Last week, the Cardinal Newman Society -- a group that scrutinizes
the nation's 219 Catholic colleges and universities -- lodged
complaints against 13 Catholic colleges and universities for
scheduling commencement speakers or honorary degree recipients who
oppose Catholic teachings, particularly in the area of abortion. The
group of protested figures includes former state Secretary for
Education Richard Riordan and former New York City Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani, both of whom are in favor of abortion rights. Should
religious institutions of higher learning be allowed to invite or
honor individuals who do not necessarily have the same beliefs as the
school?
Catholic higher education is a wonderful resource. Small liberal
arts colleges under religious sponsorship offer a unique learning
experience, and I have always been grateful to the priests, sisters
and other teachers at my alma mater, St. Ambrose in Iowa.
I am also a graduate of two other Catholic universities, Loyola
Chicago and DePaul.
What impressed me about all of these schools was the emphasis upon
service to others, steady cultivation of the spiritual life and
lifetime commitment to learning. Classrooms were not stern, stuffy
places where people could not speak their minds, exchange ideas
freely and disagree with one another. Academic freedom and diversity
on campus did not compromise the Catholic identity of the schools,
but instead allowed truth to shine forth.
How a university best expresses its Catholicity is a much larger
question than abortion politics, and those in charge should not be
pressured or bamboozled by special interest groups.
Bishops delegate administration of Catholic universities to the
presidents, religious congregations and boards of directors who have
been appointed or elected, and who have expertise in higher
education. Evaluation of the extent to which a speaker agrees or
disagrees with church teaching, as a whole or in specific matters
(such as abortion), as well as how to interpret and apply general
guidelines should rest with the school; the Bishop should rarely
intervene.
The Cardinal Newman Society, a right wing, unofficial group
founded in 1993, has no capacity to do anything about these speakers,
other than send out press releases and write letters of complaint to
bishops, which it seems to do very effectively. Screening and
repression are far from the ideals for Christian religious education
championed by Cardinal John Henry Newman. There are many unofficial
