Posted on 11/01/2005 5:09:08 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
Even better. Take a victory and make it an even greater victory. Why are we always so defensive? We miss so many opportunities.
Related story:
Catholic Schools Punish Students for Opposing Homosexuality
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
November 02, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - Two Catholic universities have tried to censor students during the past week for defending the church's teachings against homosexuality, actions the head of one Roman Catholic organization called "ridiculous."
One incident took place in Pittsburgh, where a Duquesne University student used an independent website to voice his opposition to a proposed "gay-straight alliance" on campus and described homosexual sex as "subhuman actions."
According to the school's website, several students complained to Duquesne's Office of Judicial Affairs, which held a hearing and concluded that Miner had violated the university's Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct by failing "to respect the rights, dignity and worth of other individuals."
In addition to requiring Miner to remove his online posting -- which he did upon request -- Duquesne has also demanded that the student write an essay on Catholic teaching about human dignity. Miner has refused to do so because he claims his post was simply a paraphrase of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which describes homosexual activity as "intrinsically disordered," "contrary to the natural law" and "gravely" sinful.
Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, a national organization dedicated to renewing Catholic identity at the church's colleges and universities, told Cybercast News Service he considers the school's punishment a "ridiculous" exercise.
"Duquesne punishes a student for defending Catholic teaching by mandating an essay on Catholic teaching -- despite the fact that Miner clearly has a better grasp of that teaching than Duquesne's administrators," Reilly said.
"No doubt Catholic teaching on this subject is unpopular and offends many people who disagree with it," he stated. "But if gay sex is gravely sinful and opposed to the natural order of human sexuality and family life, then to argue that it is beneath human dignity is as accurate as it is provocative."
The university's website also states that a special committee made up of students, teachers, staff members and administrators "is examining the issue" of establishing a "gay-straight alliance" on campus "in light of our Catholic identity and mission.
"This is a complex, sensitive issue that must be considered carefully," the website states.
Reilly said the fact that the school is giving the issue such extensive consideration is "adding injury to insult" because such a club "would further confuse students and would endorse a lifestyle contrary to Catholic teaching."
As a result, the Society is preparing to launch a letter-writing campaign to call for Miner's exoneration and urge Duquesne "to uphold its Catholic identity and deny support for the proposed gay-straight alliance."
A similar incident took place in Spokane, Washington, where Gonzaga University ordered students not to advertise a lecture on the medical implications of homosexual sex.
The College Republicans club invited John Diggs, a physician with the Massachusetts Physicians Resource Council, to speak about "The Medical Effects of Homo-Sex" on Oct. 27.
Responding to concerns that the event might stir up anti-homosexual sentiments, university officials refused to approve the event and ordered students not to advertise it on campus.
"Prohibiting students from advertising a campus lecture is censorship," Reilly said. "Even though Gonzaga was prevented by its own rules from halting the event altogether, it attempted to ensure that few students would attend the lecture.
"Fortunately, Gonzaga's political correctness backfired," he added. "The auditorium was packed with students eager to hear medical facts that Gonzaga's officials and the mainstream media don't want them to discuss, even in an academic setting."
Reilly noted that these incidents are the latest events in a trend on Catholic campuses and cited a number of examples:
-- Student clubs at the University of Notre Dame set up a large "closet" on campus and encouraged students to "come out" and proclaim their sexual preferences. Student activists wore orange T-shirts that read: "Gay? Fine by Me."
-- At Boston College, a campus lecturer asserted that Native Americans were tolerant of homosexuality and blamed European explorers for bringing "homophobia" to North America.
-- The University of St. Thomas in Minnesota hosted an "OUT!Law" meet-and-greet reception for homosexual law students, lawyers and judges.
Nevertheless, Reilly told Cybercast News Service that while he is critical of these colleges and universities on this issue, the Cardinal Newman Society is "by and large supportive of these schools, which are trying to do the right thing.
"However, in their zealousness to show compassion to people who are battling their gay impulses, these institutions are failing to get out the message that such activities are sinful," he said. "We're doing our best to correct that."
While I don't question your experience, and while I don't doubt that it is replicated in many places, this is not true of all Catholic schools. (FYI, we're homeschooling for this very reason). A good Catholic school is a beautiful thing. A bad Catholic school is a public school with a modicum of religion thrown in. Don't jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.
The move came thanks to the efforts of a 15-year-old student at the Loretto High School who says she owes her pro-life convictions to a project she did in her freshman year.
A few things occurred to me when I read this. It must have been a great project for it to give her pro-life convictions! I was surprised though that those convictions didn't come much younger from her parents and teachings from the Bible. I'm curious what the project was.
God Bless Bishop William K. Weigand!
little jeremiah...
Same topic...you decide if it warrants your ping list!
Hmmm... Let me see. What part of Catholic school was Jesuslike to me...
A. The girls who ganged up on me in 6th grade and made my life miserable. And then when I left for a public school because I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of their antics, they told everyone I was expelled. (It was so bad there that my dad was able to convince the archdiocese to fire the principal).
B. The girls/ guys in high school who got extra special privledges because their parents gave lots of $$$ to the school. And the ones who felt they were SO pure that they had to spend half their lives telling everyone about how they didn't drink or have sex even though there's lots of other people who didn't do these things, but didn't feel the need to spend every waking minute proclaiming it.
C. The nasty rejection letter that I got from Notre Dame/ the recruiter that looked down my nose despite the fact that I got straight As and had high ACT scores...
Frankly, having to relive any of these incidents sounds like eternal punishment to me.
As for religion, I think that anyone who lives a moral life goes to Heaven and that includes Muslims, who follow the TRUE tenets of their religion, the ones that don't espouse suicide bombings. All the major religions are based on similar moral codes (ie the Golden Rule).
Morals and religious doctrine should be taught in the home and at church. The main reason for going to school should be to get a good education which will help you get accepted into a good college. In that respect, I think that a good public school can be even better than a Catholic school. The reason why I went to a private Catholic High School was because the public school in my area wasn't challenging enough.
However, that being said, if you purport to be a Catholic institution, you better act like Jesus, and that includes being open to everyone and being a nice person. And no Catholic institution that I've ever been associated has ever been like that. Unlike Evangelicals, who are open to everyone who accept Jesus into their lives, many Catholics that I know will make you wear a Scarlet Letter for the rest of your life, even if you didn't do anything wrong. Unfortunately, this is what the fifteen-year-old girl in question found out; she went against the stream and exposed her school's dirty laundry, so they made her pay for it.
Would you like me to quote Exodus/ Leviticus for you? I'm sure that I can find some equally offensive passages. Frankly, killing infidels isn't one of the Tenets of Islam... The five tenets are believing in only God, praying five times a day, helping the poor, fasting during Ramadan, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca. That doesn't sound evil to me.
As for your other comments, my main issue with Catholicism is not that thirteen-year-olds act like thirteen-year-olds. It's that adults act like thirteen-year-olds and hand out Scarlett Letters and then pass this trait along to their children. This is something I've seen much less of in other denominations' churchs, so I think that it might have to do with the way Catholic parishes/ schools are set up.
As for school, I knew people who loved high school so much that they spent fifty/ sixty hours there a week doing stuff there. These are also the ones who had to constantly inform others of their lack of sin.
As for the poor pathetic victim comment, that's Christian.. how exactly??
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.