St. Louis University Basketball Coach Draws Heat for Pro-Abortion Comments 
Email this article
Printer friendly page
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 23, 2008
St. Louis, MO (LifeNews.com) — St. Louis University basketball coach Rick Majerus is drawing media attention and scorn — and not because of poor play calling or a losing record. Majerus has drawn jeers from pro-life leaders in the Catholic Church because of pro-abortion comments he made while attending a rally for pro-abortion presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
"I’m pro choice personally. I believe that’s the province of being a woman,” Majerus said in answering a reporter’s questions about his support for her bid for the Demcoratic nod.
He also added that he favors embryonic stem cell research, that involves the destruction of human life and has never helped patients.
The problem is that Majerus is a coach and a prominent figure at a Catholic educational institution.
The college has issued a statement saying the coach was sharing his own personal views and not those of the university, but pro-life advocates are up in arms.
Saint Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke told the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper that Majerus should be disciplined over the comments.
"It’s not possible to be a Catholic and hold those positions," Burke said. "When you take a position in a Catholic university, you don’t have to embrace everything the Catholic church teaches. But you can’t make statements which call into question the identity and mission of the Catholic church."
Burke didn’t say what kind of discipline was appropriate and added that he assumes university officials will deal with the comments appropriately.
"I’m confident it (the university) will deal with the question of a public representative making declarations that are inconsistent with the Catholic faith," he told the newspaper.
Burke also told the Post-Dispatch he would deny the coach communion because his views on abortion and human life are so far out of step with the Catholic Church.
