Posted on 01/31/2006 8:11:29 PM PST by Coleus
DePaul Offers Minor in Homosexual Studies
Beginning this semester, DePaul University is offering a new minor, officially called “The LGBTQ [Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer] Studies Program at DePaul.” The program includes courses in English literature, comparative literature, American Studies, psychology and women and gender studies. Offerings vary from “Queer Studies” to the history of sexuality from the Puritans to the Victorian Era. It has not been indicated that all courses and materials will be entirely consistent with Catholic teaching. To protest: Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, C.M., President, 55 E. Jackson Blvd., 22nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60604; (312) 362-8890; dholtsch@depaul.edu
CNS Urges 29 Colleges to Halt "Monologues" Performances
(Last Updated )
Continuing its campaign to rid Catholic campuses of the offensive play “The Vagina Monologues,” the Cardinal Newman Society has urged the presidents of 29 Catholic colleges to cancel announced performances in February and March 2006.
Five universities have already assured CNS that they will not permit the play, after CNS informed them of student performances announced by V-Day (www.vday.org), which organizes productions across the country. The Catholic University of America, Marquette University, New York Medical College, Providence College and Seton Hall University have told CNS that they will not allow performances on campus.
Assumption College, Carlow University, Sacred Heart University and Saint Xavier University also have reported that the announced campus performances will not occur, although officials have not said they banned the event.
CNS urges members to contact the remaining 21 college and university presidents asking them to stop the performance. Please note that the productions announced by V-Day are not yet confirmed and may not have official college approval.
The “Monologues” presents women discussing their sexuality and sexual encounters, replete with vulgarity, explicit language, and graphic descriptions of lesbian activity and masturbation. For a detailed summary, click here.
One scene describes the seduction of a sexually inexperienced 16-year-old girl by a 24-year-old lesbian, who first intoxicates the girl with vodka. Instead of presenting the incident as sexual abuse that would be prosecuted as statutory rape in many states, the play declares it the girl’s “surprising, unexpected and politically correct salvation.” In light of the Church’s struggles with similar crimes by priests who exploited younger boys, the scene is highly objectionable.
The CNS campaign against the “Monologues” has had an impact. In 2005, performances occurred at 27 Catholic colleges and universities, a decline from 29 performances in 2004 and 32 in 2003. The V-Day Web site now features
a section titled “resistance,” including a rebuttal to CNS concerns, as well as an essay attacking Providence College's Father Shanley for banning the play.
[ About V-Day and the Monologues ]
[ Bishop John D'Arcy's Statement on the Monologues ]
[ Reclaim Saint Valentine’s Day ]
2006 Planned Monologues Performances on Catholic Campuses
Performances of The Vagina Monologues are planned at the following Catholic colleges and universities, according to the V-Day organization. Contact information is provided to help Cardinal Newman Society members and other Catholics express concern to the college presidents. We urge you to do so respectfully and charitably. Also please keep in mind the following:
2006 Announced Performances of "V-Monologues"
(according to D-Day, www.vday.org)
UPDATES:
1/16/06: Carlow University, Marquette University off list; added St. Mary's College of California; corrected University of San Francisco e-mail address
1/20/06: Providence College off list
1/30/06: note added to University of Notre Dame listing
1/31/06: Saint Xavier University off list
| Boston College Rev. William Leahy, S.J., President 18 Old Colony Rd., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 Phone: (617) 552-8000 E-Mail: William.leahy.1@bc.edu |
College of the Holy Cross Rev. Michael McFarland, S.J., President 1 College St., Worcester, MA 01610 Phone: (508) 793-2011 E-Mail: mmcfarla@holycross.edu |
| College of Mount Saint Vincent Dr. Charles Flynn, Jr., President 6301 Riverdale Ave., Riverdale, NY 10471 Phone: (718) 405-3233 E-Mail: charles.flynn@mountsaintvincent.edu |
College of Saint Benedict Dr. MaryAnn Baenninger, President 37 S. College Ave., St. Joseph, MN 46374 Phone: (320) 363-5505 E-Mail: mbaenninger@csbsju.edu |
| College of Saint Catherine Sr. Andrea J. Lee, IHM, President 1st Floor Derham, 2004 Randolph Ave. #F23, St. Paul, MN 55105 Phone: (651) 690-6525 E-Mail: ajlee@stkate.edu |
College of Saint Rose Dr. R. Mark Sullivan, President 432 Western Ave., Albany, NY 12203 Phone: (518) 454-5121 E-Mail: sullivam@mail.strose.edu |
| DePaul University Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., President 55 E. Jackson Blvd., 22nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60604 Phone: (312) 362-8890 E-Mail: dholtsch@depaul.edu |
Fordham University Lincoln Center & Rose Hill campuses Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., President 441 E. Fordham Rd., Bronx, NY 10458 Phone: (718) 817-3000 E-Mail: president@fordham.edu |
| Georgetown University Dr. John DeGioia, President 37th & O Sts. NW, Washington, DC 20057 Phone: (202) 687-4134 E-Mail: president@georgetown.edu |
John Carroll University Rev. Robert L. Niehoff, S.J., President 20700 N. Park Blvd., University Heights, OH 44118 Phone: (216) 397-4281 E-Mail: president@jcu.edu |
| Loyola University of Chicago Chicago campus & Rome campus Rev. Michael Garanzini, S.J., President 820 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611-2196 Phone: (312) 915-6700 E-Mail: mgaranz@luc.edu |
Loyola University of New Orleans Rev. Kevin W. Wildes, S.J., President 6363 St. Charles Ave., Campus Box 009, New Orleans, LA 70118 Phone: (504) 865-3847 E-Mail wildesk@loyno.edu |
| Regis College Dr. Mary Jane England, President 235 Wellesley St., Weston, MA 02493 Phone: (781) 768-7122 E-Mail: England@regiscollege.edu |
Saint Louis University Rev. Lawrence Biondi, S.J., President 221 North Grand Blvd., Saint Louis, MO 63103 Phone: (314) 977-7777 E-Mail: biondi@slu.edu |
| Saint Joseph College Dr. Evelyn Lynch, President 1678 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117 Phone: (860) 231-5221 E-Mail: elynch@sjc.edu |
Saint Mary's College of California Br. Ronald Gallagher, F.S.C., President P.O. Box 3005, Moraga, CA 94575-3005 Phone: (925) 631-4203 E-Mail: rgallagh@stmarys-ca.edu |
| Seattle University Rev. Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J., President 900 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122 Phone: (206) 296-1891 E-Mail: sundborg@seattleu.edu |
University of Detroit Mercy Gerard L. Stockhausen, S.J., President 4001 W. McNichols Rd., P.O. Box 19900, Detroit, MI 48219 Phone: (313) 993-1455 E-mail: gstock@udmercy.edu |
| University of Notre Dame Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., President Notre Dame, IN 46556 Phone: (574) 631-3903 E-mail: john.i.jenkins.1@nd.edu Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.S, has announced his opposition to the "Monologues" and restricted this year's performance to a classroom with no ticket sales. He has promised a new policy on the "Monologues" within the next few weeks, signaling that he might ban the play in the future. Although there is reason to be hopeful, Notre Dame remains on our protest list as long as the play is scheduled for this year. |
University of San Francisco Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J., President 2130 Fulton St., San Francisco, CA 94117 Phone: (415) 422-6762 E-mail: president@usfca.edu |
Assumption CollegeAssumption College informed CNS that the announced campus performance will not occur, although the college has not said it banned the event.
Carlow University
Dr. Mary Hines, president, has informed CNS that the announced campus performance will not occur, although it is not clear whether the college banned the event.
Catholic University of America
Very Rev. David O'COnnell, CM, president of CUA, assured us that the V-Monologues would not be performed on their campus.
Marquette University
Steven Frieder, assistant to the president, has assured CNS that Marquette will not allow students to present the V-Monologues on campus.
New York Medical College
Msgr. Harry Barrett, president of New York Medical College, assured us that the V-Monologues would not be performed on their campus.
Providence College
Rev. Brian Shanley, O.P., president of Providence College, has banned the V-Monologues on campus. In a statement to the college community, which was released to the public on January 19 (www.providence.edu/Administration/Presidents+Office/Vagina+Monologues.htm), Shanley explains that he read the play and found it “not appropriate for a school with our mission. ...First, far from celebrating the complexity and mystery of female sexuality, ‘The Vagina Monologues’ simplifies and demystifies it by reducing it to the vagina. …Second, the description of the play as a ‘new bible’ is an indication that its depiction of female sexuality is meant to displace the traditional Biblical view that inspires the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.” Answering critics who claim such productions on Catholic campuses are protected by academic or artistic freedom, Shanley argues, “But artistic freedom on a Catholic campus cannot mean the complete license to perform or display any work of art regardless of its intellectual or moral content. Any institution which sanctioned works of art that undermined its deepest values would be inauthentic, irresponsible and ultimately self-destructive.”
Sacred Heart University
The president's office informed CNS that the announced campus performance will not occur, although the college has not said it banned the event.
Saint Xavier University
The office of Dr. Judith Dwyer, President, has assured us that no performance will occur in 2006. The student organizer reports that the play is postponed until next year, no specific reason given.
Seton Hall University
Rev. Anthony Figueiredo, Executive Director of Mission and Ministry at Seton Hall University, assured us that the V-Monologues would not be performed on their campus.
Sample Protest Letter to College Presidents
Dear __________,
The V-Day organization has identified (insert college name) as hosting the sexually explicit and offensive play, "The Vagina Monologues," in February or March 2006. See the listing at www.vday.org/contents/vcampaigns/college/schools.
The "Monologues" is objectionable in its content and in its language. The monologues are focused almost entirely on the physical characteristics of women's v****** and their sexual experiences, with a heavy emphasis on masturbation and lesbian activity. There is minimal discussion of violence against women--the advertised focus of the play--and it does little to recognize the special dignity of women. The language used is often vulgar, sometimes sexually explicit, and almost always offensive. There is almost nothing of academic value in this play.
In addition, the play clearly condones the lesbian rape of a 16-year-old girl. It proclaims the lesbian seduction of a minor, which in many states would be illegal, as the girl's "politically incorrect salvation" which raised her genitals "into a kind of heaven." This is terribly offensive to the victims of homosexual seduction by priests.
The V-Day website notes that the colleges listed may not be sponsoring the "V-Monologues," though students or departments from the schools are planning on hosting performances. However, the performance of the "V-Monologues" and the association of your school with this play directly conflicts with your school's Catholic identity and mission. I ask that you please take clear action to prevent any campus performance of the "V-Monologues." I hope to hear in the near future that the planned performance on your campus is cancelled.
Sincerely,
(name)
Providence College President Bans Performance of "Vagina Monologues"
Eighth Cancellation Brings Catholic Campus Performances to 21
MANASSAS, VA (January 20, 2006) – Rev. Brian J, Shanley, O.P., president of Providence College, has announced that he will not permit a performance of the sexually explicit and offensive play “The Vagina Monologues” on campus.
Providence is the eighth Catholic college or university this year to announce that performances of “The Vagina Monologues” announced by the sponsoring V-Day organization (www.vday.org) will not occur. The Catholic University of America, Marquette University, New York Medical College and Seton Hall University have told CNS that they will not allow performances on campus. Assumption College, Carlow University and Sacred Heart University also have reported that performances announced by V-Day will not occur, although it is not clear whether officials banned the event.
“We are thrilled that our protest is having real impact, and Catholic college and university officials are coming to their senses,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), a national organization to renew Catholic identity in Catholic higher education. “Father Shanley is a hero to his students and a role model for other college presidents.”
This is the fifth consecutive year CNS and its more than 18,000 members have protested “The Vagina Monologues” on Catholic campuses. As lovers worldwide celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day, students and faculty at many Catholic colleges will be taking to the stage chanting obscenities, telling tales of lesbian activity and masturbation, and declaring the lesbian rape of a teenage girl her “salvation” which raised her into “a kind of heaven.” V-Day has announced performances at 29 Catholic colleges and universities, but the cancellations bring the number to 21—a significant decline from the 27 performances on Catholic campuses in 2005, 29 in 2004 and 32 in 2003.
In a statement to the college community, which was released to the public on Wednesday (www.providence.edu/Administration/Presidents+Office/Vagina+Monologues.htm), Shanley explains that he read the play and found it “not appropriate for a school with our mission.”
“First, far from celebrating the complexity and mystery of female sexuality, ‘The Vagina Monologues’ simplifies and demystifies it by reducing it to the vagina,” Shanley writes. “…Second, the description of the play as a ‘new bible’ is an indication that its depiction of female sexuality is meant to displace the traditional Biblical view that inspires the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.”
Answering critics who claim such productions on Catholic campuses are protected by academic or artistic freedom, Shanley argues, “But artistic freedom on a Catholic campus cannot mean the complete license to perform or display any work of art regardless of its intellectual or moral content. Any institution which sanctioned works of art that undermined its deepest values would be inauthentic, irresponsible and ultimately self-destructive.”
“This is one of the strongest and most well thought-out statements a Catholic college president has ever released concerning ‘The Vagina Monologues,’” Reilly said. “It illuminates all the reasons why this play should not be performed on a Catholic campus, and hopefully will serve as an example to presidents at other Catholic colleges who still turn a blind eye to scandal on their campuses.”
For more information about the Cardinal Newman Society’s campaign against “The Vagina Monologues,” see http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/Publications/News/monologues_06.htm.
Notre Dame President Opposes "Vagina Monologues," Queer Film Festival... Yet Allows Both Events in 2006
MANASSAS, VA (January 25, 2006) – In two consecutive addresses to the University of Notre Dame community, new president Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., announced his opposition to campus performances of the sexually explicit and offensive play “The Vagina Monologues” and the annual Queer Film Festival, yet allowed both events to continue this year with some restrictions.
“We are enthusiastic about Fr. Jenkins’s concern for Notre Dame’s Catholic mission and signals that he may ban ‘The Vagina Monologues’ and the Queer Film Festival in the future,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS). “His courage is admirable in the face of opposition from some faculty and students. It is yet another sign that the national campaign to renew Catholic higher education is producing results.”
“On the other hand, we urge Catholics to continue to protest this year’s events,” Reilly continued. “If Fr. Jenkins acknowledges that these events are scandalous, how can he allow them even one more year? Moving an offensive play to a classroom doesn’t make it less offensive and contrary to Notre Dame’s mission. Changing the Queer Film Festival’s name doesn’t make the content acceptable.”
CNS and its 18,000-plus members nationwide have protested both events each year, and Bishop John D’Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend has publicly scolded Notre Dame for lack of consistency with its Catholic mission. Last week, another new Catholic college president—Rev. Brian Shanley, O.P., of Providence College in Rhode Island—banned “The Vagina Monologues” and issued a strong statement condemning the play. That brings the total number of announced performances of the “Monologues” on Catholic campuses to 21, a significant decline from 32 Catholic campus performances in 2003.
Jenkins addressed students today and faculty yesterday, inviting response to his position that academic freedom and other liberties are not without limits, especially when the university’s Catholic mission is compromised. He specifically opposed two controversial and annual events on campus, prdocutions of “The Vagina Monologues” and the Queer Film Festival.
“I do not believe that freedom of expression has absolute priority in every circumstance,” Jenkins said. He ruled out events, even academic conferences and lectures, that take a one-sided position clearly contrary to Catholic teaching. Even so, he will allow this year’s performance of the “Monologues” to continue, albeit without ticket sales and presented in a classroom to convey an academic purpose. The Queer Film Festival will also be permitted this year under a new title—as yet undisclosed—and without discussion of sexual morality.
In his address to faculty, Jenkins allowed for “individual speakers who defend atheism, or infanticide, or euthanasia, or a first-strike nuclear attack”—positions that are untenable according to Catholic teaching—because a university must allow “a variety of views expressed vigorously” as long as they are balanced with a Catholic perspective.
Reilly said that argument fails to live up to Notre Dame’s mission as a Catholic university.
“Notre Dame is not a television talk show,” Reilly said. No university worth its salt fears to acknowledge, teach and explore truth. A genuine Catholic university embraces Catholic teaching as truth, and so does its students an injustice when it teaches them otherwise or hosts lecturers—who are essentially guest faculty members—to dispute known truths. Fr. Jenkins welcomes advocates of infanticide or euthanasia, but I doubt that he or any faculty member would accept a speaker who denies the Jewish Holocaust or argues the inferiority of African Americans, positions that are known to be untrue. Are these truths superior to the Catholic faith at Our Lady’s university?”
Despite these concerns, the Cardinal Newman Society looks forward to excluding the University of Notre Dame from its 2007 protest of “The Vagina Monologues.” Notre Dame has hosted the play each year since 2001.
“We will be anxiously awaiting the promised new policies on academic freedom and anti-Catholic events at Notre Dame,” Reilly said. “If they ban ‘The Vagina Monologues’ and the Queer Film Festival, that’s real movement toward genuine Catholic education. That’s reason for celebration.”
CNS Urges Notre Dame to Investigate Writing by Theology Professor Rev. Richard McBrien Newspaper Op-Ed Resembles Boston Globe Column, Fails to Cite Sources
MANASSAS, VA (January 19, 2006) – The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), a national organization to strengthen and renew Catholic identity at U.S. Catholic colleges and universities, has asked the University of Notre Dame to investigate possible plagiarism by media darling and liberal theologian Rev. Richard McBrien.
“Assuming Notre Dame launches a serious investigation, we trust the university will come to an appropriate judgment of Father McBrien’s practices and his suitability to teach at a leading Catholic university,” said CNS president Patrick J. Reilly. “A Catholic college or university must uphold the highest academic and ethical standards.”
CNS sent a letter today (which is attached) to Rev. John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, urging him to investigate a newspaper column written by Father Richard P. McBrien, the Crowley-O’Brien Chair of Theology at Notre Dame. The article was titled “Banned in Boston” and published on January 6, 2006, in The Tidings of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (www.the-tidings.com/2006/0106/essays.htm). It criticizes a protest of a Catholic Charities fund-raiser in Boston honoring Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, a supporter of abortion rights and homosexual marriage.
Previously on December 11, 2005, an op-ed written by Eileen McNamara in the Boston Globe titled “Zealots mask real struggles” criticized the same protest (www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/12/11/zealots_mask_real_struggles?mode=PF). CNS complains that the structure, arguments, ideas and general theme of Fr. McBrien’s column closely resemble those of McNamara’s op-ed, at some points using near identical language to McNamara.
Fr. Jenkins is scheduled to give an address to the university community on Tuesday concerning academic freedom at Notre Dame. CNS notes that Notre Dame’s academic freedom policy obligates faculty members to give “proper acknowledgment of contributions made by others to one’s work.” Jenkins’ speech will focus on two annual campus events—the Queer Film Festival and performances of “The Vagina Monologues”—against which CNS has also urged Fr. Jenkins to take action. For details on this year’s “Monologues” protest, see the CNS Web site at www.cardinalnewmansociety.org.
January 19, 2006
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Dear Father Jenkins:
It has come to the attention of the Cardinal Newman Society that a Notre Dame faculty member’s public writings have the strong appearance of plagiarism. A Massachusetts resident has contacted the Cardinal Newman Society with these concerns, and the Web blog at Bettnet.com raised serious allegations on January 16.
I should note that the Cardinal Newman Society might have addressed this matter directly and privately, but it has already gone public, including a Boston Herald article this morning which we did not initiate but for which I agreed to be interviewed. I misspoke during my interview, and as a result the Cardinal Newman Society’s position is misstated; in fact, we and others are raising serious concerns, but we are not yet charging plagiarism. Our position is that Notre Dame should investigate this matter and make the determination of whether or not McBrien’s actions constitute plagiarism according to the university’s standards. We urge you to launch such an investigation and report the findings.
Because this concerns the reputation of one of the most well-known Catholic universities in the United States, we urge you to give this matter serious consideration. If the faculty member is indeed guilty of such dishonesty, we urge you to consider whether he belongs at Notre Dame.
We have been alerted to a column written by Father Richard P. McBrien, the Crowley-O’Brien Chair of Theology at Notre Dame, titled “Banned in Boston” and published on January 6, 2006, in The Tidings of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The column criticizes a protest of a Catholic Charities fund-raiser in Boston honoring Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a supporter of abortion rights and homosexual marriage. Previously on December 11, 2005, an op-ed written by Eileen McNamara in the Boston Globe titled “Zealots mask real struggles” criticized the same protest. Fr. McBrien’s article can be found at http://www.the-tidings.com/2006/0106/essays.htm, and Ms. McNamara’s article can be found at http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/12/11/zealots_mask_real_struggles?mode=PF.
These two articles might be expected to have similarities, because they were written about the same event. Certainly many of the facts will be similar. However, upon careful review of the two articles, it becomes apparent that the structure, arguments, ideas and general theme of Fr. McBrien’s column mirror those of the op-ed written almost one month earlier by McNamara. Fr. McBrien organizes his arguments in the same way the McNamara does, and his emphases are the same. Fr. McBrien at some points uses near identical language to McNamara.
Today’s Boston Herald reports that Fr. McBrien admits “that he took facts from the Globe that he should have credited,” but he claims he did not “steal someone’s ideas.” In fact, the similarities between articles go beyond simple facts. Areas of concern include:
1. McNamara begins her second paragraph referring to the protesters as “a tiny band of antiabortion zealots.” McBrien begins his second paragraph referring to the protesters as “a tiny group of ultra-conservative Catholics.”
2. McNamara writes: “These folks do not just miss the Latin Mass; they miss Cardinal Bernard Law. …There’s Bill Cotter, pining for the good old days when Law would allow Operation Rescue to use Catholic churches as staging areas for illegal blockades of abortion clinics.” Fr. McBrien says the protesters “not only miss the Latin Mass but also the former archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, who allowed Operation Rescue, a militant anti-abortion organization, to use Catholic churches as staging areas of illegal blockades of abortion clinics.” Note that the last phrase is exactly identical in both articles.
3. McNamara writes: “This is what Mom has to say on her website, Magisterial Fidelity, about Governor Mitt Romney’s view that all hospitals are required to obey a new state law mandating that emergency contraception be offered to rape victims: ‘Romney Now Says Catholic Hospitals Must Be Forced To Kill Children.’” Mcbrien writes: “The foundress of Faithful Voice, a counterpart to Voice of the Faithful, has said on her Web site that the Republican governor of Massachusetts, by urging all hospitals to obey a new state law mandating that emergency contraception be offered to rape victims, was in effect saying that Catholic hospitals ‘must be forced to kill children.’”
4. McNamara writes: “This is what she has to say about the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, the president of Catholic Charities… ‘That man is pure unadulterated evil. He literally sends shivers up my spine. . . If he and his cronies think we’re going to tolerate he and the Archbishop’s material cooperation in abortions—we’ll chase them out of town faster than you can say Voice of the Faithful.” McBrien writes: “Regarding the president of Catholic Charities, Father J. Bryan Hehir… she wrote: ‘That man is pure unadulterated evil. He literally sends shivers up my spine. If he and his cronies think we’re going to tolerate he and the Archbishop’s material cooperation in abortions—we’ll chase them out of town faster than you can say Voice of the Faithful.” Note that McBrien uses the exact same quote, failing to include the necessary ellipses joining nonconcurring sentences in the original statement, which would be unlikely if McBrien had pulled the quote from its source.
5. The above statements appear in both articles in the same order and in quick succession.
There are other similarities between McBrien’s column and articles that appeared in the Boston Globe on December 9 and 10:
1. On December 9, the Boston Globe reported, “But they were unable to force Menino to step aside or to persuade Catholics to boycott the Christmas party….” McBrien writes, “Significantly, the activists were unable to force the mayor to step aside and decline the award, nor were they able to discourage prominent Catholics from attending the $500-a-plate dinner in support of Catholic Charities.”
2. The Boston Globe’s December 9 article asks, “So just how influential are these people who call themselves ‘authentic Catholics’?” McBrien writes, “In their eyes, they alone are ‘authentic Catholics.’”
3. On December 10, the Boston Globe reported, “As a dozen pickets protested against [Menino] in front of the Catholic Charities Greater Boston Christmas dinner….” McBrien writes, “As dozens of pickets marched outside Boston’s Seaport Hotel….”
4. The Boston Globe’s claim in its December 10 article that the Catholic Charities fundraiser occurred at the Seaport Hotel in Boston was repeated by McBrien. In fact, the event was at the Boston Harbor Hotel, according to a December 11 correction published by the Boston Globe.
5. McBrien uses quotes published in the December 10 Boston Globe article, but he does not cite the Boston Globe as the source of the quotes:
“Menino said that his understanding of Catholicism was derived from the nuns who taught him in parochial school and that it had to do with reaching out to people in need: ‘the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the sick, and yes, the imprisoned,’ referring to the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew’s Gospel.
“The mayor also pointed out that Jesus ‘did not give priority to piety. He didn’t make holiness the big thing. And he did not tell us to go around talking up God, either.’”
In just a few days, you are scheduled to address the Notre Dame community on the subject of academic freedom at Notre Dame, considering such scandals as the Queer Film Festival and annual presentations of “The Vagina Monologues” at Our Lady’s university. Despite no clear prohibition against faculty plagiarism in Notre Dame’s faculty handbook, the section titled “Academic Freedom and Associated Responsibilities” states, “Correlative obligations [of academic freedom] include… proper acknowledgment of contributions made by others to one’s work”. Plagiarism clearly violates this obligation, and perhaps you might address this concern as well during your address.
If a professor plagiarizes, what message does this send to students? Whereas Notre Dame’s faculty handbook says nothing directly about plagiarism, the students’ “Academic Code of Honor Handbook” is quite clear about the definition of plagiarism and the sanctions that can be imposed on student offenders. Students are instructed not to submit work “that has been copied, wholly or partially,” from another source without citation. “Written work that paraphrases any written or printed media material without acknowledgment” also may not be submitted. In cases where “the dishonesty involved a substantial portion of the work submitted,” it is considered a “major offense” requiring a grade of “F” in the course. A student is suspended or dismissed after repeated violations; I would suggest that the standard ought to be stricter for faculty members, who are charged not only with adhering to standards of academic honesty but also with modeling proper behavior to students. Indeed, the faculty handbook identifies “dishonesty” as a “serious cause” warranting dismissal.
The faculty handbook also requires faculty members to seek annual approval from the university for all “outside activities.” It would seem that Fr. McBrien’s syndicated columns long ago became an embarrassment to Notre Dame. Given the current matter, perhaps Fr. McBrien might be curtailed to his teaching activities if he is to remain tenured at Notre Dame.
I am certain that an investigation by Notre Dame into possible plagiarism by Fr. McBrien will be handled seriously and come to an appropriate conclusion. Thank you for addressing this matter. May God bless you and guide you.
Sincerely yours,
Patrick J. Reilly
President
Makes me wonder whether those awful Episopalians are also educating their college students in how to become homosexual.
I wonder what job this minor qualifies someone for (aside from working in the LGBTQ studies program at DePaul).
She ended up applying to Ave Maria University, and I'm sure we won't have to be worrying about stuff like V day, there.
Senator Brownback’s Commencement Remarks
President Shanley from Providence in RI is right on. Free speech does not allow for destructive speech. Presenting the V Monologues on a Catholic campus would be like promoting the wonders of high cholesterol at a med school. We all know that high cholesterol is bad and we all know that a same-sex attraction is maladaptive and unbalanced.
Good choice! 8-)
Our daughter had planned to only attend the school for a couple of years, then transfer to another school for the technical parts of the major she wants; multimedia. She liked the school, and the teachers she met, so much that she decided to do all four years there, then see about doing Masters work in Multimedia.
Of course that means we'll just HAVE to travel to FL to visit her sometimes, preferably THIS time of year. ;o)
So now it's down to bugging her to finish essays to get them to the school. Oh, joy.
Oooh. The Florida factor is tempting! My first daughter is 7 years away from college. But she's talking about being a nun, so I don't know if I want her on the beach in a bikini 8-)
Sick.
Sick and Evil.
Pope Benedict should order lighting stikes from above.
You want frieth with that?
Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, C.M., President,
55 E. Jackson Blvd.,
22nd Floor,
Chicago, IL., USA
60604; (312) 362-8890;
dholtsch@depaul.edu
To contact Chicago Cardinal Francis George:
Cardinal Francis George
Archdiocese of Chicago
155 E. Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-751-8230 Press 4
312-751-5307 – Fax
For Media Inquiries:
James Dwyer
Director, Office of Media Relations
Archdiocese of Chicago
155 E. Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-751-8233
312-751-5307 – Fax
E-mail: jdwyer@archchicago.org
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