Catholic Schools and Colleges Dump AI Overseas but not in US?

Amnesty International reports that they have lost members and that schools and colleges have had their clubs disbanded.

In an article in the Guardian, the head of Amnesty reports the following:

In her first full interview since a senior Vatican cardinal called on Catholics worldwide to stop donating to the human rights body, Kate Allen defended the change, and revealed that only 222 of the organisation's quarter of a million British members have resigned as a result.

A further 105 have increased their donations in the wake of the claim last June by Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, that Amnesty had "betrayed its mission" on human rights by abandoning its policy of neutrality on abortion in limited circumstances.

Allen also said she greatly regretted that eight schools in Northern Ireland have now closed or suspended their Amnesty groups following an instruction by the Catholic church in the province. Last week more than 2,000 schools in England and Wales were also advised to sever their links with Amnesty in a letter from the Catholic bishops.

But in the US, the call for Catholic colleges and universities to discontinue support for AI has come from a scattering of bloggers and pro-life web sites and not from the US Bishops at all. They either are not interested in a confrontation over the issue, are not sufficiently informed or know that the colleges will respond the way they always do, by ignoring them.

It is past due time that the bishops show some leadership on this issue and begin to reign in the colleges and universities that openly flaunt pro-abortion and pro-gay policies, of which hosting Amnesty International is just one example.

Boycott Amnesty International on Catholic Campuses

Ivory Tower Heretics Blog is calling on Catholic Colleges and Universities to discontinue affiliation with Amnesty International over their policy to support abortion.

Amnesty International supports abortion. In their twisted logic, they believe abortion should be available due to violence against women in cases of rape and incest.

The Catholic Church teaches that ABORTION IS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN! Not only is the procedure itself harmful to women, causing elevated risks of infertility, bleeding, breast cancer and psychological trauma, but in many countries abortion is used for sex selection, with females the intended victims. Abortion is murder of an innocent human baby, plain and simple.

The Vatican and Catholic Bishops have condemned AI's position and have even resigned from their board over this issue.

Note: Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said that Catholics worldwide would boycott AI if it didn’t reverse the position at their biennial meeting."If in fact Amnesty International persists in this course of action, individuals and Catholic organizations must withdraw their support because, in deciding to promote abortion rights, Amnesty International has betrayed its mission," he said.

Amnesty International seems to propose that only some types of abortion can be advocated while excluding others such as forced abortions and sex selection. This is intellectually dishonest since there is no evidence that once the abortion industry sets up camp, greed isn't the prime motivator. In our own country, it is actually the rapist and family abuser who benefits most from the abortion industry as seen in Kansas where a lawsuit alleges that Planned Parenthood has covered up abortions of minors where rape and incest likely occurred. In fact, this seems to be standard procedure for Planned Parenthood as a core constituency is husbands, fathers and boyfriends who force women and girls into abortion as their "free choice".

Amnesty International was founded by a devout Catholic but has turned its back on Catholic faith and morals as the basis for human rights. They should have no place on Catholic college campuses.

We'll be listing Catholic colleges and universities in the coming days that have active AI chapters or affiliations. Here is the list today:

Georgetown University
Notre Dame
Boston College
Catholic University of America
DePaul University
Seton Hall University
Villanova University
St. Louis University
St. John's University
Santa Clara Law
University of San Francisco
Holy Cross College
Duquesne University
Creighton University
Providence College

Catholic Villanova U Hosts Pro-Abortion Amnesty International

The event is titled, "The NAFTA-caused crisis in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the roots of migration" and appears centered around how the NAFTA trade agreement is causing illegal immigration, though the term illegal is left off.

More importantly, Catholic leaders have been calling on Amnesty International to repudiate their recent policy change in support of abortion as a human "right" to no avail. Some Catholic bishops' conferences have gone as far as to withdraw financial and public support for AI. Apparently officials at Villanova are either unaware of unimpressed by Amnesty International's policy shift. Much press has been generated about it and some excerpts are included below.

See:
Second Catholic Leader Quits Amnesty International Over Abortion Stance Second Catholic Leader Quits Amnesty International Over Abortion Stance

The head of the Catholic Church in Scotland wrote the director of the group and said it gave him "great sadness" to renounce his membership but he can't support a group that opposes a "basic right to human life."

"As a matter of conscience and with great sadness I have decided to resign from Amnesty International having first joined as a student and supported it over many decades," Cardinal O'Brien wrote about his decision.

"In recent years I have spoken out strongly on pro-life issues including our necessity to ensure life for the poorest people of the world and have shown my care and concern by visiting some of those poorest countries especially in Africa and Asia," he explained.

"Sadly now Amnesty International seems to be placing itself at the forefront of a campaign for a universal 'right' to abortion in contravention to that basic right to human life," the Catholic official said.

and:
Founded by a Catholic in 1961, Amnesty International Reaffirms Pro-Abortion Position

Before the vote, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, promised Catholics worldwide would boycott the human rights group.
"If in fact Amnesty International persists in this course of action, individuals and Catholic organizations must withdraw their support because, in deciding to promote abortion rights, Amnesty International has betrayed its mission," he said.

Bishop William Skylstad, president of U.S. Catholic bishops' conference, echoed the call for a boycott in July.

He said the decision to endorse abortion "undermines Amnesty's long-standing moral credibility, diverts its mission, divides its own members (many of whom are Catholic or defend the rights of unborn children), and jeopardizes Amnesty's support by people in many nations, cultures and religions."

Once again, there are directives against giving platforms to people or organizations that are in opposition to the mission of the Church. Amnesty International seems to fit the description.