Posted on 03/05/2005 1:08:23 PM PST by NYer
Peter Reynolds is a senior majoring in philosophy and government at Georgetown University. He can be contacted at: prr6@georgetown.edu.
Cardinal Arinze told the graduates that happiness is found not in the pursuit of material wealth or pleasures of the flesh, but by fervently adhering to religious beliefs, and spoke of the importance of family to the Catholic Church.
"In many parts of the world, the family is under siege", the cardinal said, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by the university. "It is opposed by an anti-life mentality as is seen in contraception, abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. It is scorned and banalized by pornography, desecrated by fornication and adultery, mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions and cut in two by divorce."
Theresa Sanders, a "post-modernist" professor of theology at the university, protested by leaving the stage while Arinze was speaking. E-mails on a subscription list used by many of the university's gay and lesbian students indicated that some students also walked out.
"These things are exactly what he's paid to say", Ed Ingebretsen, a professor of American Studies, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but "it's a graduation; why he decided to do the pro-family thing no one seems to know". Ingebretsen, and former Jesuit priest who left the order and the Catholic Church to join the "American Catholic Church" in 2000, said he posted an apology on the e-mail subscription list "on behalf of Catholics" for Cardinal Arinze's "insensitive remarks". The prelate's comments were "un-Christian", Ingebretsen said.
A professor at Georgetown since 1986, Ingebretsen in 1995 offered a course called "Unspeakable Lives: Gay and Lesbian Narratives", endorsed by the English department. In an article on a "gay" web site (www.whosoever.org), Ingebretsen writes, "In the American Catholic Church I bless single-sex unions with church sanction".
Tommaso Astarita, a professor of history, called the cardinal's message "wildly inappropriate" for a commencement ceremony. "I personally was rather offended by it", said Astarita, who is one of the professors circulating the protest letter. "I thought it was divisive and inappropriate".
A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington, Susan Gibbs, defended the cardinal: "His message was certainly consistent with Catholic teaching, which seems appropriate since this is a Catholic university. Hopefully new graduates will be inspired by [Cardinal Arinze's] reminder that happiness does come through God", the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Another "gay" advocacy web site (365Gay.com) prominently featured the protest on Thursday, May 22; and reported that Dean McAuliffe issued an e-mail saying she was "surprised" at the speech, and is setting aside time in her office Friday to allow people to express their reactions. McAuliffe reportedly said, "I'm sure that Cardinal Arinze did not intend to hurt any of his audience, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen".
TEXT OF CARDINAL ARINZE'S ADDRESS
Catholic Ping - Come home for Easter and experience Gods merciful love. Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Whatever happened to "In Hoc Signo Vinces?"
"For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Cor. 1:18
BTTT
It has become controversial for a Catholic cleric to issue a pro-family message to Catholic students at a Catholic university? Say again?
Next thing you know they'll sponsor the V-g--a Monologues at Notre Dame.
Here Dom are the fruits of Modernism. You may accept or tolerate such for your family, I assure you I do not for mine.
OK, so how about this professor should volunteer to have a nail driven through his hand and then we can see how much "weakness" he has. Maybe he'll volunteer for this 'test' of his strength in the middle of the village square, stripped naked....
He is not a catholic cleric. Georgetown University hires professors from all faith backgrounds. He is a layman.
Actually I thought Georgetown removed all the crucifixes from its classrooms. I remember reading about the controversy over it a few years ago.
The article is dead-on. Attack Islam and you risk your life. Attack Judaism and you risk your academic career (though the tide seems to be changing at some universities, with how pro-Israel students are treated). But attack Christianity and nothing happens. I see this first hand as a student in a PhD program. Grad students and profs make comments about Christians, especially fundamentalists, that would get them fired/kicked out if the targets were Jewish or Muslim. But since the target is Christian, nothing happens.
One of my good friends, who is not particularly religious, often says that the only groups it is still acceptable to make fun of in the US are Catholics and fat people. I would add to that evangelical/fundamentalist Christians as well. Basically any Christian who sees Jesus as more than a social worker and who believes the 10 commandments should be followed is fair game to liberals.
I think farmer was referring to Cardinal Arinze
You say that as if Notre Dame were remotely a "Catholic" institution.
This is what one expects from a man who pushes God out of his heart and in his place puts a hate that keeps God from coming back in. Many Christians see the heart of the problem because they were once on the downward path. This is a problem that needs a saving grace that will not answer to the logic of man. This is a problem that requires the healing touch of God to sooth a seething heart that only spews irrational thinking and venom. For that reason, many Christian are hesitant to bring such a man to task when they know it will harden their heart even more. Many of them are silent in prayer.
ND has some problems to be sure, but it's still a heckuva alot more Catholic than Georgetown.
I think that Georgetown recently reinstalled them. For a momentary lapse, they remembered from whence they came.
Yes, they did. And a student led the charge.
"The Wanderer is a weekly Conservative Catholic newspaper."
There are conservative Catholics? Why, listening to John Kerry, I thought we could all just decide on what we wanted to believe and that was ok, and it was wrong to further our moral beliefs through the political system.
(What a douchebag he is, by the way.)
Judging by the way Notre Dame runs its football program, arrogantly demanding bigger and bigger slices of the financial pie for themselves, you would have thought they were selling indulgences in South Bend.
That professor who objected to crucifixes better not find himself in a courtroom in Greece. Not only is there usually a bible in the courtroom, a picture of Christ is on display.
(the liberal would probably explode from outrage.)
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