Pro-Life Groups Call on Catholic Colleges to Stop Inviting Pro-Abortion Speakers
Email this article
Printer friendly page
RSS Newsfeed
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 26, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — After a series of events with pro-abortion speakers at Catholic colleges, a coalition of pro-life groups have issued a new statement calling on Catholic universities to stop inviting such speakers. They say the speakers violate the Catholic Church’s pro-life views and an admonishment by the U.S. bishops not to give pro-abortion politicians a platform.
Organized by the Cardinal Newman Society, a Catholic college watchdog group, the statement urges Catholic institutions to “refrain from all activities that provide a public platform to" abortion advocates.
It calls on the educational institutions to not "imply support or even neutrality toward, political leaders and candidates who advocate positions on serious moral issues that are clearly contrary to Catholic teaching.”
"We call on Catholic institutions to join us in finding opportunities—appropriate to the nature and mission of each institution—to engage in political and public policy dialogue by publicly proclaiming Catholic teaching, especially on issues related to human life," the statement says.
Patrick Reilly, the head of the Cardinal Newman Society, told LifeNews.com, “Like any Catholic institution, a Catholic college or university has a distinct and unique responsibility to provide an environment that supports and upholds Catholic values."
Groups that signed the statement include the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, Catholic Medical Association, Catholics United for the Faith, Human Life International, and several others.
The statement comes after St. Mary’s University in San Antonio hosted a rally for pro-abortion Sen. Hillary Clinton over Archbishop Jose Gomez’s objections on February 13. Meanwhile, St. Norbert College in Wisconsin did the same on February 17.
St. Peter’s College in New Jersey hosted a large rally for pro-abortion Democratic candidate Barack Obama on January 9, as did Loras College in Iowa last March.
In January, Archbishop Raymond Burke urged Saint Louis University to discipline its basketball coach for his remarks at a Clinton rally supporting abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
Related web sites:
Cardinal Newman Society – https://www.CardinalNewmanSociety.org
