Jesuit university. The SCU Law Alumni Association will confer its Achievement Award on Panetta on May 17. (Protest: Rev. Paul L. Locatelli, S.J., President, plocatelli@scu.edu, 408-554-4023.)
NOTRE DAME COLLEGE (OH): Pro-abortion U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) spoke on May 11. (Protest: Dr. Anne L. Deming, President, 216-373-5200.)
SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE (VT): Barbara Snelling received an honorary degree on May 12. The pro-abortion politician is a former Lieutenant Governor of Vermont and state senator. (Protest: Dr. Marc A. vander Heyden, President, 802-654-2000.)
SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY (RI): Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) received an honorary degree on May 19. He has voted consistently in support of abortion rights and funding, as well as votes allowing human cloning and euthanasia. Salve Regina also invited pro-abortion Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) to receive an honorary degree, and he accepted the invitation but was unable to attend the commencement ceremony and receive his award.
STONEHILL COLLEGE (MA): Paul G. Kirk, Jr., former Democratic National Chairman and abortion-rights advocate, spoke on May 19. (Protest: Rev. Mark T. Cregan, C.S.C., President, presidentcregan@stonehill.edu, 508-565-1000.)
WHEELING JESUIT UNIVERSITY (WV): Robert Wise, pro-abortion Governor of West Virginia, spoke on May 18. While a U.S. Congressman from West Virginia, Wise helped defeat a ban on partial-birth abortion. (Protest: Rev. George F. Lundy, S.J., President, 800-624-6992.)
For more information about Cardinal Newman Society, see www.cardinalnewmansociety.org or call 703-536-9585.
The credibility of the Cardinal Newman Society would be better expended on other projects.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.