A NEW LOW, EVEN BY JESUIT STANDARDS: Georgetown Univ.

Our take: I don't want to be accused of stating the obvious but this pathetic display is completely contrary to the mission of a Catholic University and not befitting the oldest Catholic school in America. There is a clear teaching on the issue of homosexuality and anything that condones, empowers or glosses over the morally and naturally disordered act of sodomy is contrary to it. Sex outside marriage is sin. homosexual sex is sin plus disorder. Yet at Georgetown it is being glorified with a "temple" and is draining resources, energy and attention away from the mission of the school. Teaching truth isn't even a consideration since it might offend someone. Shame, shame, shame.

A NEW LOW, EVEN BY JESUIT STANDARDS: Georgetown Univ. Announces Director for Their New Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered, and Queer Resources Center

8/24/2008 9:34:00 PM
By www.thehoya.com -Connie Parham

Matthew 18:6 - He that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. As painters work to put the finishing touches on the newly created LGBTQ Resource Center, the center's first director, Sivagami Subbaraman, has been working to make a presence for the center as students arrive back to campus.

Subbaraman arrived at Georgetown four weeks ago to begin preparing the center, located adjacent to the Women's Center on the third floor of the Leavey Center.

GU Pride began pushing for the resource center last fall after two alleged hate crimes against Georgetown students, kicking off a university-wide movement led by GU Pride for increased inclusion of and education about the LGBTQ community on campus.

In October, University President John J. DeGioia approved several of GU Pride's requests, including the formation of three working groups that would address reporting, resources and education. Four months later, DeGioia announced his approval and backing of a proposal created by the working group on resources for an LGBTQ resource center.

After DeGioia's announcement, a committee began a nationwide search for the LGBTQ director. Subbaraman said she was invited to two interviews on campus, and, in May, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson issued a letter to the university community naming Subbaraman as the center's first director.

"I really hope the center will be a space for LGBTQ students, faculty and staff as well as non-LGBTQ people," Subbaraman said of her vision for the center.

Subbaraman, originally from India, came to the United States almost 26 years ago to complete her education, attending graduate school at the University of Illinois, where she studied English and Women's Studies. Most recently, Subbaraman served as associate director of the University of Maryland's Office of LGBT Equity.

Subbaraman said she has a broader vision for the center that extends beyond her experience at the University of Maryland.

"I learned a lot from [Maryland]," she said. "But I think what I will bring to this job is where LGBT issues fit into general diversity."

Subbaraman said that one of her visions for the center is to help LGBTQ issues to be seen as part of a larger set of diversity issues, rather than in its own category.

"I don't want to be put back into the closet," she said.

Subbaraman said she plans to hire a full-time program coordinator by the end of the fall, as well as possibly a few student employees.

Subbaraman said at this early point, she is not sure what other concrete goals she has for the center and that she will first need to start a discussion with faculty, administrators and students.
"I need to build on that momentum and keep up that energy," she said of the work done by students and faculty last year.

Subbaraman said that working at Georgetown, which has such a strong Jesuit identity, will bring a "different set of challenges" than those that came with working at the University of Maryland, a school without a religious affiliation. She added, though, that she attended Catholic school in India, which made her "very comfortable in the Catholic education environment."

"I feel the university is committed to making this succeed," she said. "The center exists. That says something."

Jack Harrison (SFS '09), co-chair of GU Pride, also said he hopes to work closely with the new director in developing programming for the year.

While she said she could not comment on GU Pride's demonstrations last year, she did say that she hopes to work with the group to look at new ways to lead the community.

"In general the model that prevails is activism," she said. "We need to create other forms of leadership that will take us from the activist mold."

Harrison said GU Pride is looking to launch efforts this year to make the campus more "trans-friendly" by working to provide bathrooms and better housing options for transgender individuals.

In addition, he said he believes it is important to bring more diversity to the organization, particularly in bringing a greater variety of political views to the group.

Harrison said Subbaraman's work as the first director of the center will help to catalyze these efforts.

"Having a person who can advocate for our issues is a big achievement," he said.

He said Subbaraman has already emerged as a leader over the past week in training and giving presentations to members of various groups such as Young Leaders in Education about Diversity, New Student Orientation and Residence Life.

"I think that as people become slightly more sensitized, that will start to have a big effect on how LGBTQ people are treated on campus," Harrison said.

Subbaraman said she will be holding an open house on Tuesday afternoon and plans to make herself visible among students and parents throughout move-in weekend.

Looking on as workers finish construction of a large window next to the entrance to the center, Subbaraman said she hopes to continue the hard work of students and faculty in order to raise awareness for the LGBTQ community at Georgetown.

"The message it sends is 'we are open,'" she said of the new window. "We are open. We have nothing to hide."

"Catholic" University Hires Homosexual Director for Gay Campus Centre

Note: Georgetown is the gift that keeps on giving for those of us looking for evidence of apostasy in Catholic higher education. They're so far gone they don't even know it. Is this their response to the Pope's call to fidelity?

Catholic University Hires Homosexual Director for Gay Campus Centre

By Tim Waggoner

Washington, D.C., June 5, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic University in the U. S., has hired lesbian Shiva Subbaraman to act as director for its new Homosexual Campus centre that is to be opened in the fall.

Subbaraman was formerly the associate director of a homosexual equity office at the University of Maryland campus in College Park. After the school threatened to cut funding for the office, Subbaraman started looking for a new job.

The pro-homosexual newspaper, The Washing Blade, reports that Georgetown decided to start the LGBT Equity office after two "anti-gay incidents" occured on campus. In the first case a student was arrested and accused of assaulting a homosxual student and shouting anti-homosexual slurs at him. The case, however, was dropped due to lack of evidence. In the second incident campus police prevented a group of homosexuals from presenting a petition for the LGBT resource center to the university president. According to the Blade, the police said they were restricting access to the building due to the fact that there was a special event going on inside.

Georgetown University, which is fully funding the new homosexual campus centre, including paying for two full time staff members, has been known to proclaim itself a Catholic institution while going out of its way to support things dramatically opposed to Catholic teaching, including abortion, homosexuality and certain bioethical issues.

In one of the more obvious examples, the institution's High School Bioethics Curriculum Project seeks to provide high school teachers literature on bioethics in an attempt to "enrich their high schools' curriculum." The curriculum however, conveys messages contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and poses questions on bioethical quandaries that are worded in such a way as to lead students to make conclusions that oppose Catholic morality.

One sample of the curriculum referring to anencephalic babies (available at http://highschoolbioethics.georgetown.edu/units/unit1_3.html) states that, "They will never be able to think or achieve what is called 'personhood.'"

"Yet there is general consensus that heroic measures should not be used to keep them alive. In fact, anencephaly may be one of the few medical conditions that all doctors agree is futile to treat," continues the sample.

After statements such as these, the section describes a mother who was forced to go to the Supreme Court to force doctors to continue to treat her child, entitled Baby K.

The section then asks questions that seem to ascribe a monetary value to human life, such as, "Do you think individuals have the right to demand and get expensive long-term care in futile cases such as the case of Baby K?"

Similar questions ask: "Baby K lived for 2.5 years; her medical bills totaled half a million dollars. Do you think this is an appropriate use of the money? Do you think Baby K's mother's religious beliefs should trump issues of fair distribution of resources?"

The high school curriculum project is partially funded by a grant from the Greenwall Foundation, an organization known to support the culture of death. (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1999/feb/99021705.html)

The latest news about the founding of the LGBT resource center comes as little surprise to those who have been following Georgetown's movement away from its Catholic identity:

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Catholic Georgetown University to Fully Fund Campus Gay Center
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07103008.html

SHOCKER: Catholic Georgetown U. Will Now Fund Law Students to Lobby for Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/sep/07092605.html

Georgetown, "Catholic" University Honours Abortion Crusading Jesuit
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/oct/06102506.html



URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08060508.html

Georgetown University Professor Says Pope Must Atone for the Sins of His Past

Sterotypical Georgetown Professor Pops Off at Pope

There will be so much hot air being blown in the Pope's direction this week that it will be difficult to pick and choose which ones to post. This professor, secure in the comfort of his cushy 21st century ivory tower feels he can judge the actions of an 18 year-old boy in Hitler's Nazi Germany who later became arguably the greatest Catholic theologian of our time.

It's not that astounding that such hubris comes from Georgetown. If you've never encountered a real Catholic moral leader, you might have trouble knowing what to think, say or write about one.

Further, if you can't be bothered to read the writings of such a man, you might be constrained to the fishbowl of dissent at Georgetown where group-think and attack have replaced theological discussion and examination.

Ratzinger was thankfully spared by Providence from the fate of a bullet in the back of his head and a mass grave in Auschwitz so that he could be a prophet of our times, one of the most challenging in Catholic history, a time when the Church's own institutions have turned on her.

But then, Providence, Church history and the papacy would be subjects not taught at Georgetown, as least not by faithful Catholics.

Campus Alcoholics Clubs to be Established at Catholic Colleges

Should Drinking Clubs be Allowed on Catholic College Campuses?

A new national group - College Drinkers/Drunk Very Drunk (CD/DVD) recently announced their intention to establish Campus Alcoholics chapters on leading Catholic college campuses. And with that, Campus Alcoholics was formed.

"We think it's time that drunks come out of the closet and fully participate in Catholic higher education," stated the group's founder. "For too long drunks have been looked down upon by other non-drinking members of the college community. At CA meeting you'll meet other drunks in a completely non-judgemental environment."

Immediately, large well-known Catholic colleges jumped on board. One in Washington D.C. at first resisted but under pressure from on-campus drunks announced the full funding of a center for alcoholics. "I never realized how many drunks we already had here!" said the college president. "There may be something about our college that attracts a lot of drunks." The facility will be built using a donation from a foreign prince.

A Catholic college president in the Midwest at first stated that drunkenness is "incompatible with Catholic teaching" but later said the group could operate on campus as long as they "get faculty sponsorship and have a panel discussion" after they get drunk. Another Midwestern College immediately established a chair for alcoholic studies. Finding an alcoholic professor was not a problem.

The smaller Catholic colleges immediately established chapters not wanting to be left behind or considered anachronistic.

A right-wing Catholic group protested that alcoholism is unhealthy, leads to loss of employment, breakup of families, depression, disease, higher suicide rates and early death. They also pointed out that many Catholic priests had problems with alcohol, problems that Bishops covered up, sometimes causing scandal.

"Nonsense" said the group's founder. "That's just old-fashioned anti-drunk intolerance and we're going to fight the haters all the way."

Another Catholic organization suggested that it would be better to treat drunks with compassion and to help them avoid alcohol and bring them to Christ through active ministry. They indicated that it would be un-Catholic to encourage drinking in any way and that establishing clubs on campus could lead to behavior contrary to the Catholic Church's values.

"Another outdated form of bigotry!" claimed the head of Campus Alcoholics. "But not to worry, we have plenty of allies on our side."

Note: There are plenty of organizations, religious and secular, that will help people with alcoholism to get off alcohol and lead healthy and productive lives. Alcoholics need to be treated with compassion but also with the truth about their physical, psychological and spiritual condition.

Next week we'll have a guest columnist from the Fat-Thin Alliance write about wiping out teasing in American high schools.

Pro-Homosexual Clubs at 96 Catholic Universities

Survey Finds Pro-Homosexual Clubs at 96 Catholic Universities in the United States
Catholic group challenges university presidents to disband pro-homosexual groups

By Michael Baggot

SPRING GROVE, PA, March 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Volunteers for the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) found that 45% of the websites of 211 major Catholic universities contained information about pro-homosexual clubs.

"Many of these clubs share in the movement's radical goal - to force social acceptance of unnatural vice on Christian America, and gag expressions of free speech that oppose the movement's ideological agenda," warns an official TFP statement.

The TFP statement cites two concrete examples of Catholic universities suppressing the free speech of critics of the pro-homosexual clubs.

In November 2003, members of the TFP Student Action group were kicked off of campus for handing out flyers detailing the Catechism of the Catholic Church's teaching on the sinfulness of homosexual activity.

In October 2005, Duquesne University cited Sophomore Ryan Miner for a violation against the school's anti-discriminatory policy for posting comments on his own blog opposing the formation of a "Gay-Straight Alliance" group. When Miner refused to write a 10-page paper presenting viewpoints for and against homosexuality, he was threatened with expulsion.

Some Catholic universities with a history of pro-homosexual club activity have increased support for the homosexual movement. Georgetown University, for instance, agreed in October 2007 to open and fully fund a center for homosexual students.

"Georgetown hosts mock same-sex "weddings," grants health benefits to the partners of homosexual employees, and provides services for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth and their Families," notes Thomas Peters, on his American Papist blog. The Georgetown GU Pride website even includes photos of students of the same sex kissing at a campus event.

The TFP report also lists other prestigious Catholic universities, including Boston College, Fordham, Marquette, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, and Villanova.

The TFP report attributes the growth of the homosexual movement on Catholic campuses to "a gradual blurring of the distinction between good and evil, a generalized loss of the sense of sin, declining standards of public morality, and, as seen above, the persecutory actions taken by college officials against those who do voice their loyalty to Church teaching."

In response to the growth of pro-homosexual activities on Catholic campuses, the TPF is organizing a petition to Catholic university presidents calling on them to disband pro-homosexual groups on campus.

The TFP report also encourages personal phone calls and letters to Catholic university presidents. In addition, TFP is launching a Purity is the Answer Campaign to promote purity, modesty, and temperance as the antidote to disordered passions.

Reaffirming TFP's opposition to the hateful treatment of individuals with same-sex attractions, its report states, "In doing this campaign, we have no intention to defame or disparage anyone. We are not moved by personal hatred against any individual. In intellectually opposing individuals or organizations promoting the homosexual agenda, our only intent is the defense of marriage, the family and the precious remnants of Christian civilization in society."

"As practicing Catholics, we are filled with compassion and pray for those who struggle against unrelenting and violent temptation to sin, be it toward homosexual sin or otherwise," the report adds.

(news tip courtesy of Thomas Peters of American Papist blog)

Sixteen 'Catholic' Colleges Still Allow V* Monolgues on Campus

The Cardinal Newman Society
For Immediate Release
March 20, 2008

2008 V-Monologues in Review: Number of Campuses Hosting Play at Historic Low

Manassas, VA - Thankfully performances of The Vagina Monologues on Catholic college campuses declined to 16 confirmed performances, half of the 32 performances reported in 2003! For seven years, The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), its more than 20,000 members and a growing number of bishops, college presidents, alumni, and other Catholic leaders have urged Catholic colleges to not approve performances of the Monologues on their campuses.

Patrick J. Reilly, President and Founder of CNS, commented on the success of the campaign: "It is wonderful news for all of those concerned about Catholic higher education that more and more Catholic colleges are refusing to host the morally offensive Monologues."

In December and January, CNS obtained the list of campuses hosting the Monologues from the official sponsor's website, vday.org. Letters were sent to the presidents of every Catholic college and university listed, alerting them to the Vday site and asking for confirmation that the play would or would not be allowed on their campuses. On February 6th, CNS released a list of 20 Catholic campuses that were expected to host the play, based on the Vday site listings and information from presidents who responded to the CNS letters.

CNS applauds those Catholic colleges and universities that have refused to host the Monologues. These include St. Louis University, which refused to host the play for a second consecutive year. Although St. Louis University was identified on the Vday site, we learned from an e-mail contact the day after our release that the university was not hosting the play and immediately updated the list. We regret that St. Louis was included in the original CNS list of 20 colleges. And although Vday continues to promote a campus performance at Le Moyne College on March 28, staff at the college indicated to CNS that the Monologues would not be held this year.

CNS has confirmed that 16 of the 19 Catholic campuses hosted or will host productions in February and March. (CNS has been unable to confirm performances announced by Vday at Loyola Marymount University in California and Regis College in Massachusetts.)

The confirmed list of 16 includes Bellarmine University, College of the Holy Cross, College of Mount Saint Vincent, College of Saint Rose, DePaul University, Dominican University of California, Fordham University, Georgetown University, John Carroll University, Loyola University Chicago, Loyola University New Orleans, Marygrove College, Saint Mary's College of California, University of Detroit Mercy, University of Notre Dame, and University of San Francisco.

Despite this growing momentum against performances of the Monologues, in a statement on March 10th, Rev. John Jenkins, President of Notre Dame, officially approved the return of the play to the Notre Dame campus after a one-year hiatus. The statement was released soon after a committee of U.S. bishops moved an important seminar from Notre Dame because of the planned performances. On March 13th Bishop John M. D'Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend released a strong statement in response to Father Jenkins' position on the Monologues that forcefully explained why it was inappropriate for Notre Dame to host the play.

"Although the return of the play to Notre Dame was disappointing, the downward trend of campuses hosting the Monologues is one more sign of the ongoing renewal in Catholic higher education. While much work remains to be done, there is reason to be hopeful," said Reilly.

This article is also available on the CNS website here.

The Catholic Brand

The Challenge of Controlling the Catholic Brand
Theophilis
March 15, 2008

(ITH) - The article below from the Washington Post describes the trepidation that Catholic college presidents feel about the upcoming visit by Pope Benedict XVI. They feel that his likely response to their "leadership" will be admonishment and lecturing about "Catholic" identity and dissent. And understandably so.

These college presidents have benefited greatly from using the Catholic brand. Powerful and wealthy alumni who identify themselves as Catholic continue to pump millions of dollars into Catholic college endowments and supply a stream of descendant applicants to their Alma Maters. Further, Catholic high schools continue to encourage graduates to attend Catholic colleges and many have scholarships available from those colleges geographically closest to them .

The college presidents though openly flaunt their dissent from Catholic teaching on faith and morals in the name of "academic freedom". Why? One answer may be the demographic reality that fewer young people identify themselves as churchgoing Catholics. Another may be that to "compete" for faculty and students these colleges feel they need to diversify into demographics having nothing to do with the Catholic faith and more to do with current trends or fads like feminism, homosexuality and secularism.

The response of the Church leadership, especially the Pope, has been to add requirements for these colleges and their presidents to prove they are worthy of the Catholic moniker. Is their response rational or one of futility and desperation?

I liken it to a corporation that wants to control its brand. For Coca Cola to be Coca Cola, it must have the same ingredients, appearance, packaging and advertising wherever and whenever it is made and distributed. If a consumer were to detect a distinct difference in taste from time to time or place to place, they would likely complain or change brands to something more reliable.

Catholic colleges, by using the brand name "Catholic" have broken the rules of sound brand management. "Catholic" at Franciscan University at Steubenville, OH means something very different from "Catholic" at Georgetown University. An unsuspecting parent or student performing a college search almost has to eliminate the idea of a Catholic college from the equation. Indeed, it may be easier to have a Catholic experience at the Catholic Center at secular Boston University than at "Catholic" Boston College just three miles up Commonwealth Avenue.

The Church hierarchy responding to this problem of inconsistent brand has tried to impose some order. The document Ex Corde Ecclesiae issued by the Vatican sought to standardize the brand with respect to theology departments and the delivery system, the professors.

Likewise, the USCCB document, Catholics in Political Life, also sought to create guidelines by which Catholic colleges would approach political activity on their campuses. The reaction by the college presidents was predictable. They ignored these documents and the authority of the Vatican and Episcopate and continued to manage their colleges as separate franchises.

The result has been confusion and disillusionment on the part of practicing Catholics seeking an authentically Catholic experience. Organizations like the Cardinal Newman Society and National Catholic Register have called attention to the problem and produced guides for students and parents to use when selecting a college. In both cases, the list of authentically Catholic colleges is a small minority. And the geographic dispersion means that a student may well have to travel many miles and out of state to attend one.

So now the Pope is visiting and has on the agenda the problem described in this article. He will likely exhort the colleges to come more in line with the truth as defined by the magisterium of the Church. Less likely are any concrete steps to exert pressure on the college presidents or religious orders.

Many will cry that the Pope and the bishops are overstepping their authority and that they are trying to restrict academic freedom. But in reality they are trying to control the Catholic brand because to do otherwise usually means a steep decline in customers.

Catholic College Leaders Expect Pope to Deliver Stern Message

By Jacqueline L. Salmon and Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 14, 2008; A01

After years of Vatican frustration over what it views as the failure of many U.S. Catholic colleges to adhere to church teachings, school leaders are intently watching for a rebuke from Pope Benedict XVI during his Washington visit next month.

The pope requested the meeting with more than 200 top Catholic school officials from across the country. The gathering will come amid debate over teachings and campus activities that bishops have slammed as violating Catholic doctrine: a rally by pro-abortion rights Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton at St. Mary's University in San Antonio; a Georgetown University theologian's questioning whether Jesus offers the only road to salvation; and a performance of "The Vagina Monologues" at the University of Notre Dame.

This will be the first papal address in the United States on Catholic education in more than 20 years, and some Vatican watchers predict that it will be the most enduring part of Benedict's visit. Before becoming pope, Benedict was known as "the enforcer" of church orthodoxy, and since taking office, he has said Catholic education must bow to Catholic "truth" and the "rule of life." Such comments have some educators keyed up.

"With people expecting his address on these issues, hopes and concerns are beginning to resurface," said Mathew Schmalz, a religious studies professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., who has researched and lectured about Catholic identity in higher education.

The Rev. Timothy Broglio, archbishop of the U.S. military services, who served in Rome for a dozen years, said Benedict's speech will be direct. "It'll be very clear and distinct ideas," Broglio said. "... There will be no mistaking what he wants to say."

A drumbeat for greater orthodoxy in Catholic colleges has been heard since 1990, when Pope John Paul II issued a call for Catholic colleges and universities to refocus on their religious identity.

Now educators are waiting to see how tough Benedict, a former theology professor in Germany, will be at the April 17 lecture at Catholic University and how his message will be interpreted and carried out by the bishops after he leaves.

Church officials won't give details about the content of the speech, but conservative Catholics are predicting -- and hoping for -- shock waves from Benedict, who before becoming pope was associated with public reprimands of Catholic theologians and blocked appointments of university faculty members he thought were too liberal.

"This is something that's been simmering for so long that it's reached a boiling point," said Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, which works to promote orthodoxy in Catholic higher education. In its recommendations to students, the society says 20 of the 235 U.S. Catholic colleges and universities are sufficiently orthodox. Reilly said a number of bishops and Vatican officials say privately that the speech will "raise a lot of eyebrows."

As pope, Benedict has not been as explicit about the limits of academic freedom as some had expected him to be, and some educators predicted that the talk next month will have a pastoral tone. However, they said, it will make clear that the pope thinks change is necessary.

"One thing the pope will emphasize is the importance for all [Catholic] schools to realize that they aren't independent contractors, they are part of the church," said the Rev. David M. O'Connell, Catholic University's president.

Catholic University is the only U.S. Catholic college founded by the nation's bishops, and it follows the Vatican line more closely than do many other schools. O'Connoll said Rome is concerned about the lack of Catholic faculty at Catholic universities and about rampant "moral relativism" -- the belief that there is no objective right or wrong -- on campuses.

Last fall, Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus objected to a conference on teen pregnancy held on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross that included speakers from Planned Parenthood and NARAL.

And last month: San Antonio Archbishop Jose Gomez complained about the Clinton rally at St. Mary's University; St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke said St. Louis University basketball coach Rick Majerus should be disciplined for his comments in support of abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research; and Catholic bishops moved a theological seminar off Notre Dame's campus to protest an on-campus performance of the play "The Vagina Monologues."

Bishops have criticized Georgetown for hosting Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and allowing the establishment of a pro-abortion rights student club there. Conservative Catholics are complaining about plans to open a gay resource center soon at the school.

School presidents insist that truth-seeking is part of their institutional purpose.

"Every university is committed to the pursuit of truth," said Georgetown President John J. DeGioia, "and we want to ensure that there is the opportunity for both academic freedom and for the free exchange of ideas and opinions across all issues."

But David Gibson, the author of a Benedict biography, said the pope will ask, "If you're not going to be an authentically Catholic, orthodox institution, why should you exist?"

The lecture will be attended by presidents of most U.S. Catholic colleges and universities. All 195 diocesan education directors are also invited, although the Vatican's focus has been on countering relativism in higher education.

After liberalizing moves by the church in the 1960s and 1970s, Pope John Paul in 1990 issued Ex Corde Ecclesiae, presenting his views of what a Catholic university should be. In 1999, U.S. bishops voted to require theology professors to be certified as teaching in a truly "Catholic" manner.

Since then, there has been a vigorous exchange, with most educators on Catholic campuses agreeing that they want to keep a "Catholic" perspective but disagreeing about how pervasive that needs to be. Does it mean events and courses should always come down on the side of orthodox church teachings? Or can the church's position simply be articulated and discussed? What does academic freedom truly mean under Ex Corde?

Many conservatives have complained that colleges and universities don't take seriously the requirement that people teaching theology obtain a "mandatum," or certificate, from the local bishop indicating that the coursework was approved by the church.

Although Catholic colleges and universities were originally founded by religious orders or by laypeople working with bishops, their campuses have become more diverse, and that diversity affects their mission.

"Our schools are not made up of all Catholic students or Catholic faculty and administrators," said the Rev. Charles Currie, president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, who has spoken out against the mandatum and quotas on non-Catholic board members and faculty members. "And so the institution has to be respectful of differences at the same time they're trying to foster a [Catholic] identity."

Some are skeptical that anything will change.

"Whatever he says, I think, for the most part, it will fall on deaf ears," said Derry Connolly, president of John Paul the Great Catholic University. "Universities are tough institutions to turn around, and faculty are very powerful. ... I don't think it will have much of an effect."

Georgetown U's Wahhabi Front

Note: We wrote about the activities of the Islamic Center at Georgetown previously. This article again shows the ties to islamic terror at the Center. Georgetown is off the rails anti-Catholic and needs to be reformed before it leads an apostasy against the Church. There seems to be no stopping it...

Georgetown U's Wahhabi Front

By Patrick Poole
FrontPageMagazine.com 2/22/2008

In December 2005, Georgetown University announced receipt of a $20 million gift to endow the school's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, after whom the Center was renamed. The Center's director, John Esposito, has been known for his vigorous apologetics for Islamic extremism, authoring several books prior to the endowment's announcement dismissing the global influence of extremist Islamic ideology. Under Esposito's oversight, the Center has also developed questionable ties to individuals and organizations directly involved in Islamic terrorism. One example of these ties is the joint conference held by the Center with the United Association for Studies and Research (UASR) in July 2000. By that time, UASR had long been identified as the political command for HAMAS in the United States, and Esposito's co-chair for the conference was then-UASR executive director Ahmed Yousef, who fled the country in 2005 to avoid prosecution and currently serves as the spokesman for the HAMAS terrorist organization in Gaza.

As a result of the Saudi funding and terror ties, Rep. Frank Wolf last week directed a letter to Georgetown president John DeGioia expressing his concerns as an alumnus of the university over the activities of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and the seeming absence of criticism or discussion by the Center of human rights abuses and denial of religious freedom by the Saudi regime. An article by Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project reporting the contents of Rep. Wolf's letter also noted Esposito's long history of defending radical Islam and his vocal support and praise of his self-described "good friend", convicted Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami Al-Arian.

In fact, there is much more for Rep. Wolf and other Georgetown alumni to be concerned about. Since Prince Alwaleed's gift, the Center at Georgetown under Esposito's direction has since become a haven for Muslim Brotherhood-connected scholars and longtime paid representatives of the Saudi Wahhabi regime. Two individuals that have recently been appointed to top positions within the Center, Susan Douglass and Hadia Mubarak, have been active in leadership positions with known front organizations for the international Muslim Brotherhood - identified as such in court documents by the Department of Justice. Douglas, who has additionally been a longtime paid employee of the Saudi regime (discussed below) is listed as the Center's educational consultant and Mubarak is identified as the senior researcher for the Center. A third staff member is Abdullah Al-Arian, the oldest son and family spokesman for Sami Al-Arian, who is listed as a researcher for the organization.

Read the rest here.

Anti-Catholic Bias in Georgetown AIDS Report

Note: Warning: Georgetown University continues to prove that it IS NOT CATHOLIC!!

Anti-Catholic Bias in Georgetown AIDS Report
by Deal W. Hudson
1/14/08
On January 9, Ray Ruddy, president of Boston's Gerard Health Foundation, wrote a letter to Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia asking him to disavow or retract a Georgetown report entitled "Faith Communities Engage the HIV/AIDS Crisis."

The report, published in November by Georgetown's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs, criticizes faith-based approaches requiring changes in sexual behavior in fighting HIV/AIDS.

Ruddy asked a Harvard expert on HIV/AIDS prevention, Dr. Edward C. Green, to review Georgetown's document, which promotes condom usage -- in spite of Church teaching -- over behavioral changes. Dr. Green, a former condom marketer, is the author of Rethinking AIDS Prevention and is neither a member of any religious denomination nor attends any church.

[Click here for Dr. Green's full evaluation]

Green was stunned by the way the Georgetown University report, as Ruddy puts it, "castigates the Catholic Church in particular and the faith based community in general." Green concludes that the authors of the report -- Lucy Keough and Katherine Marshall -- express an anti-Catholic bias.

According to Green, Keough and Marshall ignore the scientific evidence showing it is behavioral change, not condom use, that has prevented an HIV/AIDS epidemic. That a change in sexual behavior is the key to limiting the spread of HIV/AIDS was also the conclusion reached by Dr. Norman Heart in his 2003 UNAIDS study of condom effectiveness.

Tragically, Green predicts that if the recommendations of the Georgetown Report are followed, millions more will be infected, and perhaps die, of HIV/AIDS.

In asking President DeGioia to disavow or retract the report, Ruddy's letter concludes, "It seems incredible to many of us that the Catholic Church in general and the Jesuits in particular would permit such an inaccurate and misleading report to be published."

Ruddy's request to DeGioia should also prompt him to review the three future reports on children, shelter, and education already announced by the Berkley Center authors: This is the "first in a series of reports to illuminate the little-understood role that religious actors play in global development."

Green finds that Keough and Marshall do not present "the perspective of faith communities, but rather their own view, a view that is frequently drastically out of sync with the faith communities whose perspective they claim to present."

The Georgetown authors are so uncomfortable with faith-based approaches to HIV prevention that they fail to recognize that changes in sexual behavior, not condom use, are responsible for the decline in HIV in over ten countries around the world (most notably Uganda).

Regarding Uganda, the Georgetown report gets "the story all wrong: they emphasize the role of increasing condom use in bringing down Uganda's HIV rates and downplay the dramatic increase in the number of people reporting abstinence and faithfulness behaviors."

Whereas the scientific evidence points to the success of the faith community's message about behavioral change, the Georgetown report criticizes these messages for stigmatizing those with HIV/AIDS as suffering "retribution" for "sinful behavior."

Keough and Marshall don't see faith-based efforts in a positive light. Why? According to their report:

Faith hierarchies, leaders, and communities have in the past often been promoters of stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, partly because of their difficulty in confronting aspects of human sexuality and partly because they often assume a link between AIDS and what they regard as sinful activities.

Green thinks that authors Keough and Marshall, in failing to appreciate the importance of behavior changes, support the "financial self-interest of contractors and grantees that benefit from the multi-billion dollar global AIDS industry."

For Green, the scientific evidence shows that it is not medical products, such as condoms, that can be credited with limiting the spread of HIV/AIDS:

If AIDS prevention is to be based on evidence rather than consensus, ideology, or bias, then fidelity and abstinence programs, in that order, need to be front and center in AIDS prevention programs for general populations.

But these kinds of behavior-based programs have been "mysteriously absent in programs supported by the major Western donors and by AIDS celebrities." To these donors and celebrities, we can now add Georgetown University, unless President DeGioia responds to Ruddy's letter and disavows the report or asks the Berkley Center to retract it.

As Dr. Green puts it, the Church has an advantage in "promoting the needed types of behavior change, since these behaviors conform to the moral, ethical, and scriptural positions and teachings of virtually all religions."

Yet, Georgetown University, a Jesuit institution, has issued a report that markedly rejects not only the scientific evidence that behavior changes are the best way to fight HIV/AIDS but also the moral teaching of its professed faith.

Anti-Catholic Georgetown University

When Does a University Give up its Right to Call Itself Catholic?


When one looks at the entire body of recent press articles concerning Georgetown University, the question naturally arises whether it is scandalous to the church to still consider calling it "Catholic" at all.



The most recent news, the article below this one in the main page, concerns statements made by GU theologian Peter Phan that directly contradict Church doctrine concerning the character of the Church itself and the nature of Jesus Christ and his mission.


The previous posting concerning Georgetown revealed the influence selling going on to Saudi Prince Bin Alaweed. By accepting a large gift and establishing a Saudi-funded Islamic studies program, the school seems to diverge well of the path of "academic freedom" into the realm of propagandizing for a foreign country and religion at odds with its Catholic Mission.


Then there is the story about the establishment of a fully funded center for homosexuals on campus. Again, if you desire to retain the identity as a center of Catholic learning, this seems directly at odds with that. Anyone following trends in the news knows that the anti-discrimination angle used by LGBTQ organizations is simply a Trojan horse for normalizing sodomy.


Also, there is the story about grants being approved for abortion related law activities. Again, how does an ordained priest, the president of a Catholic institution, defend such heretical activity? By claiming "academic freedom" of course. Yet, as Catholics, we are taught that "the truth will set you free" and that Jesus Christ is the truth. So Georgetown is selling its students lies. They have turned their backs on the Church, they have apostatized.


At least they could be honest about it and declare themselves NOT CATHOLIC.

At Georgetown U, Heresy is Just a "Free Exchange of Ideas"

Below are some excerpts from various news articles about what the Bishops had to say about Fr. Phan, a Georgetown U "theologian"

Bishops' Doctrine Committee corrects theologian for relativistic book

Washington DC, Dec 11, 2007 / 11:40 am (CNA).- The Doctrine Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has examined a work of theologian Father Peter C. Phan, "Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue."

Father Phan, a priest of the Diocese of Dallas, Texas, is a professor in Georgetown University's Department of Theology. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith asked the American bishops' Doctrine Committee to evaluate the book. The committee asked Father Phan to clarify points of concern over a period of two years.

The committee's evaluation was presented in a document titled "Clarifications Required by the Book 'Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue'." The committee said that Father Phan's book uses “certain terms in an equivocal manner" that "opens the text up to significant ambiguity." It added that "a fair reading of the book could leave readers in considerable confusion as to the proper understanding of the uniqueness of Christ."

The committee focused on three areas of theological concern: Jesus Christ as the unique and universal Savior of all humankind; the salvific significance of non-Christian religions; and the Church as the unique and universal instrument of salvation.

US bishops issue caution on Georgetown theologian's work

Washington, Dec. 11, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The US bishops' conference has issued a caution on the work of a Georgetown University theologian.

After a lengthy investigation that was undertaken at the suggestion of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the US bishops' doctrinal committee issued a statement on December 10 saying that the work of Father Peter Phan contained "pervading ambiguities and equivocations that could easily confuse of mislead the faithful."

Father Phan, a former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, came under scrutiny because of his book, Being Religious Interreligiously. Church officials questioned whether the book's approach to religious pluralism could be reconciled with established Catholic doctrine. Father Phan argues in that book that certain doctrinal statements regarding the unique role of Christ and his Church in the economy of salvation may have "outlived their usefulness."

The US bishops' doctrinal committee-- chaired by Bishop Wiliam Lori of Bridgeport, Connecticut-- said that Being Religious Interreligiously contained "statements that, unless properly clarified, are not in accord with Catholic teaching." Because the Georgetown theologian failed to provide that necessary clarification, the bishops explain, a caution about his work is necessary.

The Uniqueness and Universality of Fr. Peter Phan
Posted Dec. 11, 2007 5:04 PM by Dr. Jeff Mirus

The Doctrine Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has released a statement criticizing a book by Fr. Peter Phan, chairman of the theology department at Georgetown University. The book, Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue, casts doubt on the unique and essential position of Christ as savior and says the Catholic Church should abandon its claim of uniqueness and universality.

The National Catholic Reporter first reported back in September that Fr. Phan, who is also a former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, was under investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, especially in view of the CDF's clarification last July of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on the Church. The CDF asked the American Bishops to look into the matter. The Doctrine Committee asked Fr. Phan for clarifications of his position, which he neglected to provide. The Committee finally issued its critique on December 7th.

Perhaps it goes without saying-though I am still sad to report-that no disciplinary action has been taken against Fr. Phan. Recent history suggests that it is unlikely that Fr. Phan will lose his mandatum to teach theology for such "trivial" errors as denying that the Son of God is uniquely and universally necessary for salvation, or denying the universal mission of the Church as the sole possessor of all the goods God has provided for salvation. (I have commented on this issue in previous blog entries, especially Effective Discipline.)

Were I Fr. Richard John Neuhaus writing in First Things, it is at this point in my commentary that I would note by way of ironic explanation that Georgetown University is a school "in the Jesuit tradition". This is how Jesuit schools at all levels have tended to describe themselves since ceasing to be recognizably Catholic. I would like to call attention to the same reality here, and I will add that, sooner or later, the Church must become far more serious about reclaiming both her religious orders and her universities.

Doctrinal clarification is extremely important. Indeed, twenty-five years ago we would not have gotten even that. But in the face of egregious scandal, much more is required. All the clarifications in the world will still leave a significant heretic in possession of the department of Catholic theology at Georgetown University. Ultimately ecclesiastical authority must find the courage and strength to roll heads-that is, to challenge the uniqueness and universality not of Christ's teaching position but of Fr. Phan's.

Catholic bishops say book could mislead the faithful
2007 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A book on interfaith relations by a Georgetown University theologian does not accurately reflect Roman Catholic teaching, a U.S. bishops' committee said Monday.

The Rev. Peter C. Phan, in his book "Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue," writes that the terms "unique" and "absolute" when referring to Christ may "have outlived their usefulness and should be jettisoned," the doctrine panel said.

Phan also wrote that religious pluralism "'may not and must not be abolished' by conversion to Christianity," the committee said. That assertion is in conflict with Christ's commission to the church to evangelize the world, the panel said.

Phan, a priest in the Diocese of Dallas, declined to comment Monday. He teaches Catholic social thought at Georgetown, which is a Jesuit school.

The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the doctrinal watchdog for the church, asked the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to evaluate the book.

The bishops' Doctrine Committee spent two years on the review, asking Phan to explain his writing. But the panel said that Phan "did not provide the needed clarifications," so the panel issued the statement Monday to warn Catholics and others that the book could be misleading.
No other action by the committee was announced.

Julie Green Bataille, a Georgetown spokeswoman, said in a statement that Phan and the school's other faculty have "a long and distinguished tradition" of writing on complex religious issues, and the school "embraces academic freedom and supports the free exchange of ideas."

Georgetown Accepts Millions From Saudis to Whitewash Islam for Students

Washington Times Writes About Saudi Influence at Georgetown

If you wonder what Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been doing since Mayor Rudolph Giuliani publicly rebuked him and rejected his $10 million dollar gift following the attacks of 9-11, this article from The Washington Times gives some answers. He's been buying American public opinion with endowments to major universities, including money-grubbing quasi-Catholic Georgetown.


A few excerpts from the article:

Although few details have been released about how the money has been spent,
at Georgetown, the money helped pay for a recent symposium on Islamic-Western
relations held in the university's Copley Formal Lounge.

"There's a possibility these campuses aren't getting gifts, they're getting
investments," said Clifford May, president of the Foundation for the Defense of
Democracies. "Departments on Middle Eastern studies tend to be dominated by
professors tuned to the concerns of Arab and Muslim rulers. It's very difficult
for scholars who don't follow this line to get jobs and tenure on college
campuses.

"The relationship between these departments and the money that pours in
is hard to establish, but like campaign finance reform, sometimes money is a
bribe. Sometimes it's a tip."

At Georgetown, the money was funneled toward its Center for
Muslim-Christian Understanding, which was quickly renamed the Prince Alwaleed
bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. The center, part of the
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, trains many of America"s
diplomats.

The Alwaleed Center is tucked away in a small suite of offices in the
Bunn Intercultural Center. Its reception area is decorated with blue and white
Pakistani tile, a framed page from the Koran and mother-of-pearl depictions of a
menorah, the Nativity and the Dome of the Rock. The center's aim, according to
its mission statement, is to "improve relations between the Muslim world and the
West and enhance understanding of Muslims in the West."

The center's director, John Esposito, a prolific writer and praised by
many as being a national authority on the religion, was severely criticized by
several scholars for downplaying the threat of Islamic terrorism in the 1990s
when he was a foreign affairs analyst for the State Department.

Mr. Esposito, "more than any other academic, contributed to American
complacency prior to 9/11," Martin Kramer, a fellow at the Olin Institute at
Harvard, wrote in a Jan. 2, 2006, commentary on his blog,
sandbox.blog-city.com.

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

Gay Clubs at Catholic Colleges

In 1986, the Magisterium issued the instruction, the Letter to Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons. The then Cardinal Ratzinger wrote, "All support should be withdrawn from any organizations which seek to undermine the teaching of the Church, which are ambiguous about it, or which neglect it entirely. Such support, or even the semblance of such support, can be gravely misinterpreted. Special attention should be given to the practice of scheduling religious services and to the use of Church buildings by these groups, including the facilities of Catholic schools and colleges. [emphasis mine] To some, such permission to use Church property may seem only just and charitable; but in reality it is contradictory to the purpose for which these institutions were founded, it is misleading and often scandalous."

Yet why do schools like Georgetown seem hellbent on doing all they can to edify the homosexual groups on their campuses? One school we wrote about, St. Michael's College in Vermont, has more gay clubs, three, than Catholic service or ministry ones. Can one say with certainty that these colleges are not Catholic in light of the statement by then Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI?

The new President of Assumption, Francesco C. Cesareo, tried to make some room for the existence of Gay clubs on Catholic campuses when he said the following:

"Regarding homosexuality, all men and women are created in the image of God and thus deserve respect because of the basic human dignity we all share. Therefore, on a Catholic campus it is not uncommon or inconsistent to have support groups for gay students since this is a concrete expression of the church's call for respect. This does not mean that we endorse or advocate this lifestyle or behavior. Gay student organizations must operate within the parameters of church teachings by not sponsoring any activities that promote a homosexual lifestyle or same-sex marriage as legitimate lifestyles."

Unfortunately the means these groups use to get a foothold at these colleges is pure deception. They play on the tradition of Christian charity and tolerance and twist it to the point where the Catholic institution is actually helping establish and fund a club who's primary purpose is a place for hookups for those who practice sodomy.

Such deception and the willingness to be deceived have led to an explosion in such clubs, a distraction from the mission of the institution and an eroding of basic morality. A Church hierarchy itself compromised by homosexuality stands by and allows such things no matter how loud the faithful protest.

The Ivory Tower Heretics are in charge.