Villanova University, a Catholic college, is facing criticism for inviting Senator Bob Casey to give its commencement address. Casey claims to be pro-life but has repeatedly supported abortion and abortion advocates.
Villanova University will be honoring Casey with the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, and have asked the Democratic senator to deliver the Commencement Address for the Class of 2011. This year alone, Casey voted against a bill to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business, voted against repealing the Obamacare law that funds abortions, and voted for judicial nominees committed to supporting Roe v. Wade.
Students for Life of America is criticizing Villanova and has launched a petition to support its criticism.
“A Catholic university should not be honoring a man who has not only voted for pro-abortion Obamacare and to increase taxpayer spending on abortions overseas, but also voted to place Elena Kagan, one of the most radical, pro-abortion justices, on the Supreme Court for life,” says SFLA director Kristan Hawkins. “When a Catholic institution honors and hosts an individual who publicly opposes Church teachings on Life, it causes scandal and promotes their pro-abortion voting record as acceptable.”
“I call on Father Donohue, President of Villanova University, to rescind the honorary degree and invitation to speak on Sunday,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said Casey “has a long history of sending taxpayer dollars overseas to pro-abortion organizations. Most recently, he voted for the pro-abortion Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and against the recent De-Fund Planned Parenthood Amendment to the 2011 Budget.”
She pointed to the voting scorecard maintained by the National Right to Life Committee showing, on 17 votes, Casey voted against the pro-life position 10 times and with pro-life groups on just seven occasions. Casey also voted against cutting of funding of international groups that promote and perform abortions in other nations and use taxpayer dollars to lobby countries to change their pro-life laws. In some of the votes, Casey has gone against the publicly-stated position of the nation’s Catholic bishops.
Villanova’s 2011 Commencement Ceremony will be held this Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Villanova Stadium. Villanova University is an Augustinian university. The petition can be viewed here. Contact Villanova at https://www.villanova.edu/homepage/contact/
