The Mississippi Catholic

'Catholic' Spain 08-11

2011-08-11T16:04:00.000-05:00

Standing or Kneeling?

2011-08-02T10:17:00.000-05:00

Obama and Democratic Bishops

2011-07-18T18:08:00.000-05:00

Going NUTS in BEANtown

2011-07-13T16:19:00.000-05:00

Epicopal Church Converts to Catholicism

2011-07-06T10:37:00.000-05:00

Episcopal Church in Maryland to Convert to Catholicism

Catholic Colleges Update

2011-07-06T10:32:00.000-05:00

Feds Rule Against 2nd Catholic College, CNS Analyzes Assault on Religious Liberty

From the Cardinal Newman Society press release:

For the second time this year, a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional director has ruled that a Catholic college lacks a substantial religious character. Today The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) announces its latest publication, “The NLRB’s Assault on Religious Liberty,” to explain the historical context and the gravity of this federal intrusion into Catholic education.
The new paper, available online here, is published by the Center for the Advancement of Catholic Higher Education, a division of CNS that advises and assists academic and religious leaders in efforts to strengthen the Catholic identity and academic quality of Catholic colleges and universities.
“Even while Catholic colleges invite scrutiny by failing to adhere fully to the Catholic Church’s own requirements for Catholic education, the NLRB is clearly infringing on the rights of colleges to apply religious criteria without federal government interference,” said CNS President Patrick J. Reilly, the author of the CNS paper. “The media and Catholic leaders need to understand that the NLRB assault on Catholic colleges is not new—it has been ongoing for several decades—and it stands in clear contradiction to federal court rulings, which have instructed the NLRB to stop interfering with Catholic education.”
Last week a NLRB director ruled that St. Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois, “is not a church-operated institution” and therefore subject to federal labor law. It follows a January ruling that another Catholic institution, Manhattan College, is also not sufficiently religious to claim exemption from federal law.
The Manhattan and St. Xavier announcements are only the latest developments in a decades-long struggle between Catholic colleges and the NLRB. In 1979 U.S. Supreme Court ruled in NLRB v. The Catholic Bishop of Chicago, et al. that the NLRB had violated the First Amendment by asserting jurisdiction over Catholic parochial schools, because that could interfere with religious decisions about curriculum and personnel. Although Catholic colleges have made similar arguments, the NLRB has insisted on an intrusive “substantial religious character” test to determine jurisdiction over colleges—thereby engaging in the very sort of subjective analysis of colleges’ religious criteria that the Supreme Court sought to avoid.
The D.C. Circuit Court—following criteria developed by now-Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer—has since instructed the NLRB in 2002 and 2008 to cease using its “substantial religious character” test. Those instructions have thus far been ignored by the NLRB.
CNS’ Center for the Advancement of Higher Education has published other useful research to aid Catholic colleges in strengthening their Catholic identity and securing their religious liberty—two goals that are increasingly related to one another. Read “Assessing Catholic Identity: A Handbook for Catholic College and University Leaders” here and “Protecting Catholic Colleges from External Threats to Their Religious Liberty” here.

The press release is also available here.

Irish Stew

2011-06-30T20:09:00.000-05:00

Affirmative Orthodoxy - Whatever!

2011-06-30T20:05:00.000-05:00

Irish 'Catholics"

2011-06-29T14:22:00.000-05:00

Obama and the Sacred Heart

2011-06-24T08:59:00.000-05:00

The New York Times and The Church 06-21

2011-06-22T14:54:00.000-05:00

Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Jackson

2011-06-16T19:35:00.000-05:00

A small number of Catholics in northeast Mississippi (Starkville, Columbus, and West Point) are interested in having the Traditional Latin Mass said in the Diocese of Jackson.

Pursuant to this, they are also interested in forming an Una Voce group for northeastern Mississippi.

If you are also interested in having the Traditional Latin Mass offered in northeastern Mississippi and would be willing to support the Mass and/or the Una Voce group please send an email to: saintjude.rd@gmail.com

Irish Destruction

2011-06-09T20:55:00.000-05:00

Whitewash

2011-06-08T16:54:00.000-05:00

Notre Dame Idiocy

2011-06-03T10:08:00.000-05:00

The Power of Homosexual TV

2011-06-01T18:55:00.000-05:00

More Notre Dame Controversy

2011-05-26T17:34:00.000-05:00

Renewing Catholic Higher Education

May 26, 2011

New Notre Dame Trustee Gave Thousands to Pro-Abortion GroupsThe Cardinal Newman Society broke the story that Roxanne M. Martino, a newly elected member of the University of Notre Dame's Board of Trustees, has donated thousands of dollars to the pro-abortion group EMILY's List. On its website, EMILY's List states that it is "dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to office." Martino has also donated thousands to the Chicago Foundation for Women, which has supported pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood. Read more about her contributions.

Notre Dame alumni group Sycamore Trust, which also advocates for strong Catholic identity at ND, did a follow-up to our report and gave the University a chance to dispute Martino's donation history, but it did not. The concerned alumni even did a little more digging and found that Martino's contributions to EMILY's List total more than $10,00 higher than previously thought.
Jesuit Campus Minister Defends Drag Show at Seattle UniversityAfter CNS picked up a story from The Spectator about a drag show that took place at Seattle University, the student paper did a follow up article in which the Jesuit campus minister is quoted defending the event. The Jesuit priest said, "My understanding of a drag show is that it's men dressing up as women, now what is wrong with that?" The Spectator posted an interview with a performer from the event who noted that there were "professional drag queens" there and that students put on performances. The performer said, "I didn't see very many empty seats at all. It was pretty much packed, it was cool." Read more of the interview here.

Read more comments from the Seattle University campus minister here.
Our Students Deserve Better Than "Catholic when it's convenient" CollegesWhile the abuse of Catholic identity continues at countless Catholic universities, faithful Catholic universities are seeing an increased interest from students. Thanks to Cardinal Newman Society members, every month more Catholic families and prospective students learn about the solid, orthodox institutions recommended in our Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. To ensure that more students are not duped by "Catholic when it's convenient" colleges, please contribute to support our essential mission today!
Catholic SLU Defends Catholic Identity After Rogue, Pro-Condom Student Group StuntAn article in The University News reports that an unofficial student group called B*llikens for Choice placed 1,000 "condom-filled eggs across campus" at Jesuit Saint Louis University in the days preceding Easter. The report indicates that the University "worked to have them removed within a few hours." From the article: "We are always looking for new ways to get our name out to students, and the Easter holiday gave us a great opportunity to do that without revealing ourselves," the leader of B*llikens for Choice said... Read more...
Boston College Trustee Hosts $2 Million Fundraiser for ObamaThe Boston Globe reported that Jack Connors, who is a member of the Boston College Board of Trustees and was its chairman from 1979 to 2006, hosted a $2 million fundraising event at his home recently for President Barack Obama. From the May 3 Globe report: "Connors ended up introducing Obama at three Boston fundraisers during the 2008 campaign, but he largely receded into the background after the president was elected.... Yet as Obama and Biden gear up their reelection effort, Connors feels compelled to help. His fundraiser is generating $35,800 per couple." Read more...
Georgetown Jesuits Declined Nearly 50 Percent in Past 36 YearsAn article in The Hoya observed a recent New York Times report that the number of Jesuits in the United States has declined by 70 percent in the last 57 years. The Hoya reported: "Georgetown's Jesuit community has seen an almost 50 percent decline in members in the past 36 years, dropping from 122 in 1975 to 64 today, according to The Washington Post. Fr. Howard Gray, S.J., special assistant to President John J. DeGioia, entered the Society of Jesus in 1948 following his high school graduation. For him, the decline in the number of new members is very visible in the community." Read more...
Conference at Jesuit Fairfield U. to Feature Nun Censured by VaticanWe blogged in March about the series "More Than a Monologue: Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church" set to be hosted by Fairfield and Fordham University (both Jesuit institutions) and two non-denominational divinity schools later this year. According to Fairfield's director of the Center for Catholic Studies, Paul Lakefield, "The conversation on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues in the Roman Catholic Church has for too long been only a monologue coming from the institutional Church." Now we learn that one of the speakers, Sr. Jeannine Grammick, was "ordered by the Vatican to discontinue all ministry with homosexuals." Read more...Prof Sees 'Big Difference' Between Speakers Like Obama and Boehner at Catholic CommencementsOn the "Neither Left nor Right, But Catholic" blog, Dr. Stephen Krason posted a critique of the letter sent by several Catholic professors chiding House Speaker John Boehner on his public record with regards to the poor. The letter's release was timed as Boehner was preparing to give the commencement address at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Dr. Krason's article discusses how the Catholic professors misrepresent Catholic social teaching. Read more...

Priests in Pain

2011-05-25T17:31:00.000-05:00

Red Church, Blue Church!

2011-05-25T16:53:00.000-05:00

Scandal and Lavender Gowns

2011-05-20T20:11:00.002-05:00

Scandal and Lavender Gowns:
Catholic College Commencements for the Class of 2011

Ever hear of a "lavender commencement"?

For some Catholic college students, gone are the days of traditional pomp and circumstance. On May 2, homosexual students at the nation's oldest Catholic university cheered anti-homophobia remarks from the director of the campus LBGTQ (lesbian-bisexual-gay-transgender-queer) Resource Center and paraded around campus with a rainbow flag.

The "commencement" speaker at Georgetown University's third annual Lavender Graduation—attended by University president John DiGioia, his vice president for student affairs and four deans—was openly gay U.S. Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island. Cicilline's campaign website assures voters, "I will support and work for passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, to guarantee the rights of all lawfully married couples, including same-sex couples…" It also declares his support for "full reproductive freedom" including abortion rights.

On the left coast, the "intercultural centers" at both the Jesuit University of San Francisco and St. Mary's College of California also hosted lavender graduations—a new trend at many colleges and universities around the country, but with a particular irony at Catholic institutions that admirably promote respect for every student but also claim fidelity to Catholic teaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches the homosexual inclination is "objectively disordered" and "that 'homosexual' acts are intrinsically disordered."

Less shocking since the President Barack Obama debacle at the University of Notre Dame in 2009—but equally scandalous—are the annual displays of Catholic educators fawning over pro-abortion and pro-gay "marriage" politicians and activists. In 2004, the U.S. bishops issued clear instructions in their document "Catholics in Political Life," forbidding honors and platforms that might suggest support for opponents of Catholic teaching. Notre Dame took a public lashing—but what are a few bruises in pursuit of political correctness?

This year Fordham University's law school mustered up a pro-abortion Republican, former New York Governor George E. Pataki, to speak and receive an honorary degree this Sunday, May 22. Just after celebrating Mass, no doubt.

And today St. Vincent's College in Connecticut hosts U.S. Congressman Jim Himes as commencement speaker. They must not have discovered his campaign website (it took us a few clicks): "Jim Himes is a firm believer that women should hold the sole rights to their reproductive choices, without interference from politicians or government. The Congressman supports comprehensive family planning services and making methods of contraception more easily available. Jim Himes is working to pass the Freedom of Choice Act which will uphold the reproductive rights protections in Roe v. Wade and ensure the reproductive freedom of all future generations. Jim Himes is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut while his opponent voted against requiring hospitals to provide access to emergency contraception for rape victims." Oops?

Obama administration fans would have enjoyed the commencement speech by Jill Biden, wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, at Salve Regina University on May 15. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Jill Biden told ABC News about the importance of keeping abortion legal: "I think it's very important personally… But I am of that generation of women who fought for Roe v. Wade and I can't imagine the Supreme Court overturning it. I think women have to remember that." Will St. Peter remember the day Catholic educators rewarded her with an honorary degree?
Of course, what's more exciting to a liberal college professor is a trip down memory lane to the Clinton years—even if the Class of 2011 was finger painting when Clinton took office. For instance Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State and now a Georgetown University professor (!!), speaks today at Georgetown University's Master of Science in Foreign Service award ceremony. Albright publicly attacked President George W. Bush for refusing to use taxpayer dollars to fund pro-abortion counseling overseas during NARAL Pro-Choice America's "Power of Choice" fundraising luncheon in 2001 and again in 2005. She was a featured speaker at the 2004 "March for Women's Rights" in Washington, D.C., which rallied support for legalized abortion. And in her 2007 book The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God and World Affairs—just in case we didn't know it already—she confirms, "I am a supporter of Roe v. Wade because I think women should have the right to choose…."

The Whitehead School of Diplomacy at Seton Hall University—the diocesan university of Newark, New Jersey—invited Timothy Wirth, Clinton's Under Secretary of State and now president of the United Nations Foundation, to deliver its commencement address on May 13. In 2009, Wirth joined with Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, to chide the U.S. bishops for seeking universal health care without coverage for abortion and contraception, which Wirth and Richards said was intended "to diminish a woman's right to make personal decisions that should be kept between her and her doctor." Also in 2009, the United Nations Foundation joined Planned Parenthood in honoring Congresswoman Nita Lowry for leadership on "international family planning." The UNF states on its website: "We are committed to achieving the global goal of universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services by 2015." UNF also runs the pro-abortion website RHRealityCheck.com.

And political commentator, former Al Gore campaign manager, and Georgetown University professor (!!) Donna Brazile was the commencement speaker at Benedictine University in Illinois on May 15. In 2009, Brazile publicly supported President Obama's reversal of the "Mexico City Policy," which had barred taxpayer funding for organizations that provide or counsel for abortions. In a 2006 Ms. Magazine article, Brazile expressed support for across-the board availability of contraceptive services including "emergency contraception," criticized abstinence-only education, and chided opponents as "adamantly opposed to a woman's right to choose, and… finding new ways to chip away at Roe v. Wade." In a 2005 Ms. Magazine article, "Why Choice Matters," Brazile rallied support for "reproductive rights" including abortion, "to stop the religious right from moving into our pulpits" and to fight "anti-choice extremists."

And here we find a bit of delight… at least in the memory of a bishop's unequivocal stand against such compromises of a college's Catholic identity. In April 2009, Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans boycotted the commencement ceremony of Xavier University of Louisiana to protest Brazile's selection as speaker and honoree. It was a heartening moment for Catholics who are tired of the campus nonsense.

Back to the present: Tomorrow, May 21, the law school at the University of San Francisco will honor and hear a commencement address from Hon. Ming W. Chin, an associate justice on the California Supreme Court. In 1996, shortly before his confirmation to the Court and a year before striking down a law requiring minors to get parental consent for abortions, Chin publicly stated that abortion is "the woman's right to choose"—which means that he is an appropriate addition to the rogue's gallery of USF commencement speakers including, in past years, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

A few Catholic colleges this year are pointedly celebrating Catholics who defied their bishops and supported President Obama's health care overhaul, even without sufficient provisions to protect conscience rights and preclude government-funded abortions. This Sunday, May 22, St. Catherine University will honor its commencement speaker Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, President of the Catholic Health Association (CHA) of the United States and the lobbyist who perhaps did the most to undermine the U.S. bishops and pro-life organizations on health care reform. But St. Kate's students will have to settle for "seconds," since the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, secured Keehan to speak the prior day at its graduate student commencement ceremony.

Could it be pure coincidence? A year to the day before the St. Thomas graduation—on May 21, 2010—leading representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement which blamed the CHA for causing "confusion and a wound to Catholic unity." Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Bishop William Murphy and Bishop John Wester publicly disagreed with the notion put forward by Sr. Keehan that "the divergence between the Catholic Conference and Catholic organizations, including the Catholic Health Association, represents merely a difference of analysis or strategy."

And then Sr. Keehan publicly defended a Phoenix hospital after Bishop Thomas Olmsted revoked the hospital's Catholic standing. Without consulting the bishop, the hospital had decided it was ethical to perform a direct abortion in violation of the U.S. bishops' ethical and religious directives for Catholic health care services. Sr. Keehan has said she respects Bishop Olmsted's authority on matters of morality—but has publicly disagreed with him anyhow.

Now that's a role model for America's Catholic college graduates!

Others who undermined the bishops on health care reform include U.S. Senators Robert P. Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana—members of the Catholics-who-don't-like-abortion-BUT crowd—who addressed graduates at Villanova University on May 15 and Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute today (May 20), respectively. Sen. Landrieu is pro-choice on abortion and urged President George W. Bush to expand federal support for embryonic stem cell research. Sen. Casey has voted against the "Mexico City Policy," thereby allowing the U.S. government to pay for abortions overseas, and against the de-fund Planned Parenthood amendment to the 2011 budget.

Now lest we imagine that commencement ceremonies are purely a political affair—they're not, or so college leaders will swear with their fist on the table for emphasis—they are also opportunities for courting gifts from wealthy businessmen. And who better than Bob Wright, former chairman and CEO of NBC Universal? On May 14, St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia hosted Suzanne and Bob Wright to deliver the commencement address and receive honorary degrees for their admirable work with the charity Autism Speaks. We should be grateful that they were not hailed for their advocacy of same-sex "marriage." Just this past March, both Bob and Suzanne joined with Hollywood actors and business leaders in an open letter sponsored by the advocacy group, Freedom to Marry, which called on President Barack Obama to support homosexual "marriage."

And there's Chuck Geschke, co-founder of Adobe, who addressed Xavier University of Ohio's graduates on May 14. Geschke and other Silicon Valley business leaders established the group "Silicon Valley Leaders Say No on Proposition 8" and purchased a full-page ad in the San Jose Mercury News opposing the 2008 California referendum to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Geschke donated $5,000 toward the ad and was described as honorary co-chair of the group.

Now here's a dishonorable mention: If you're a Catholic college leader seeking out the best role model for Catholic college students, would you choose former CNN anchor Larry King, who has been divorced seven times? King will be the commencement speaker for the undergraduate arts and sciences ceremony at the University of San Diego this Sunday, May 22. Aside from implicit biases and his marital problems, we could not find evidence of public opposition to Catholic moral teaching until King made a big splash just this month, releasing a video for the Human Rights Campaign's "New Yorkers for Marriage Equality" campaign in which he advocates homosexual "marriage," saying: "I know a thing or two about marriage—maybe three, maybe four. Some of us can get married again and again, and others can't get married at all. Can't figure that out. Let's make marriage equality the law in New York, and let's do it now." Clearly USD officials didn't know about this when they invited King—but were there no candidates for commencement speaker who hadn't demeaned the institution of marriage so publicly (and repeatedly)?

Every year there are commencement scandals that just break your heart, because they involve speakers and honorees who are doing so much good for others—but also significant harm. Such is the case of the charity Partners in Health and Dr. Paul Farmer, its co-founder and Executive Vice President, who will be the commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient at Georgetown University's undergraduate ceremony tomorrow, May 21—and Loune Viaud, the Director of Strategic Planning and Operations for the Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health) socio-medical complex in Cange, Haiti, where she founded the women's center, who was honored on May 14 by Regis College in Massachusetts.

A webpage for Partners in Health's HIV Equality Initiative explains the emphasis on "family planning" and "contraceptive options," developed in part by Viaud:

"When women are counseled, educated, and provided with contraceptive options, they are more likely to delay childbearing, have fewer children, and reduce their risk for obstetrical complications. Nevertheless, 50 percent of all pregnancies worldwide are unplanned or unwanted… Many barriers limit women's access to family planning methods, including gender inequality, myths, and lack of knowledge about available services.

"Family planning is an integral part of the model of comprehensive women's health care that was developed at Zanmi Lasante (ZL) in Haiti and emphasized as one of the four pillars of PIH's HIV Equity Initiative. Each of ZL's clinical sites has a full-time nurse trained in sex education and reproductive health counseling. ZL has been offering free condoms and other contraceptive methods for over 15 years. In 2003, Zanmi Lasante began training and mobilizing community health workers who specifically promote family planning and women's health. These ajans fanm (women's health agents) travel throughout the countryside, teaching women and men about sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) and contraceptive methods, distributing condoms and oral contraceptives, and referring pregnant women and others to the clinics. This successful model is being replicated at PIH sites in Rwanda, Malawi and Lesotho."

Another webpage discussing Partners in Health's efforts to support women's health in temporary settlements indicates: "All mobile clinic staff will also be attending 'refresher' trainings in women's health basics—particularly the use of emergency contraception and management of victims of rape."

No doubt the intentions for recognizing Farmer and Viaud—and for that matter, all of the above-cited commencement speakers and honorees—are easily justified by the good that these people do. If a Catholic college chooses to honor someone for their good works, the argument goes, why should we be concerned about other activities that oppose clear moral teachings of the Church?

The answer: Because Catholic colleges have a choice of speakers and honorees. And when they make a choice—especially when selecting someone to serve as a role model for graduation—the choice should be for speakers and honorees who best exemplify the standards of a Catholic college education.

Good people who compromise morality to do bad things—harmful things—deserve our compassion and counsel, but not our honor. We certainly do not want Catholic college graduates following the same path, expecting the future admiration of their mentors.

A Catholic education should mean more than that—if, at these institutions, it still means anything at all.

The Cardinal Newman Society9415 West Street
Manassas, VA 20110

The Insensitive Pope

2011-05-16T18:57:00.000-05:00

Feminization of the Church

2011-05-03T08:52:00.000-05:00

Easter Misreadings

2011-04-29T10:25:00.000-05:00

Holy Communion in the hand

2011-04-15T20:28:00.001-05:00

Pagan Easter!

2011-04-15T20:28:00.000-05:00