University of San Francisco to Host Head of Pro-Abortion Amnesty International

On October 27, the Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Research at the Jesuit, Catholic University of San Francisco (USF) will host a book signing and panel discussion by the head of Amnesty International, despite that organization's 2007 move to promote abortion rights, California Catholic Daily has reported.

"The Catholic Church has made it abundantly clear that the decision of Amnesty International to support abortion is a direct betrayal of its own mission in service of human rights," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS). "How sad it is that USF is degrading its Catholic identity by giving a platform to the head of this once-admirable, but now morally compromised organization."

Since 2001, Irene Khan has been the secretary general of Amnesty International, a "human rights" organization founded in 1961. It was under Khan's leadership that the organization changed its official position on abortion from neutrality to support for abortion "rights."

In September of 2006, Bishop William S. Skystad, representing the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), wrote to Khan in defense of the unborn against the move to a pro-abortion stance.

Also, a statement by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace promised that if Amnesty "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." [emphasis added]

As California Catholic reported, in August 2007, Amnesty's executive committee formally voted to adopt a pro-abortion policy. Concerned for its Catholic identity, another Jesuit college in Sydney, Australia, went so far as to sever ties with the organization. Catholic hierarchs serving as Amnesty members also resigned.

Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan, a longtime social activist, responded to Amnesty's new pro-abortion stance, stating, "One cannot support an organization financially or even individually that is contravening something very serious in our ethic."

In 2004, the USCCB issued the statement "Catholics in Political Life" which precludes granting a platform such as the one USF intends to give Khan. The statement reads:

"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."

The University of San Francisco webpage announcing Ms. Khan's discussion says the event is sponsored by: "the Office of the President, University Ministry, Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought, and the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good."

The Cardinal Newman Society previously outlined some of the more recent tragic betrayals of USF's Catholic identity in a press release here.

Ten Catholic Colleges that Promote Abortion

Ten Catholic Colleges that Promote Abortion
BY Tim Drake

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 11:00 AM

Parents wondering what their hard-earned money is supporting at Catholic colleges and universities might be interested in the latest findings from the Cardinal Newman Society.

The organization has discovered 10 Catholic colleges and universities that are promoting student internships with organizations whose missions or activities are directly opposed to the Church's moral teachings on issues related to abortion and marriage.

"Under what definition of 'Catholic education' do students receive academic credit to work for leading pro-abortion organizations?" asked Patrick Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society.

The "Dirty Deca" includes the following schools:

Boston College - recommends opportunities for students to work 'pro bono' for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.

College of St. Benedict & St. John's University - the school's Gender and Women's Studies program promotes internship opportunities with the pro-abortion Feminist Majority Foundation and organizations supporting same-sex marriage.

DePaul University - the institution's Women's and Gender Studies program offers credit for internships, noting that students have interned with abortion provider Planned Parenthood and the Chicago Women's Health Center, which offers emergency contraceptive services and alternative insemination for "lesbians, bisexual, and queer couples, single women of any sexual orientation, and trans people."

Georgetown University - permits students to receive university funding for interning at abortion advocacy organizations.

Loyola University of Chicago - their website lists opportunities for internships and volunteer opportunities at Chicago's National Organization for Women, the Feminist Majority Foundation, Planned Parenthood, and the Chicago Abortion Fund.

St. Edward's University - has allowed students to work at NARAL Pro-Choice Texas to fulfill a "Community Service in Women's Studies" credit requirement.

St. Norbert College - - the college's Women's and Gender Studies program recommends internships at several pro-abortion and same-sex marriage promoting organizations, including NOW, Legal Momentum, Planned Parenthood, the National Women's Health Network, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and PFLAG.

University of Notre Dame - the university's Gender Studies program offers internships for academic credit at places such as the National Organization for Women.

University of San Francisco - the school's Media Studies program has promoted internships with the California Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League and Girlfriends Magazine.

To learn more, visit the Cardinal Newman Society.

Jesuit University of San Francisco President Defends Condom Use for Virus Prevention

Jesuit University of San Francisco President Defends Condom Use for Virus Prevention

The president of the Catholic, Jesuit University of San Francisco (USF), Rev. Stephen Privett, S.J., publicly defended the use of condoms to prevent the HIV/AIDS virus, according to an interview with Catholic San Francisco published June 10.

Last month USF awarded an honorary degree to South African Bishop Kevin Dowling, which was protested by The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) due to Bishop Dowling's dissent from Vatican teaching on condom use and the South African Bishops' Conference's condemnations of his public statements.

"It is the obligation of a Catholic university's president to embrace Catholic teaching as truth and as the solid foundation of the university's Catholic mission," said CNS President Patrick J. Reilly. "It would be unfortunate for a Catholic leader's public statements to echo those who stridently criticized Pope Benedict XVI's plea for healthy, moral and responsible sexual behavior during his recent visit to Africa."

In the interview with Catholic San Francisco prior to the USF commencement, Father Privett reportedly defended the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, despite the consistent teaching of the Catholic Church that condom use is always immoral.

"HIV/AIDS is an epidemic in his [Dowling's] diocese and in whole areas of Africa," Privett says in the article. "I think people need to understand the difference between a condom as a contraceptive and a condom preventing the spread of a deadly virus that is literally killing thousands of people in Africa."

The Cardinal Newman Society has vigorously opposed USF performances of The Vagina Monologues and dissident commencement speakers such as Nancy Pelosi in 2007. Fr. Privett reportedly defends these as well.

"When we bring these speakers onto campus, we don't bring them as spokespersons for a position with which we disagree," Fr. Privett is quoted as saying, blaming critics for failing to consider the totality of student experiences when they accuse USF of not supporting Church teaching.

"They only see the commencement speaker or The Vagina Monologues. They don't see the other 240 days. They're not at Sunday liturgies. They're not at student retreats. It's the tip and not the whole iceberg."

Yet there have been multiple concerns about the University of San Francisco's Catholic identity, including the following in recent years:

- USF's two health insurance plans for employees both provide for abortion, sterilization and contraception. Complaints led USF to drop similar coverage in a student insurance plan, and officials say they are in favor of improving the employee plans, according to reports by Our Sunday Visitor.

- USF's student health clinic stopped referring students to Planned Parenthood for abortions after the practice was revealed in December 2008.

- USF recently dropped its graduate theology program.

- USF hosted the performance of a play that contradicts Church teaching on homosexuality after San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer refused to allow it to be performed at a diocesan parish.

- USF bestowed an honorary degree upon Irish President Mary McAleese, despite her public dissent from Church teaching on the all-male priesthood.

- USF hosted a film festival co-sponsored by the USF Gender and Sexuality Department and a homosexual student club, which featured at least two films which promote abortion and same-sex marriage.

- USF touted on its website a "birth spacing" study produced by students which promoted the use of artificial contraceptives.

Catholic San Francisco reported that USF philosophy professor Raymond Dennehy is among those who believes the Jesuit institution's Catholic identity has eroded under Fr. Privett's leadership. Dennehy said that the dialogue Fr. Privett hopes to encourage is presented in a one-sided manner on campus, with most guest speakers dissenting against Church teaching.

Referring to Bishop Dowling's honorary degree, Dennehy said, "Dialogue is having speakers both pro and con. This is giving an award, and you can bet your bottom dollar that (USF) would not do that if (the speaker) were anti-gay marriage."

Catholic University of San Francisco Develops Health Plan for Students that Covers Abortion

The University of San Francisco (USF), a Catholic institution, has a new student health insurance policy that provides coverage for abortion. Full-time USF undergraduate students are automatically enrolled in the university's plan unless they request a waiver and are able to prove that they have other, comparable insurance.

According to the plan document, which is available on the USF website, the student health insurance was "developed especially for eligible University of San Francisco students and their eligible dependents."

In other words, it appears that the USF coverage was included in a custom policy developed for the Catholic institution.

The Catholic Key, the newspaper of the diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph, first reported this story on its Internet blog and notes that there is nothing in California law that would require USF to provide coverage for abortion.

The Cardinal Newman Society, which works to promote the renewal of Catholic higher education, calls on USF president Father Stephen Privett to immediately take action to remove the abortion coverage.

"Given the importance of life issues for Catholics, it is stunning that USF's student health program would pay for abortions," said Patrick Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society. "I pray that this was a mistake and not a willful action of the Catholic university, but regardless of how the abortion coverage ended up in the policy, it clearly cannot remain."

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.

Jesuit University President Attacks George Weigel

by Deal W. Hudson
3/20/08

The February 20 issue of the Denver Catholic Register published a column on the Jesuits titled "Some Questions for Father General" by George Weigel. In response, the president of the University of San Francisco, Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J., published "Attack on Jesuits Out of Place" in Catholic San Francisco, the archdiocesan newspaper.

Father Privett not only attacked what he termed the "mean-spirited assault" of Weigel, but he was also sharply critical of the Denver archdiocese for publishing it. Father writes,

The readership of Catholic diocesan newspapers deserves more civil, balanced, and professional fare than that served up and passed around by the Denver Catholic Register.

I don't know of a single instance in the history of this country's Catholic Church when one diocesan newspaper attacked another by name.

Weigel asked the new Jesuit Superior, Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., questions on four issues: Jesuit obedience, the Catholic identity of Jesuit educational institutions, the Jesuit attitude toward the Church's teaching on homosexuality, and the order's theological commitment to the "unique salvific role of Jesus Christ."

Anyone even superficially familiar with the history of the Catholic Church since Vatican II would not be surprised by these questions. The issues of Jesuit obedience and Catholic identity were raised by the secular media in its coverage of the recent election of the new Father General. In addition, the Vatican pressure that led to the resignation of Rev. Thomas Reese, S.J., from his editorship of America magazine got national attention.

Father Privett's outrage suggests that he is unaware that Weigel is merely speaking aloud questions that are shared by Catholics around the world. He specifically charges Weigel with making unfounded allegations about two Jesuits in particular, Rev. James Keenan, S.J., and the late Rev. Robert Drinan, S.J. Wiegel puts both forward as examples of Jesuit attitudes toward basic Church teachings on abortion and marriage.

About Father Drinan, Weigel writes, "He did more than anyone else to convince Catholic legislators that the settled teaching of the Church on the grave immorality of abortion had no bearing on their legislative work." Father Privett's reply to Weigel: "His stunningly sweeping statement . . . lacks any supporting evidence."

I'm sure that Weigel would be surprised to hear that he needed to document the career of Father Drinan, whom I call in my recent book the "Jesuit priest who invented the pro-abortion Catholic politician." Perhaps Father Privett needs to be reminded that, after being elected to Congress in 1970, Father Drinan wrote in support of Roe v. Wade and Clinton's veto of the ban against partial-birth abortion. After being forced by John Paul II to leave Congress in 1981, Father Drinan continued as a pro-abortion lobbyist both within the Democratic Party and as head of Americans for Democratic Action.

Father Privett also takes issue with Weigel's description of Father Keenan's highly publicized testimony before the Massachusetts legislature in support of homosexual marriage. Father Keenan's argument, according to Weigel, was " that the principles of Catholic social doctrine did not merely tolerate 'gay marriage,' they demanded it." But again, Father Privett objects: "He did not do so. Father Keenan testified against unjust discrimination against gay couples. He did not testify in support of gay marriage or approve homosexual activity."

What Father Privett does not make clear is that Father Keenan, a moral theologian at Boston College, argued for gay marriage on the basis of homosexuals' possessing a "right" to be married. Weigel is correct.

The most sensitive issue raised by Weigel is the attitude toward homosexuality among the Jesuits. He rightly calls it the "third-rail" issue, as anyone who raises it can expect some kind of thrashing.

What must have provoked Father Privett is one example Weigel supplies from the Jesuits' California province:

[I]t was not that long ago, after all, that the Web site of the Jesuits' California Province featured photos of "Pretty Boy" and "Jabba the Slut" in gay drag at a novices' party.

Father Privett explains that these photos are not "gay drag"; rather, they were "taken at a Halloween party seven years ago at the novitiate" and were "mistakenly put on-line and immediately taken off for fear it would be malevolently misinterpreted by the likes of Mr. Weigel."

Let me add to this discussion a story I heard, and verified, on a recent trip to San Francisco. A graduate student at the University of San Francisco was rejected for a position in the resident halls because, as he put it, "Father said I do not have the right attitude toward homosexual conduct, as I disapprove of such conduct." After being turned down for the position, it was suggested by a Jesuit that he read Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish, written by Rev. Donal Godfrey, S.J., a professor at USF.

On page 134 of Gays and Grays, Father Godfrey posits the question, "Is it less appropriate for gays to imagine Jesus as gay than for African Christians to picture him as black, Asian Christians as Asian?" This,shortly after acknowledging on page 132,"I will not feign academic objectivity: if such a thing really exists. I firmly believe in a new approach and a new vision in this area of ministry. In this I do have an 'agenda.'"

Not surprisingly, the graduate student has been hesitant to pursue "some questions" he has about the USF Jesuit community's doctrinal approach to homosexuality, for fear that his questions might be wrongly construed as an "attack on the Jesuits." It's not difficult to see where he might have gotten that impression.

Local Catholics familiar with the situation at USF told me that this is not an isolated incident, and that some Jesuits in the community are deeply concerned.

For one, the theologians at USF were offered the mandatum, in accord with Ex Corde Ecclesiae, but none responded to the offer. In fact, Sacred Heart Sr. Theresa Moser, associate dean at the University of San Francisco, urged USF theologians to adopt a stance of noncompliance: "'The appropriate strategy is to do nothing' by way of requesting a mandatum, she said, or, if one is offered, to 'very respectfully decline."'

The questions asked by George Weigel about the future of the Jesuits shouldn't have been so shocking to Father Privett; they have been asked publicly, in both secular and Catholic media, for decades. Weigel's questions didn't surprise the Catholic residents of San Francisco, but Father Privett's outraged response did.

Deal W. Hudson is the director of InsideCatholic.com and the author of Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States (Simon and Schuster, March 2008).

Losing the Forest Through the Trees

Our take - when an Ivory Tower Theologian at a liberal formerly Catholic university starts sticking up for blasphemous activity by a homosexual group, you can almost bet on what you'll find in his closet.

Jesuit priest and moral theologian Jim Bretzke of the University of San Francisco opined that "over-accessorizing and poor taste in make-up" are no reasons to deny Communion to gay "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence"
10/25/2007 9:40:00 PM

By Joni Durling and Mary Ann Kreitzer -Catholic Media Coalition It is annoying when a moral theologian tries to act like a canon lawyer and gets it wrong. In addressing the, now notorious, October 6, 2007 distribution of Holy Communion to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI) at Most Holy Redeemer (MHR), Fr. Jim Bretzke, professor of moral theology at the Jesuit University of San Francisco (USF), did just that in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Chronicle quotes Fr. Bretzke as saying, "The general sacramental principle is that you don't deny the sacrament to someone who requests it...The second principle is that you cannot give communion to someone who has been excommunicated." He said such people are designated "manifest public sinners" in canon law.

Presumably, Fr. Bretzke referred to canon 915, but the canon says something different than what he implied. The actual canon reads:

Can. 915 Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin (emphasis added) are not to be admitted to holy communion

Note that the canon addresses three different groups of individuals: the excommunicated, the interdicted, and others who persist in manifest grave sin.

Read the rest here

Pro-Abortion Pelosi to Deliver Commencement at Jesuit USF

This is just another example of the propensity of Catholic College and University presidents to suck up to political power while simultaneously shunning Christ and His Church.

May 17, 2007The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) has urged the University of San Francisco (USF) - a Jesuit, Catholic university - to cancel its invitation to pro-abortion Rep. Nancy Pelosi to deliver the university's commencement address this Saturday. CNS also is opposing a posthumous honorary degree to pro-abortion politician Leo T. McCarthy. "Even as we celebrate the fact that a growing number of Catholic colleges are choosing exemplary commencement speakers and honorees, we learn that the University of San Francisco has chosen a much different direction," wrote CNS President Patrick J. Reilly in a letter faxed to USF President Rev. Stephen Privett, S.J., today. "You are publicly allying a Catholic university with leaders of what Pope John Paul II called a 'Culture of Death.'"