Cardinal Burke: Theologians’ Mandatum Should Be Required by Colleges, Disclosed to Students

Catholic families have a right to know which theology professors have the mandatum, and Catholic colleges and universities should require it as a condition for employment, affirmed the Vatican’s chief judge Cardinal Raymond Burke in a new report prompted by recent concerns from Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Burke and several bishops, canon law experts, and theologians discussed the mandatum with The Cardinal Newman Society in an online report published today at http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/.

The report, titled “A Mandate for Fidelity,” follows upon a May 5th address by Pope Benedict to several American bishops during their ad limina visit to Rome. The Pope expressed concern that “much remains to be done” toward the renewal of Catholic identity in U.S. Catholic colleges and universities, “especially in such areas as compliance with the mandate laid down in Canon 812 for those who teach theological disciplines.”

...
Citing Pope Benedict’s description of the mandatum as “a tangible expression of ecclesial communion and solidarity,” Cardinal Burke said:

It’s tangible in the sense that it’s a public declaration, in writing, on the part of the ecclesiastical authority that a theologian is teaching in communion with the Church, and people have a right to know that so that if you, for instance, are at a Catholic university or parents are sending their children to the Catholic university, they know that the professors who are teaching theological disciplines at the university are teaching in communion with the Church. They are assured in that by the public declaration of the diocesan bishop.

“The fact that I teach in accord with the Magisterium is a public factor,” added Cardinal Burke. “That’s not some private, secret thing between myself and the Lord.”

More here: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/Home/tabid/36/ctl/details/itemid/1585/mid/435/cardinal-burke-says-theologians-mandatum-should-be-required-by-colleges-disclos.aspx
  

Cardinal Burke: Authentic Catholic universities help resist ‘secular dictatorship'

The authentically Catholic university helps students resist “secularist dictatorship” by keeping Jesus Christ at the center of its mission and by exposing the moral bankruptcy of contemporary culture, Cardinal Raymond Burke said Dec. 4...

In a lengthy discussion of the nature of Catholic higher education, he said that a Catholic university faithful to its identity will help students give an account of their faith and help them resist “the secularist dictatorship which would exclude all religious discourse from the professions and from public life in general.”...

Cardinal Burke lamented the fall of many American Catholic colleges and universities that have become “Catholic in name only.”...

On the issues of creating curricula and hiring professors, Cardinal Burke advised “special care,” noting the poor religious formation of many young Catholics.

“Given the religious illiteracy which marks our time and in fidelity to the seriousness with which university studies should be undertaken, there is really no place for engaging in speculative theology and certainly no time to waste on superficial and tendentious theological writings of the time,” the cardinal contended...

Much more here from Catholic News Agency (CNA).

Rather timely considering the plans SLU has for a speaker

Archbishop Raymond Burke Visits Thomas More College's Rome Campus

From yesterday:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2009

ARCHBISHOP RAYMOND BURKE VISITS THOMAS MORE COLLEGE’S ROME CAMPUS

(ROME, ITALY)—For the second time this semester, the students of Thomas More College’s Rome program enjoyed the company of Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura. Effectively the Chief Justice of the Roman Catholic Church’s “Supreme Court,” Archbishop Burke is one of the highest ranking Americans in the Roman Curia, which governs the Church on behalf of the pope.

Archbishop Burke celebrated Mass in the College’s Rome campus chapel with students and staff on the Feast of Christ the King. His homily highlighted the importance of letting Christ reign as king in our lives and over society—and the practical steps Christians can take toward making this happen, principally by rediscovering devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Thomas More College was formally consecrated to the Sacred Heart on October 16, 2009.

Archbishop Burke then joined the students in the dining hall maintained by the Maronite Catholic monks who host Thomas More College’s Rome program each year. During the three-course meal accompanied by local red wine, Archbishop Burke gave the students free rein to ask questions on a wide array of subjects, according to sophomore William Russell.

“He was very amiable and answered the questions with frankness and sincerity,” said Russell. “The topics ranged from the centrality of the family to the social effects of technology, mediocrity in America, and even the goodness of family farming. Burke is a native of Wisconsin and the son of a dairy farmer, so he has firm opinions on the subject.”

Sophomore Mary Monaghan recounts: “After Mass, when we discussed problems of the world over pistachios and peanuts, it was particularly encouraging to hear Archbishop Burke’s response to the issue of the breakdown of the family—which he cited as the source of most of the troubles in modern culture. He encouraged familial devotion to the Sacred Heart, and the importance of working together and eating together as a family. Though the atmosphere can become tense when dining with a renowned person, our lunch with Archbishop Burke was not like that. He listened to our opinions, too. It was a pleasure speaking with him.”

Over cups of espresso in the formal reception room after dinner, the prefect described the work of the Apostolic Signatura and answered students’ questions about the inner workings of the highest levels of governance in the Church.

Sophomore Benjamin Bible asked Archbishop Burke about his public statements concerning Catholic politicians who dissent from core truths of the Faith, such as the sanctity of life. The Archbishop gave a detailed explanation, which echoed the position he has consistently pronounced publically—that dissenting politicians should not receive or be offered Holy Communion.

The students and the prelate also discussed more global issues, including the recent intervention by the European Court of Human Rights into the Church/State relationship in Italy. In that case, the court decided to pull out the crucifixes which have traditionally been displayed in Italian classrooms. As the chief jurist for a very different international tribunal, Burke offered a well-informed and incisive critique of that court decision.

As the archbishop was preparing to depart, William Russell and Mary Monaghan (who are engaged to be married) asked him for their blessing, which Archbishop Burke cheerfully gave.

“The visit was a great success,” Russell said. “After an afternoon of worship, discussion, and feasting, we all left feeling renewed and refreshed.”

For most of the school’s history, each sophomore at Thomas More College has taken part in the school’s required Rome Semester to gain a first-hand experience of the capital of Christendom. Whether they’re touring ancient pagan temples, navigating the catacombs that hold the bones of saints, or learning the Christian import of masterworks by Bernini and Michaelangelo, students are guided by Thomas More College faculty to place each experience in the context of their broad, liberal arts education and the Catholic tradition.

The Rome semester makes intimate and immediate the school’s tight focus on the history and classic texts of the Western tradition. It pushes students to go beyond their textbooks and lectures to grow in their faith—as well as their understanding of the foundations of Western civilization and American democracy.

Thomas More College’s Rome program is housed in a monastery just miles from the Vatican, where students interact daily with a community of monks—seeing firsthand the mode of life that gave birth to medieval academic culture.

While in Rome, students also are given the opportunity to meet with high level Church officials. In addition to Archbishop Raymond Burke, Thomas More College’s Rome program students have attended Masses with Pope Benedict XVI and dined with Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Archbishop Burke has consistently praised Thomas More College for its fidelity to the Roman Catholic Church. Earlier this year, the archbishop wrote:

Both the liberal arts curriculum and the extracurricular activities at Thomas More College are outstanding for their fidelity to the Magisterium. The teaching at Thomas More College exemplifies the right relationship between faith and reason, which is always at the service of the truth. The faculty of the College are faithful in their teaching and example, and, therefore, are able to educate students in the way which prepares them to follow Christ, the Truth, in both their private and public life. At a time when some Catholic institutions of higher education are drifting from the Catholic faith, it is most heartening to know that Thomas More College continues to promote and defend vigorously the Catholic faith and its practice. To put it simply, Thomas More College is a gift for which all of us should be most grateful.

Dr. William Fahey, president of Thomas More College, said, “Thomas More College is deeply grateful to Archbishop Burke for taking time to visit our Rome campus, and for allowing our students to interact with him in such an intimate and personal setting. We look forward to his continued guidance and support as we seek to develop in our students a profound love for Truth.”

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts provides a four-year undergraduate education which develops young people intellectually, ethically, and spiritually in the Catholic tradition and in faithfulness to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Thomas More College introduces its students to the central questions of the Western civilization – and to the Church’s response. It teaches the skills in reasoning, speaking, and writing that will allow its graduates to become faithful leaders according to the individual vocations which God has given them. In recent years, the College has allowed the strength of its curriculum to radiate out into several new initiatives, such as its Vatican Studies Center, Center for Faith and Culture (Oxford, England), and the Way of Beauty Program. Through the lectures, books, workshops and other programs hosted by these centers, Thomas More College is consistently seeking new and better ways of communicating perennial truths amid the confusion of contemporary society.
###
Contact: Charlie McKinney
Phone: (603) 880-8308, ext. 21
Mobile: (603) 913-5939
Email: cmckinney@ThomasMoreCollege.edu

Pictures of the visit can be viewed here.

Archbishop Raymond Burke, The Overseer of Justice

From Inside the Vatican by Andrew Rabel, reporting from Rome:

Pope Benedict XVI one year ago ago called an American, Archbishop Raymond Burke, to head the Apostolic Signatura, the office which oversees the correct administration of justice in the Church. Here, after one year at his post, Burke discusses his work in Rome, but also the controversial shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe he established in Wisconsin, and President Obama's speech at Notre Dame...

Editor's note: Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, recently invited Andrew Rabel, Australian ITV correspondent, to a friendly lunch nearby his offices at the Palazzo della Cancelleria (photo). Never to be outdone, Andrew always carries his dictaphone with him. So the former archbishop of St Louis, with his typical graciousness, consented to an interview, despite the noise in the crowded restaurant. It is the second interview ITV has conducted with His Excellency in less than a year.

This wonderful interview can be read at Inside the Vatican here. Enjoy!

Notre Dame honors Obama, dishonors all that is good

Live Feed

Notre Dame update 5/17 - From Jill Stanek's site

Turns out Norma McCorvey, the Roe in Roe v. Wade who is now pro-life, wanted to get arrested with Fr. Weslin yesterday and was insulted when police pushed her aside to grab the frail old guy. (Above photo shows Norma to Fr.'s right just before the arrest.) Norma attended the rally last night. This would be the quote of the day were it not Sunday. From Fox News, yesterday...

Continue reading "Notre Dame update 5/17, 7:40a EST"

Notre Dame Warns TV Networks that They Will 'Cut the Feed'

Other news: A Local attorney requested an emergency hearing, in order to request bond for the seven pro-lifers who were being held without bond. The judge granted the request, but placed a high bond on those in custody. Pro-lifers are currently seeking people to bond them out.

Other news: A journalist told a StopObamNotreDame official that the University threatened to "cut the feed" of any network that covers disruptions during Obama's address.

Randall Terry states: "Notre Dame is so desperate to hide the fruit of their sin, that they will cover up the truth of what happens inside the auditorium. We pray for the success of those who are committed to bearing witness during Obama's address."

Jenkins and company are a disgrace to all humanity for having Baraq Hussein Obortion speak and receive and honorary degree...Pathetic lost souls in Satan's grasp...

Read more here.

And for those interested:
Live Stream! Notre Dame Commencement Ceremonies
Each year, the University videotapes the Notre Dame Commencement exercises. This year, one can watch ceremonies live via streaming video.
Saturday:
11:30 a.m. (Tape delay from earlier)
ROTC Commissioning Ceremony

10:00 a.m.
Graduate School Commencement Ceremony

4:40 p.m.
Commencement Mass
Catholic TV – Music Texts

Sunday
12:45 pm
University Commencement Ceremony
Live video will be available starting at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, 2009.

1:15 p.m. – Academic Procession

2:00 p.m. – University Commencement Ceremony

So As Not To Be Outdone By the Notre Dame/Obama Fiasco...

We have this via email today:

Satan to receive honorary degree at Georgetown

Georgetown University President John J. DeGoya announced today that Satan, Prince of Darkness will receive an honorary doctorate at the University's 220th commencement.

DeGoya called the announcement a proud day for Georgetown. "We've been honored to continue the proud tradition of Catholic education which has produced alumni such as President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and World Spiritual Leader Al Gore, but when Notre Dame scored the Messi-- uh, the Pres__ent [Id missing] for this year's graduation, well, it didn't seem fair. "

"We felt being named the fighting Irish gave them an unfair advantage with O'bama. The faculty felt like complete, pathetic losers, sorta like their football team. But now we've booked the Prince of this world to be our commencement speaker. This gives Father Jerkings yet another reason to regret telling us to choke on it."

Law School Dean Ben Doverenakov dismissed the protests of extremist right-wing homophobic Latin-Mass-loving student terrorist groups. "Having Our Dark Master as our commencement speaker in no way means that we are not absolutely committed to protecting the sacred right to life. We know he has some certain positions which Rome forbids us to directly endorse, but the student body deserves to hear how the Earth is over-populated with those nasty breast-sucking parasites anyway."

Doverenakov stated he considered this a vital moment of dialog which will enrich all parties involved. "As for Satan, we consider this a teaching moment."

What so-called Catholic university would be the first to host the Prince of Darkness were he to appear in the flesh? I fear that many would be clamoring to book him while rejecting Our Lord and Saviour as too divisive and fundamentalist.

An Open Letter to Father Jenkins, Notre Dame

An Open Letter to Father Jenkins
President of the University of Notre Dame

I pray God that you, and the Trustees and Faculty of the University of Notre Dame will reconsider your decision to extend an Honorary Degree to Barack Obama, and that you will withdraw your invitation to him to speak at the University's Commencement exercises in May. As leaders in the American Catholic community do you not hold to the Church's teaching with regard to the inviolable sanctity of human life, and against the heinous practice of abortion?

The issue at stake in the fight against abortion is starkly simple: Are all human beings created equal, or not? It is the same issue that was at stake in the fight against slavery and racial discrimination.

As an American who subscribes to the self-evident truths our country was founded upon, I answer the question in favor of equality. As a descendant of enslaved Black Americans, I believe that any other answer would invalidate the struggle for justice to which so many Americans of all races gave their lives.

Given that the principle at stake is the same as that which demanded opposition to slavery, I have always had a simple test when dealing with any question involving abortion. I ask myself what I would do or say if slavery was the issue in question. I recommend this test for your consideration. Ask yourself whether you would invite as a Commencement speaker an individual who abused the authority of office to provide Federal funding for the purchase of slaves. Would you consider it honorable for the University to confer an honorary degree on an individual who issued executive orders allowing US funds to be used to support slave markets? Would you let the University be used to give stature to a politician who supported the position that ownership of slaves is a matter of individual choice?

I hope and assume that the answer to all of these questions is no. Since you have chosen to answer otherwise where abortion rather than slavery is at issue, you must see a moral difference between enslaving grown people and killing nascent ones. Or else you see a moral difference between the nascent child in the abortuary and the slave on the auction block. As a Black, Catholic, prolife American, I challenge you to explain the difference to me and to everyone like me. Perhaps you make a distinction because the child is more helpless, more imperatively incapable of voluntary wrongdoing, more explicitly acknowledged by Christ to be the subject of His special regard? (Matthew 18:6, Luke 17:2) Or perhaps it's because some refuse to recognize the nascent child's humanity?

Whenever someone raises the latter objection I remember a speech Frederick Douglass made in which he felt compelled to make arguments for the humanity of black Americans because, he said, "A respectable public journal, published in Richmond Virginia., bases its whole defence [sic] of the slave system upon a denial of the Negro's manhood." You see, people once raised a question about that, which supposedly Catholic Christians (including some no doubt from my home state of Maryland) probably used at that time to justify their commerce with slaveholders; their willingness to hold in honor those who practiced or defended slavery; or even their own willingness to hold slaves themselves.

When I read of slavery in my youth I could not understand why so many tolerated such evil for so long. I asked God to help me never in my life to be such as they were. Once I fully understood the nature of the abortion issue, I was moved to stand against abortion and the slaughter of innocent life as I would have wanted all people of conscience and goodwill to stand against slavery and the rape of my forbears' liberty. When people suggest that Barack Obama shares some heritage with me, I know better. For the truest test of that heritage is not the color of someone's skin, but the determination of their heart, never to stand silently by while God's fundamental law of justice is denied to persons whose only crime is the unjustly despised appearance of their humanity.

I know that the Catholic Church today is guilty of no such dereliction. The Holy Father, the clergy, and millions of the laity have joined together in prayer, and work and sacrifice to bear witness against the wrong of abortion, to bear witness against a false idea of choice that betrays God-given liberty. Your University bears the name of the Blessed Mother of Christ, who honored God's will for human life though it could have meant her own dishonor in minds of her contemporaries. Even if, as you say, Obama's visit does worldly honor to you and your colleagues, what is more consistent with her example: to seek honor at the expense of God's truth, or to forego it if need be, in obedience to His loving will.

I realize that such a decision is not so much for thought as for prayer. So I ask that you give prayerful consideration to the plea that is on my heart, and on the hearts of millions like me. This may well be a teaching moment for Obama and other politicians like him. But sometimes one deed speaks more certainly of truth than many words could do. Thus spoke the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. Are we not called to act as He did? Perhaps the best Commencement speech of all would be the testimony of silence, in which, perhaps for the first time, someone who needs to hear it will hear the voice of Rachel, weeping. (Matthew 2:18)

With Pleasing Hope for Life,

Alan Keyes

----------------
We can still pray for the conversion of heart needed by those who promote, by thought, word, or deed, the murder of the unborn and the culture of death.

FR. GEORGE W. RUTLER: "This is a highly cynical act, contemptuous of the Church’s prophetic voice in civil society and wagering that there will be no retribution. If a midwestern school seeks attention by granting Mr. Obama an honorary doctorate in law, the next logical step would be to grant Judas Iscariot posthumously an honorary doctorate in business administration."

Dr Edward Peters: Whither Notre Dame

Dr Peters writes:

I remember my dad saying forty years ago that "Notre Dame is the alma mater of every Catholic who never went to college." He was right.

Forty years ago, most Catholics, like most Americans, had not been to college, though there was a growing sense that college was a good thing to do and thus a good thing to support. More importantly, forty years ago, Notre Dame's Catholicism was still recognizable by Catholics in the pews of America, so when Catholic parents dreamed of college for a son (and later, for a daughter), they dreamed of Notre Dame.

But all that's changed now - read more here

Ex-Priest Professor Who Doubts Virgin Birth Speaks at Catholic College

Robert Ritchie of America Needs Fatima sent me this today:

An ex-priest who doubts the Virgin Birth and who popularized the theory that Jesus's body was eaten by wild dogs, lectured at a Catholic College.

His name is Dr. John Crossan. [Ed. Note: Some of you may have seen this heretic on TV (the History channel, etc) as an "expert" in Catholic matters] And he spoke at Bellarmine Univeristy, which calls itself "a university Catholic in its roots and ongoing tradition."

But according to the Christian Research Journal, Crossan casts doubt on the Virgin Birth by confusing fact and myth:

"They're all over Greek and Roman mythology, so what do I do? Do I believe all of those stories, or do I say all of those stories are lies except for our Christian story?"

Crossan then cites the myth of Caesar Augustus's birth as an example, in which his mother became impregnated by the sun god Apollo:

"His mother was in the temple of Apollo, she fell asleep. During the night she was impregnated by Apollo in the form of a snake, and therefore, of course, the child who was born was divine, Augustus, and of course millions of people would have said in the first century, '...look what's he's done. He's brought peace to the warring empire. He's got rid of the civil wars. He's our man.'"

And in his book "Jesus: The Revolutionary Biography," Dr. Crossan writes:

"The divine origins of Jesus are...just as...mythological as those of Octavius."

Is this the kind of Professor students should be learning from at a Catholic University?

Absolutely NOT!

Send your message of Catholic concern to the President of Bellarmine University, urging him to invite orthodox Catholic speakers to his campus instead of ex-priests who doubt the Virgin Birth.

Please send your message right away!

Sincerely,
Robert Ritchie
America Needs Fatima

PS - Please send a message of Catholic concern immediately to the Bellarmine University President Joseph J. McGowan.

Frankly, I'm shocked that such a speaker would even be considered to speak at any Catholic college or university. Would such actions please St Robert Bellarmine? Of course not, and Christ suffered and died to atone for such sins which cause scandal and implant doubts into the minds of the young!

Minnesota Professor Pledges to Desecrate Eucharist

Updated 7/11-Below is a screen capture of the UMM page which linked to Myers' site before the link was removed.

_________________
From the Catholic League:

Paul Zachary Myers, a professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, has pledged to desecrate the Eucharist. He is responding to what happened recently at the University of Central Florida when a student walked out of Mass with the Host, holding it hostage for several days. Myers was angry at the Catholic League for criticizing the student. His post can be accessed from his faculty page on the university’s website.

Here is an excerpt of his July 8 post, “It’s a Frackin’ Cracker!”:

“Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers?....if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I’ll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won’t be tempted to hold it hostage (no, not even if I have a choice between returning the Eucharist and watching Bill Donohue kick the pope in the balls, which would apparently be a more humane act than desecrating a goddamned cracker), but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web.”

Some might wonder how willing this guy is to desecrate a Koran?

Apparently the guy is a bigot and seems to have major issues...It's beyond disgraceful that he is teaching young adults. And taxpayers are paying him to do it! Will the university do something about this? We can only hope and pray.

Artwork at College Inspired by Satan - Taxpayer funded?

This is so repulsive and sick. Some people, no doubt, are truly under demonic influences:

College Displaying Crucifix in Rectum Got Millions in Tax Dollars
By Keriann Hopkins
CNSNews.com Correspondent
June 10, 2008

(WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions of artwork that is offensive.)

(CNSNews.com) - Federal taxpayers are subsidizing a college in New York whose art school is currently displaying works that include a drawing of a man with a crucifix coming out of his rectum, a drawing of a man with a rosary coming out of his rectum, and rosaries decorated with penises.....

Here's a link to the school directory:
http://www.cooper.edu/administration/about/directory.html

and administration officers:
http://www.cooper.edu/administration/about/officers.html

and the board of trustees:
http://www.cooper.edu/administration/about/trustees.html

Feel free to express your outrage at these contempptible and revolting acts. And, of course, it's obvious that some are in dire need of prayer and divine assistance.

HT to PC for the link.

"Pro-choice" is really anti-choice, anti-freedom...

...As one can clearly see in this story:

Canadian Federation of Students Passes Motion to Support Ban on Pro-Life Groups at all Campuses
By Jenna Murphy

OTTAWA, May 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - This past weekend the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) held its semi-annual Assembly, during which a motion was brought forward by the York Federation of Students (YFS from York University) to effectively shut down any official recognition of campus pro-life groups. CFS, which purports to represent "over one-half million students from more than 80 university and college students' unions across Canada", will use students monies, including those from pro-life students to advocate for abortion and to curtail the pro-life message from campuses.

The successful motion read: "Be it resolved that member locals [of the CFS] that refuse to allow anti-choice organizations access to their resources and space be supported. And further, be it resolved that a pro-choice organization kit be created that may include materials such as a fact sheet, buttons, contact information for local pro-choice organizations and research on anti-choice organizations and the conservative think-tanks that fund them..."

Can these college-educated mental giants not see the irony of their position? They wish to deny others freedom of speech and freedom to associate while claiming to be advocates for "choice." How well they have learned from their tyranical, anti-choice, freedom-hating mentors!

The CFS has become that which it claims to loathe - an anti-choice organization. It seems that these children need some remedial education. Not only are they anti-life/pro-death, they also support the forced aborting of others' freedoms. This is all too typical for those whose gray matter has been poisoned by the culture of death.

Remember the commercial which said, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste"? These kids, having survived the plague of abortion, have let let their parents, mentors, or professors abort their consciences, wills, minds and characters. Maybe someday they'll grow up to be responsible, caring adults and rediscover their humanity and freedoms and what it truly means to be "pro-choice."

Jesuit USF Honors Homosexual, Condom-Promoting AIDS Ambassador

A "Role Model" for USF Students

Among those receiving honorary degrees at University of San Francisco commencement ceremonies this past weekend was Ambassador Mark Dybul, an open homosexual with a same-sex partner about whom he makes no secret. Dybul has served as U.S. Global AIDS coordinator under President George W. Bush.

At his swearing-in ceremony in October 2006, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice welcomed Dybul’s family members, including his partner, Jason Claire, and Claire’s mother, whom Rice called Dybul’s “mother-in-law"....

According to a USF press release, the university honored Dybul “for his work at the forefront of the international fight against HIV/AIDS as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator.” According to the release, “Dybul is a role model for USF students as someone with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed, and the values and sensitivity to be men and women for others....”

Perversion rewarded and promoted - not only by our own country, but by a Jesuit institution. St Ignatius, pray for us!

More at California Catholic Daily here.

SD Catholic college cancels pro-abort speaker for commencement

Aberdeen, SD, May 14, 2008 / 01:08 am (CNA).- Presentation College in Aberdeen, South Dakota has withdrawn an invitation to a commencement speaker because of her views on legalized abortion.

State Senator Nancy Turbak-Berry was scheduled to deliver the commencement address at the college on Saturday. According to the Associated Press, she said she was told on Friday that she could not speak there because of her views on abortion....

One wonders why she would have been chosen in the first place...?

How's this for spin:

“I was told I was not welcome to speak because I do not share the Catholic Church’s position on the proper role of government in decisions about reproduction,” Turbak-Berry said.

The statement indicates a remarkable cluelessness, or willful ignorance, or it's an outright lie about the role of government. Was the government 'wrong' all of those years when abortion was illegal? Why was it wrong then but right now? Could it be that today's legislators and judges have become so much more knowledgable than their predessors?

Patrick J. Reilly, President of the Cardinal Newman Society, praised the decision, saying in a press release, “Presentation College has honored its Catholic identity and has demonstrated respect for the dignity of human life by reversing its selection of a vocal abortion advocate for public honor....."

Indeed, it is a sign of hope to see these things happen!

Cardinal Arinze: What is a Catholic University?

Zenit has the homily which Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, gave April 20 at the closing Mass of the 30th anniversary celebrations of Christendom College.

Well worth reading...

The Holy Father's Address to Catholic College Educators

Can be read here:

Newsflash: Catholic colleges should be in line with church

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI told leaders of America's Roman Catholic colleges and universities Thursday that academic freedom has "great value" for the schools, but it does not justify promoting positions that violate the Catholic faith.

Benedict, a former academic, said that church teaching should shape all aspects of campus life and that Catholic educators have a "profound responsibility to lead the young to truth."

"....any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission," he said.

We're approaching two decades since Ex Corde Ecclesiae was promulgated, and so little has been done.

The Church and the Holy Father speak - how few listen - just as in the days of our Lord. Indeed, the servant is no greater than the Master.

Clinton Rally at Eerie PA Catholic College Causes Bishop to Cancel Appearance

From LifeSiteNews:

ERIE, PA, March 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Hillary Clinton is going to hold a campaign rally at Mercyhurst College tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1, 2008. The Catholic College boasts of the pro-abortion Senator and Presidential candidate's appearance on its web page. LifeSiteNews.com has also learned that Erie Bishop Donald W. Trautman has cancelled his scheduled appearance at the upcoming Mercyhurst graduation ceremony in protest....

University President Thomas Gamble permitted the Clinton appearance despite a directive from the United States Conference of Bishops which specifically forbids pro-abortion politicians from such engagements....

Catholic colleges and universities desperately need to rid themselves of such officials who foment division and scandal. Parents who are considering sending their children to so-called Catholic institutions of higher learning need to know which ones to avoid.