MANASSAS, VA (April 28, 2004) � Cardinal Newman Society has issued a shocking new report on scandals at U.S. Catholic colleges and universities that is certain to reignite concerns about the colleges� religious character.
The 56-page report, �The Culture of Death on Catholic Campuses: A Five-Year Review,� documents inroads made by advocates of abortion, contraception, premarital sexual activity, and physician-assisted suicide onto Catholic college campuses since 1999. It is the most extensive evidence of problems in Catholic higher education ever compiled in a single source�and yet it only scratches the surface, relying primarily on media reports and college websites.
��Pro-choice� is no choice for a Catholic institution, which by its Catholic mission must be courageously pro-life,� said Erin Butcher, lead researcher and co-author of the report. �Cardinal Newman Society has responded to scandal after scandal on Catholic campuses, but many Catholics still fail to appreciate the scope of the problem.�
The report, which can be downloaded free of charge at www.cardinalnewmansociety.org beginning April 28, identifies the problems and suggests solutions to ensure that Catholic colleges uphold their Catholic, pro-life mission. Highlights include:
* Pro-abortion presidential candidates at Catholic colleges. In January, St. Anselm College (N.H.) hosted seven pro-abortion candidates for their final debate before New Hampshire�s Democratic primary. Other campaign appearances have included John Kerry at Georgetown in January 2003, Dennis Kucinich at Sacred Heart University last June, Howard Dean at St. Anselm last September and at Georgetown last October, Dick Gephardt�s daughter at Boston College last November, Gephardt and Kerry at Clarke College (Iowa) in January, Wesley Clark at Rivier College (N.H.) in January, and Kerry at Georgetown again in April.
* Nearly 200 instances of campus speakers and honorees who have been public advocates of abortion or otherwise contributors to the �Culture of Death�. These include at least 17 visits and lectures by President Bill Clinton at Georgetown University, researchers engaged in human cloning and embryonic cell research at Assumption College and the College of the Holy Cross, NARAL Pro-Choice America president Kate Michelman at Boston College law school, radical feminist Gloria Steinem at Fairfield University, pornographer Larry Flynt at Georgetown University, and National Organization for Women (NOW) president Kim Gandy at Loyola University of New Orleans.
* �Emergency contraception,� an abortifacient, provided to students by the College of Santa Fe and Rockhurst University.
* College officials and faculty with ties to pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia organizations, including a Boston College law professor on the board of directors of the Death With Dignity National Center; a Georgetown University philosophy professor on the board of directors of the Compassion in Dying Federation, and two Georgetown University women�s studies professors who are also employees of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
* Pro-abortion politicians serving as college officials and faculty, including Carol Moseley Braun teaching management at DePaul University, Geraldine Ferraro on the Fordham University law school Board of Visitors and teaching public policy at Georgetown University, and Leon Panetta teaching political science and on the Board of Trustees and law school Board of Visitors at Santa Clara University.
* Pro-abortion student clubs including the Reproductive Choice Coalition at Boston College law school, H*yas for Choice at Georgetown University, Georgetown Students for Choice at Georgetown law school, and a NOW chapter at St. Ambrose University.
* Internships and service opportunities offered by Catholic colleges, including service as a Planned Parenthood �clinic escort� promoted by Nazareth College�s campus ministry and internships with Planned Parenthood offered by Villanova University.
* Website referrals to pro-abortion organizations as medical or academic resources including Georgetown University links to local abortion clinics, LaSalle University links to NOW and the Feminist Majority Foundation, Loyola University of Chicago links to Planned Parenthood and the Feminist Majority Foundation, Loyola University of New Orleans links to NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood, and Seton Hall University links to the Feminist Majority Foundation and NOW.
* Student newspapers promoting sex and contraception, including sex advice columns titled �Sex and the Univercity� in The Heights at Boston College and �Sex on the Hilltop� in The Hoya at Georgetown University.
The report is available at www.cardinalnewmansociety.org.
3 comments
As someone else noted previously on St. Blogs, and I paraphrase, “A Catholic college is where you go to lose your faith.”
I just shared this article with the members of the Mission Statement Task Force at the University of St. Thomas. It looks like people are losing other things besides their faith at Catholic colleges…
We all know the stand of the catholic church.
Where did christ say we should do as the pharisees do?. What individual cathoilcs do is irrelevant. Use the catechism, the bible and the doctrine. The rest is irrelevant