Catholic Gonzaga University Rejects Pro-Life Fliers

Catholic Gonzaga University Rejects Pro-Life Fliers
By Kathleen Gilbert

SPOKANE, Washington, November 24, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The student publication board at the Jesuit-run Gonzaga University has again rejected pro-life advertisements sponsored by the Human Life Alliance (HLA).

The advertisement insert, which would have been placed in the University's newspaper, reveals at length the falsehoods of the "pro-choice" culture, and includes a condemnation of Planned Parenthood and the eugenic philosophy of founder Margaret Sanger. (To view or download the insert, go to: http://www.humanlife.org/wkbn.php)

Officials from "The Gonzaga Bulletin" rejected the inserts with the statement that, "There are articles in the insertion that cast a negative light on various organizations or individuals. While these statements may be true, we simply cannot insert them in our paper per our advertising policies."

Dale Goodwin, the Director of Public Relations at Gonzaga, told LSN that the student publication board decision was based purely on their policy rejecting any advertising that attacks an individual or organization. Goodwin declined to comment whether the insert's condemnation of Planned Parenthood was the issue.

Goodwin said that Gonzaga issued their own pro-life publication after turning down HLA's earlier offers. He emphasized that Gonzaga, as a Catholic institution that supports the teachings of the Church, was not opposed to the pro-life message and would be posting on their website a document entitled "Standing for the Unborn" outlining Gonzaga's support for the pro-life movement (http://www.gonzaga.edu).

Joe Langfield of HLA, however, said he was "saddened" at the rejection, and suggested that the University's reasons for the rejection don't pass muster.

"Of course some statements in our publication are objectionable to 'various organizations or individuals,'" said Langfeld. "The business of abortion is ugly and we think college and university students have a right to read the facts from someone other then abortion providers."

The Human Life Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating college students about the reality of abortion and the unborn child.

Joe Langfeld told LSN that the Alliance has had difficulty distributing their message at Gonzaga in the past, where their inserts had been rejected previously.

Langfield says that after years of petitioning from HLA as well as pro-life Gonzaga students and parents, they learned that someone receiving the requests had disposed of them without passing them on to the administration.

"After that, we stepped up our efforts," said Langfeld. He also said that Gonzaga had attempted to negotiate the removal of some material from the inserts, an idea HLA rejected. If Gonzaga continues to decline the inserts, Langfeld said, HLA will encourage individuals on campus to distribute them among their peers.

Gonzaga states that its mission as a Catholic school is to "affirm the heritage which has developed through two thousand years of Christian living, theological reflection, and authentic interpretation," and, "As Jesuit, we are inspired by the vision of Christ at work in the world, transforming it by His love, and calling men and women to work with Him in loving service of the human community."

To contact Gonzaga University:
Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., president
502 East Boone Avenue
Spokane, WA 99258-0102
phone: (1-800) 986-9585

Douglas Kmiec: Barack Obama More Catholic Than Previous Pro-Life Presidents

Note: This guy is coming close to placing himself outside the Church and attacking her. He has been deceived and no matter how he is presented with facts, he refuses to move off his fixed position. As a state senator, Barack Obama voted against the born alive act, and with Planned Parenthood, to allow babies born during an abortion procedure to die. He has been dishonest about this bill. As a candidate for president, Barack Obama said he would vote for the Freedom of Choice Act which would strip all restrictions on abortion throughout the country. This is the radical pro-abortion position the Vatican is speaking about. Mr. Kmiec is wrong and has simply sold his soul.

Douglas Kmiec: Barack Obama More Catholic Than Previous Pro-Life Presidents
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor

November 21, 2008Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Pepperdine law professor who calls himself a pro-life Catholic but was one of the leading apologists for perhaps the most pro-abortion presidential candidate in history is at it again. Douglas Kmiec is now saying Barack Obama is more Catholic than previous presidents who were pro-life.

Kmiec's comments come in response to some from Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See, who called Obama on the carpet on abortion in a speech at the Catholic University of America last Thursday.

In an address sponsored by the John Paul II Institute, Stafford called Obama's pro-abortion policies “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic" and that the senator campaigned on an “extremist anti-life platform.”

CNN conducted a follow-up interview with Cardinal Stafford, who stood by his remarks.

Stafford told the cable news network that he couldn't understand how any Catholic could support Obama because of his radical views in favor of taxpayer-funded abortions, unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy and overturning all of the hundreds of abortion reduction laws in all 50 states.

As a result, Stafford says Obama "is hostile to the life of an unborn child.“

That's where Kmiec come in to play.

The CUA Tower student newspaper interviewed him in response to Stafford's comments.Kmiec told the paper that Stafford was giving a false portrayal of Obama and accused him of talking about Obama's abortion views not as they are but as they are made out to be by opponents.

“Sometimes all of us - even the wisest among us - are given to speak not from personal knowledge, but from that which has been portrayed as true, but is really a caricature,” said Kmiec in an interview with The Tower.

“When Stafford gets to know Obama better, said Kmiec, he will readily see that Obama “has far more in common with our great faith tradition than any political administration in recent memory.”

With pro-life champions in office like President Ronald Reagan and President Bush, who signed numerous pro-life laws, even a pro-life Obama would be hard-pressed to match the accomplishments of their administration -- yet alone a president who could become the most pro-abortion in history.

Boston College in flap over lingerie

Boston College in flap over lingerie
Critics: Biz deal with Victoria's Secret 'disgraceful'

By Christine McConville
Thursday, November 13, 2008

Boston College's merchandising deal with racy lingerie peddler Victoria's Secret is raising ire on campus and among the conservative, Catholic school's alumni.

"It's disgraceful and appalling," said Boston College graduate C.J. Doyle, who runs the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts. "This is just one more example of the university's callous contempt for Catholic sensibilities and its complete indifference to what remains of its Catholic identity."

Yesterday on Newbury Street, outside a Victoria's Secret store that is selling hot-pink Boston College tank tops for $19.50 and Eagles "short shorts," others agreed.

"It's just not appropriate," said Maura Orrell of Quincy, as she surveyed the rhinestone- and glitter-covered Boston College sweatshirts, hanging just past the candy-colored Miracle bras.

"It's really tacky," added Marcia, a "50-ish" auditor from Boston.

Since July, Victoria's Secret stores have been selling university-themed clothing from 33 schools with strong name recognition. The Collegiate Licensing Co. is a partner and has arranged for some of the revenue to get passed on to the schools.

The universities of Minnesota and North Carolina have already pulled out of the deal, in part because they did not want their brand associated with the retailer.

"There is no way that we want that (BC) logo to be interpreted as 'We OK the sexualization of women,' " said Sharlene Hesse-Biber, director of the Women's Studies Center at Boston College, about the products.

At the Newbury Street Victoria's Secret store, the BC display is located just past life-sized photographs of nearly naked women in lacy lingerie, and next to racks of colorful, glittery underwear.

BC spokesman Jack Dunn said the school was "very selective" when it agreed to let Victoria's Secret sell BC sweatshirts, sweatpants, T-shirts and flip-flops as part of the racy chain's youth-oriented Pink line.

"We thought it was a tasteful line of clothing that college students wear," he said.

He said the college had no knowledge of Eagles-emblazoned "short shorts" that were selling next to the hot-pink BC tank tops.

"We never authorized undergarments," he said, though other colleges have their names printed on panties in the Pink collection.

He also said the university does not divulge how much it makes from selling licensed apparel.

Kenneth Wynne, an art dealer from Cape Cod, said he didn't understand all the fuss.

"If it's getting (the school) money, what's the big deal?" he said.

And Michelle Tammaro, a Boston University student from Raynham, said she'd buy the clothes if they had her school's name on them.

"I think it's pretty," she said.

Report: Catholic Colleges, Faculty Aided Pro-Abortion Obama

Who is to blame for the poor formation of conscience among Catholics in the US? Certainly the public statement indicate that these people feel they are in conformance with Catholic teaching and expect no sanctions for their public support of a platform that contradicts Catholic moral teaching on the key issues of our day. They need only look at the Catholic legislators in Massachusetts who voted to keep "gay marriage legal", who suffered absolutely no penalty from either the Church at large or the communities like Knights of Columbus that they were members of. The weeds grow tall amongst the wheat.

Report: Catholic Colleges, Faculty Aided Pro-Abortion Obama

Several outspoken professors and political activities on Catholic campuses helped deliver pro-abortion Barack Obama the Catholic vote, according to a new report from The Cardinal Newman Society.

Exit polls show that Obama won over self-described Catholics 54 to 45 percent--better than the 52-46 split among all Americans--and even made inroads with Mass-attending and white, non-Hispanic Catholics.

Despite the U.S. bishops' concerns about political candidates who support legalized abortion and embryonic stem cell research, several outspoken professors and political events at Catholic colleges and universities helped convince Catholics that they could vote for such candidates in good conscience. The Cardinal Newman Society report documents campus politics in 2008 under four sections: On-Campus Activities at Catholic Colleges, Catholic College Employees, Student Activities at Catholic Colleges, and Honors to Pro-Abortion and Stem Cell Advocates.

Among the examples cited in the report:

Outspoken professors including Boston College theology professor Lisa Sowle Cahill, Duquesne law professor Nicholas Cafardi (former dean of Duquesne's law school) and Notre Dame theology professor Cathleen Kaveny publicly challenged bishops' statements encouraging Catholics to oppose pro-abortion candidates.

Xavier University in Cincinnati hosted an Obama "Campaign for Change" rally on the eve of the election, and St. Peter's College in New Jersey hosted an Obama rally featuring a choir of Catholic schoolchildren.

Nine professors at Catholic colleges and universities served on Obama's Catholic National Advisory Committee.

Pamela Trotman Reid, president of St. Joseph College in Hartford, Connecticut, expressed excitement about Obama's candidacy and concern about future Supreme Court decisions affecting "the right of women to make choices about their own health."

Judy Feder, public policy professor and former public policy dean at Georgetown University, joined the Democratic ticket as a pro-abortion congressional candidate in Virginia's 10th District.

Several Catholic colleges and universities selected pro-abortion politicians as commencement speakers and honorees.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) meets this week in Baltimore, with politics and abortion on the agenda for discussion. In 2004 the USCCB mandated: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Last week The Cardinal Newman Society's Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education published a national survey finding that the behaviors and beliefs of Catholic college students often conflict with Catholic teachings.

Study Finds Catholic Colleges Have Little Positive Impact on Faith, Values

Note; Sadly, this is not unexpected news. But think about it. If on the average, Catholics find a loss of faith at Catholic colleges and Universities, then some are below the average - that is to say they teach anti-Catholic doctrines and kill any residual feelings of faith in the students that come to them. Such colleges are the subjects of this blog.

Study Finds Catholic Colleges Have Little Positive Impact on Faith, Values

A groundbreaking survey of Catholic college students published by The Cardinal Newman Society's (CNS) Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education finds that most students on Catholic campuses reject key Catholic moral values and tenets of the faith, and significant numbers engage in pre-marital sexuality activity and the viewing of pornography.

The study was released in the wake of Tuesday’s presidential election, just as many commentators are looking for reasons why the Catholic vote broke the way it did in such large numbers for a pro-abortion candidate.

It is the only known nationally representative survey of students at Catholic colleges and universities. CNS released a report five years ago, drawing on data from 38 Catholic colleges collected by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. That study found that students' support for Catholic teaching on abortion, gay marriage and other issues declined over four years at a Catholic institution.

For the current study, CNS commissioned QEV Analytics, which conducted an analysis of the Catholic vote for Crisis magazine prior to the 2000 presidential election, to conduct the random survey of current and recent students at U.S. Catholic colleges and universities, all between the ages of 18 and 29. QEV President Steven Wagner, a former researcher for the U.S. Information Agency, has conducted studies for several federal agencies and the National Center on Additional and Substance Abuse (CASA).

"Most respondents say that the experience of attending a Catholic institution made no difference in their support for the Catholic Church or its teaching or their participation in Catholic Sacraments," Wagner writes in his report.

Key findings clearly demonstrate that large numbers of students at Catholic colleges and universities are in clear conflict with the Catholic Church:

Nearly 1 in 5 knew another student who had or paid for an abortion.

46% of current and recent students—and 50% of females—said they engaged in sex outside of marriage.

84% said they had friends who engaged in premarital sex.

60% agreed strongly or somewhat that abortion should be legal.

60% agreed strongly or somewhat that premarital sex is not a sin.

78% disagreed strongly or somewhat that using a condom to prevent pregnancy was a serious sin.

57% agreed strongly or somewhat that same-sex 'marriage" should be legal.

57% said the experience of attending a Catholic college or university had no effect on their participation in Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation.

54% of respondents said that their experience of attending a Catholic college or university had no effect on their support for the teachings of the Catholic Church.

56% said their experience had no effect on their respect for the Pope and bishops.

In April 2008 Pope Benedict XVI, recognizing the reality on many Catholic campuses, told Catholic college presidents gathered at The Catholic University of America that the Catholic faith must permeate all aspects of Catholic campus life.

"Is the faith tangible in our universities and schools?" the Holy Father asked the college presidents. "Only in this way do we really bear witness to the meaning of who we are and what we uphold. From this perspective one can recognize that the contemporary 'crisis of truth' is rooted in a 'crisis of faith'."

The entire CNS study, "Behaviors and Beliefs of Current and Recent Students at U.S. Catholic Colleges," is available online at www.CatholicHigherEd.org.

CNS commissioned the study as part of its Love & Responsibility program to encourage Catholic values on life, love and marriage on Catholic campuses.

Election Eve: Xavier University in Battleground Ohio Hosts Obama “Countdown to Change” Event

Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, is hosting a Countdown to Change get-out-the-vote event sponsored by Obama for America today, Monday, November 3, 2008, one day before the presidential election.

Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society sharply criticized Xavier University.

"Allowing the Obama campaign to come onto a Catholic campus and encourage students to vote for a vehemently pro-abortion candidate on the eve of the election is a scandal," Reilly said. "If Xavier University wants to engage students in politics, it could have encouraged them to vigorously oppose the destruction of innocent human life."

Barack Obama has stated that his first act as president of the United States will be to sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act, which would abolish all limitations and restrictions for the so-called "right" to an abortion.

The US bishops' 2004 document "Catholics in Political Life" states: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

According to an announcement on Xavier’s website, the University is not supporting the event. However, the University is providing the event's venue and working with the Obama Campaign to coordinate logistics. The announcement also notes that the McCain Campaign visited campus last June.

Xavier University states: "This event falls within Xavier's commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and to the orderly discussion of issues confronting society."

The "get-out-the-vote" event features performers Mary J. Blige, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Sean "Diddy" Combs, along with media executive Kevin Liles. They are "encouraging young voters to be informed about their voting rights and to make their vote count."