CATHOLIC GONZAGA UNIVERSITY PRO-LIFE CLUB DENIED STATUS FOR DISCRIMINATION

Catholic World News ^ | 12/26/2003 | CWN Staffer

[JesseHousman]

Seattle, Dec. 26, 2003 (LifesiteNews.com/CWN) - Gonzaga University, the Spokane-based Jesuit university founded in 1889, is denying a pro-life group official status because it is "discriminatory" against non-Christians.

The Student Bar Association (SBA) has denied recognition to law student Ashley Horne's Pro-Life Law Caucus because only Christians can be leaders in the organization.

Greg Lukianoff, spokesman for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), said "We live in a strange age, indeed, when a Catholic, Jesuit university would deny a Christian, pro-life group recognition because its religious nature is considered discriminatory." FIRE, based in Philadelphia, is a watchdog organization for students' rights on college campuses.

The Pro-Life Caucus, a group of about 20 students, asked for membership in the SBA in order to enhance their profile, to entitle the group to money from student fees, and to receive mention on the university web site and in the student handbook. The SBA represents law-school students, and sponsors clubs and activities for them.

Originally to be called the Gonzaga Pro-Life Caucus, the group was required to strike the "Gonzaga" from its name, after being disallowed affiliation with the university.

[JesseHousman]

Apparently Gonzaga is no longer a Catholic university.

[Desdemona]

There's a lot of "catholic" universities that aren't Catholic anymore. Yes, most of them are Jesuit. And, no, they are not supposed to call themselves Catholic.

[uncbob]

In this case I can't understand why a Pro Life group would limit their membership

You don't have to be a Catholic or even a Christian to be anti-abortion

[stevem]

Two of my kids have graduated from two Jesuit universities. I have spent time visiting with various faculty members. I spent one delightful evening with a refreshingly conservative Jesuit priest.

Some of these times played havoc on a lifetime of understanding that Jesuits are barely even Catholic. Then a story like this comes along and restores order in my life.

[HarleyD]

Does this mean Bin Laden can apply as president of Gonzaga University?

[bigcat00]

The reference to the Student Bar Association makes me wonder if the story is supposed to be about the GU Law School instead of the University. Either way, it is inexcusable. Until recently at least, if not presently, Bob Spitzer was president of GU. He was very pro-life and I have a hard time understanding why this would be going on while he was president there.

[mvpel]

You don't have to be Christian to be pro-life. Are they denying membership unless one is both pro-life and a professing Christian?

[Petronski]

Are the Jesuits (still) Catholic?

[frogandtoad]

since every single orthodox jewish organization is anti-abortion and therefore pro-life, it seems rather ridiculous to make the pro-life group only open to christian pro-lifers. why would they even want to refuse membership to, say, orthodox jewish pro-lifers. you think they would want all the help they could get.

[Campion]

I sure wish I'd known about Hillsdale when I was 17.

If you'd gone there, you'd probably still be a Catholic.

I think it was Abp. Fulton Sheen who said that the most reliable way for Catholic parents to ensure that their children lost their Catholic faith was to send them to a "Catholic" college.

Fortunately, there are now a few choices available reasonably sure to do the opposite: Steubenville, St. Thomas Aquinas, Magdalen, and Christendom, to name some.

[Yaelle]

Exactly. I am not Christian yet am pro-life.

[Snardius]

I attended Gonzaga. They have a library (built with help from $10 million in federal funds) named after Tom Foley's father. That's right, former Speaker Foley. I never understood why taxpayers had to fork over federal funds to build a library on a private religious college campus.

[Spok]

Actually, the University approved the club and decided that it's bylaws did not violate University policy. The Student Bar Association (SBA) is autonomous and student run, as the name implies. This is strictly a decision made by law students who, unfortunately, have the authority to be as politically correct as they wish.

[jordan8]

The schools are the minor pillar that props up liberal political power in this country along with the major pillar, the mass-media. And, as this story shows, most private schools pretty much teach the same dogma as the public schools. So sending your child to a private school (or home schooling) might be successful if you're interested only in boosting his or her career, but it will do nothing for the country. What is needed is a system of schools, of madrassas, that teach a radical agenda designed to be a weapon of political struggle against THEM, to be as intolerant against THEM as they are against us.

The state of the schools is a good example of just how complete the control of what I like to call the velvet dictatorship is. Can you imagine what would have happened if these crypto-communists, these fanatics whose chief desire is the complete destruction of the civilization, had taken over the public schools in, say, Teddy Roosevelts time? Do you think TR and colleagues would have just thrown up their hands and said "Oh well! It's academic freedom, the professors have tenure, there's nothing we can do." The subverters would have been lucky not to end up on a lamppost. But it is inconceivable that Republicans and conservtives would dare take even the mildest steps against this system, this fountainhead of our destuction, today. There's no principle involved here, it is pure fear and submission.

[JesseHousman]

...this fountainhead of our destuction, today.

You make excellent points.

[gcruse]

pro-life group recognition because its religious nature is considered discriminatory

No, it is because they are discriminating against the religious nature of others.  I can't believe
FIRE is doing this.  But, even Jesus Christ blew one out of twelve.

[Salvation]

Any followup on this?

[JesseHousman]

Any followup on this?

Not yet. Still looking; however, article just appeared yesterday.