Catholic Higher Education Alert

CATHOLIC CAMPUS NEWS
* Fordham to Host Homosexual Lawyers Conference
* Loyola-Chicago, Regis College Host Dissidents
* Detroit Mercy to Host Dissident Nuns
* Seton Hall Law Students Greeted by Janet Reno
* Clarke College Honors Pro-Abortion Columnist
* Holy Cross (MA) President Defends Pro-Choice Position
* St. Bonaventure President Resigns, Chairman Commits Suicide
* John Carroll Prof Testifies That Embryo is Not a Person
* St. Catherine Professor Touts Atheism
* Loyola Marymount Prof Arrested for Child Pornography
* Georgetown Sex Columnist Featured in Chicago Tribune
* Ave Maria Theology Student Wins State Aid
* Boston College Freshmen Choose Hypnotist Over Mass
* Marist College Falsely Identified as Catholic

DOCUMENTATION
* Pope Reminds Catholic Universities of Their Roots
* New Scranton Bishop Seeks Faithful Colleges
* Priests Echo Concerns About Commencement Speakers
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[Catholic Campus News]
FORDHAM TO HOST HOMOSEXUAL LAWYERS CONFERENCE

On October 17-19, Fordham University School of Law (NY) will host
"Lavender Law" (www.lavenderlaw.org), a national conference of the
National Lesbian and Gay Law Association and the National Lesbian and Gay
Law Foundation including discussion of anti-sodomy laws, homosexual rights
in academia, forming homosexual law student organizations, homosexual
parenting, and several sessions on same-sex marriage. Fordham is
identified as a co-sponsor of the event.

Speakers include Fordham law school assistant dean Tom Schoenherr, Fordham
law professor Sonia Katyal, and Seton Hall University (NJ) law professor
Michelle Adams.

ACTION: Please urge Fordham University's president, Rev. Joseph McShane,
S.J. (jmcshane@fordham.edu), and law school dean, William Treanor
(wtreanor@law.fordham.edu), to cancel and withhold support for this event,
which is inappropriate at a Catholic university.
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
LOYOLA-CHICAGO, REGIS COLLEGE HOST DISSIDENTS

Loyola University of Chicago (IL) has announced a university-wide
initiative to reflect on the "future of our Church," featuring nine
"distinguished" speakers scheduled for the 2003-2004 academic year. These
include troublemakers like Rev. Andrew Greeley, a fiction writer and
sociology professor at the University of Chicago, whose dislike for the
Vatican is well-known; Peter Steinfels, the prominent liberal and religion
writer for the New York Times; David O'Brien, professor of Roman Catholic
Studies at the College of the Holy Cross (MA) and a prominent opponent of
Ex Corde Ecclesiae; Michelle Gonzalez, assistant professor of theology at
Loyola Marymount University (CA) and specialist in "Third World and
feminist theologies;" and Claire Noonan, a chaplain at Loyola University
of Chicago and former program director of Call to Action.

Refreshingly, Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, editor of First Things journal
and president of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, will also
speak.

Regis College (MA) also has invited Catholic dissidents for a conference
on "Women, Church, Society: Challenges and Possibilities" on October
19-20. Speakers include Peter Steinfels and his wife Margaret O'Brien
Steinfels, former editor of Commonweal magazine; Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB,
a leading advocate for women's ordination; and Rev. Donald Cozzens, a
visiting associate professor of religion at John Carroll University and
advocate of married and women priests, birth control and repeal of the
mandatum for theologians.

ACTION: Please urge Rev. Michael Garanzini, S.J. (mgaranz@luc.edu),
president of Loyola University of Chicago, and Dr. Mary Jane England
(england@regiscollege.edu), president of Regis College, to cancel speeches
by outspoken dissidents and to instead invite faithful Catholic speakers.
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
DETROIT MERCY TO HOST DISSIDENT NUNS

A national association of nuns that dissents from Church teaching and
authority will hold a conference at the University of Detroit Mercy (MI)
on September 13. The conference, titled "Women of Conscience: What Does
Healthy Dissent in the Church Look Like?", is sponsored by the National
Coalition of American Nuns and promoted by Call to Action. Speakers
include former Mercy College president Agnes Mansour.

The National Coalition of American Nuns is a radical organization that
rejects the Church's teaching on the male priesthood. In response to the
Vatican's order silencing homosexual-rights activist Sr. Jeannine Gramick
in 1999, the Coalition called on Pope John Paul II to instead silence
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith. In the same letter to the Pope, the nuns applauded Gramick for
ignoring the Vatican's order and encouraged theology professors at
Catholic colleges to reject the mandatum. The Coalition has also endorsed
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), a proposed international treaty that would require
governments to promote access to "family planning," generally understood
to include abortion as well as contraceptives.

ACTION: Please urge Sr. Maureen Fay, O.P., president of the University of
Detroit Mercy, to cancel this event sponsored by a dissident organization.
E-mail: fayma@udmercy.edu.
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
SETON HALL LAW STUDENTS GREETED BY JANET RENO

Seton Hall University School of Law (NJ) hired former U.S. attorney
general Janet Reno, an outspoken pro-abortion advocate, to greet new
student arriving to the school in August. Law school officials said
new-student orientation is an opportunity to set the tone for the school
year
(www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1061529335170220.xml).

"It's the moment you establish the ethos of what you want your institution
to be," said associate dean Kathleen Boozang to the Newark Star-Ledger.

After Reno's pep talk to students, law school dean Patrick Hobbs
encouraged students to send Reno notes from time to time to update her on
their progress.

"She's a part of us now," Hobbs said. "She was here on your first day of
law school."

All five of New Jersey's bishops are on Seton Hall's Board of Regents,
which is owned by the Archdiocese of Newark.

____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
CLARKE COLLEGE HONORS PRO-ABORTION COLUMNIST

On September 4, Clarke College (IA) awarded the 2003 Nancy Dickerson
Whitehead Medallion of Excellence in the Field of Mass Communication to
TIME magazine columnist and CNN commentator Margaret Carlson. Carlson,
who is an outspoken advocate of abortion rights, also spoke at the
college's convocation ceremony.
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
HOLY CROSS (MA) PRESIDENT DEFENDS PRO-CHOICE POSITION

Rev. Michael McFarland, S.J., president of the College of the Holy Cross
(MA), has once again publicly defended advocates of abortion rights, this
time in a July letter to college donors.

Last spring, McFarland came under fire for inviting political commentator
Chris Matthews to speak at the Holy Cross commencement ceremony, despite
Matthews' public arguments supporting legal abortion. Although Matthews
says he considers abortion to be morally wrong and supports some
restrictions on abortion, he has opposed efforts to make abortion
illegal-contradicting the clear position of the Church.

Following requests from Cardinal Newman Society and Holy Cross alumni,
including former college chairman Charles Millard, Bishop Daniel Reilly of
Worcester refused to attend the commencement ceremony because of Matthews'
prominent role. But McFarland defended Matthews in statements to the
local press, claiming that the "Hardball" host's views were "allowable in
Catholic thought."

In his July letter to donors, McFarland again suggested that Matthews'
views do not conflict with Catholic teaching.

"Where he differs from those who would take more of a hard-line approach
to the politics of abortion is not over the Church's fundamental moral
teaching, which he accepts, but on how best to translate that teaching
into political action," McFarland wrote. "That is an area where there can
be legitimate differences."

To the contrary, the Vatican in its pronouncements on legal abortion has
clearly explained: "No Catholic can appeal to the principle of pluralism
or to the autonomy of lay involvement in political life to support
policies affecting the common good which compromise of undermine
fundamental ethical requirements."
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
ST. BONAVENTURE PRESIDENT RESIGNS, CHAIRMAN COMMITS SUICIDE

Fallout from a highly public scandal involving the basketball team at St.
Bonaventure University (NY) has been blamed for the August suicide of
university chairman William Swan and forced the resignation of president
Robert Wickenheiser. The university's athletics director and assistant
basketball coach also have resigned, and the head basketball coach has
been dismissed.

The coaches and Wickenheiser were implicated in a violation of NCAA
regulations by helping an ineligible star player transfer to St.
Bonaventure and play through most of last season. Swan, who was
despondent over the situation, was credited with proactively addressing
the problem and demanding Wickenheiser's resignation.

"We will not sacrifice our values for anything-not even athletic glory,"
Swan told students and fans.
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
JOHN CARROLL PROF TESTIFIES THAT EMBRYO IS NOT A PERSON

Paul Lauritzen, a Religious Studies professor and director of the Program
in Applied Ethics at John Carroll University (OH), testified in a report
prepared for the July meeting of the U.S. President's Council on Bioethics
that the human embryo is not a person.

"I do not think the early embryo is a person, and I believe that both
embryonic and adult stem cell research should go forward under a system of
strict regulation," Lauritzen wrote in a paper titled "The Ethics of Stem
Cell Research," found online at
www.bioethics.gov/background/lauritzen_paper.html.

The paper argues against the Catholic Church's insistence that laws
concerning stem cell research be rooted in respect for the human embryo as
"a human subject with a well-defined identity." Lauritzen argues that the
embryo's status with individual rights is problematic and less important
than societal concerns about the impact of embryonic stem cell research.
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
ST. CATHERINE PROFESSOR TOUTS ATHEISM

Dale McGowan, an avowed atheist, is making waves at the College of St.
Catherine (MN), where he is employed as an associate professor of music.

In a Minneapolis Star-Tribune article (search for "Dale McGowan" in
www.startribune.com archives), McGowan boasts of his controversial 12-year
employment at the Catholic college, including atheistic quotes pinned to
his office door.

"Finally I had offended a theologian," McGowan says of one incident. "I
was very delighted."

In April, college president Sr. Andrea Lee prevented McGowan's campus
group, The Secular Community, from hosting speakers from the Freedom From
Religion Foundation because the event conflicted with Catholic teachings.
But even though the group is not sponsored by the college, McGowan
organizes on-campus meetings to promote his views.

"It's going to take us a little time for us to figure out what kind of
relationship [Lee] and I have," McGowan told the Star-Tribune. "We're
meeting to continue to work out questions."
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT PROF ARRESTED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Bro. Anthony Smulders, CFMM, a member of the Brothers of Our Lady, Mother
of Mercy, and a tenured biology professor at Loyola Marymount University
(CA), was arrested on July 24 on charges of possessing and copying child
pornography. The university discovered images-which police describe as
"very graphic with very young children"-on Smulder's office computer and
reported the problem to police.

Prior to his suspension arising from the arrest, Smulders taught at Loyola
Marymount since 1970 and was faculty advisor to the university's Alpha
Delta Gamma fraternity.
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
GEORGETOWN SEX COLUMNIST FEATURED IN CHICAGO TRIBUNE

It's embarrassing enough for the nation's oldest Catholic university to
run an explicit column about sexual activity and relationships in its
campus newspaper. But now Georgetown University (DC) student Julia
Baugher, author of "Sex on the Hilltop" for the campus newspaper The Hoya,
has been featured in an August 17 article in the Chicago Tribune
(http://www.chicagotribune.com).

In her column, Baugher often recommends sexual activity to her peers.
Writing about having sex with an ex-boyfriend, she advises: "If you want
to make sure he really is that bad in bed, well, that's your call."
Regarding high school sweethearts: "[D]on't spend your time hanging on to
what's back home. You'll miss out on the fun of your new place, only to
break up by February anyway." On holding off on sex beyond the first
weekend back to school: "Believe me, there will be plenty of other nights
in which you and that hot junior can make out on the bottom bunk."

Commenting on the column's lack of a moral compass, Media Research Center
president and Cardinal Newman Society board member Brent Bozell laments:
"Even in Catholic corners of the culture, the notion of God sometimes
seems to have disappeared." (See
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/brentbozell/bb20030827.shtml.)
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
AVE MARIA THEOLOGY STUDENT WINS STATE AID

Teresa Becker, a student at Ave Maria College (MI), has won a preliminary
ruling requiring Michigan state officials to restore financial aid that
was revoked last year when she declared theology as her major course of
study.

"Students enrolled in a course of study leading to a degree in theology,
divinity or religious education are not eligible to receive an award," the
state told Becker. She lost a $2,750 award toward her tuition.

The Thomas More Law Center represented Becker in court, and on July 21 a
federal district judge issued a preliminary ruling in her favor. Her case
is not likely to continue much further, however, because the U.S. Supreme
Court will hear a similar case in December concerning student aid in the
State of Washington. The outcome of that case is likely to determine
Michigan's policy.
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
BOSTON COLLEGE FRESHMAN CHOOSE HYPNOTIST OVER MASS

A Boston College (MA) campus newspaper reports that only 25 incoming
freshmen attended the welcoming Sunday Mass in August, while most opted
instead for a presentation by vulgar hypnotist Frank Santos.

Rob Tasman, identified by The Heights newspaper (www.bcheights.com) as a
graduate student and "peer minister," said he's not concerned and expected
even fewer students at Mass.

"To be honest, it may even be better for freshmen to go to the hypnotist,"
Tasman said. "I think it helps them form the community that B.C. will
eventually be for them, and that's what we're trying here to do."

Despite the poor showing for the welcome Mass, Tasman and other defenders
of the college report that attendance at weekly Mass has increased in
recent years.
____________________________

[Catholic Campus News]
MARIST COLLEGE FALSELY IDENTIFIED AS CATHOLIC

The national Catholic college association and a Catholic college
admissions program aimed at high school seniors continue to list Marist
College (NY) on their websites despite reminders from Cardinal Newman
Society that Marist is not Catholic.

In May, Cardinal Edward Egan of New York declared Marist "no longer
Catholic" with the full agreement of Marist College officials. Cardinal
Newman Society has since contacted numerous organizations and college
directory publishers, urging them to correctly identify Marist's status so
as not to mislead students seeking truly Catholic colleges.

Nevertheless, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
(www.accunet.org) and the National Catholic College Admission Association
(www.catholiccollegesonline.org) continue to include Marist in their lists
of Catholic colleges. The latter site offers prospective college students
a full profile of Marist and provides contact information for its
admissions office.
____________________________

[Documentation]
POPE REMINDS CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES OF THEIR ROOTS

In a July address to an international symposium on the "University and
Church in Europe," Pope John Paul II reminded educators that humanism and
university education arose "as a most happy synthesis between theological
and philosophical learning and the rest of the sciences."

The rapidly secularizing Europe "cannot project itself without drinking
from its own sources," the Holy Father said. "The same can be said about
the university."

A college or university's Catholic identity is expressed in "professors
and students who know how to join competence and scientific rigor with an
intense spiritual life, to animate the university environment with an
evangelical spirit."

Cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the German bishops' conference, added
that "community and university centers must promote the spiritual
well-being of those who belong to the university, students and teachers,
and offer them help in the broad sense."
____________________________

[Documentation]
NEW SCRANTON BISHOP SEEKS FAITHFUL COLLEGES

Immediately following his appointment as the new Bishop of Scranton,
Pennsylvania, Bishop Joseph Martino expressed his desire that the
diocese's Catholic colleges be faithful to Church teaching.

"Students at each of the schools here have a right to a Catholic
education," Martino said. "They are not operated by the diocese, but
there can be no independence from the Gospel of Christ. It's all part and
parcel."

Martino is one of 10 bishops who serve on Cardinal Newman Society's
ecclesiastical advisory board. Bishop John Dougherty, also an advisor,
will continue to serve as Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton.
____________________________

[Documentation]
PRIESTS ECHO CONCERNS ABOUT COMMENCEMENT SPEAKERS

At their annual meeting in Chicago in July, the Confraternity of Catholic
Clergy commented on problems in the Church related to the priest-sex abuse
scandals, expressing its objection to "the appointment of pro-abortion
politicians on the National Review Board and as commencement speakers at
Catholic colleges."

The public statement by the national organization of Catholic priests
echoes Cardinal Newman Society's ongoing campaign against inappropriate
commencement speakers and honorees at Catholic colleges.

[Announcement]
REGISTER NOW FOR NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POPE JOHN PAUL II

Three of America's foremost Catholic thinkers will headline Cardinal
Newman Society's 10th Anniversary National Conference titled "Professor,
Philosopher, Pope: The Legacy of Pope John Paul II" on November 7-8 in
Washington, D.C. The conference marks the 25th anniversary of the
pontificate of Pope John Paul II.

More information and a registration form are at
www.cardinalnewmansociety.org.

Catholic college leaders, faculty, staff, campus ministers, students and
alumni are encouraged to attend. Others interested in Catholic education
are also welcome, including high school and homeschool students and their
parents.

According to an exciting new conference format, participants will debate
and discuss the Holy Father's important legacy for Catholic colleges in
roundtable discussions following Q&A with leading Catholic scholars. Each
topic will begin with insightful talks by philosopher Ralph McInerny of
the University of Notre Dame, who will speak on the Pope's efforts to
reunite faith and reason; theologian Michael Novak of the American
Enterprise Institute, on the Pope's efforts to restore seriousness to
Catholic theology; and professor Rev. James V. Schall, S.J., of Georgetown
University, on the impact of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the Vatican guidelines
for Catholic colleges.

The conference will end on Saturday evening with a special dinner banquet,
at which Cardinal Newman Society will present the John Henry Newman Award
for distinguished service to Catholic higher education to Father Schall.
Schall has served with great distinction as a Catholic college professor
for more than 30 years, forcefully advocating liberal arts education in
the Catholic tradition. His 25 books include Another Sort of Learning:
How to Acquire Education While Still in College or Anywhere Else (1988),
Church, State and Society in the Thought of John Paul II (1982) and On the
Unseriousness of Human Affairs (2001).

Cardinal Newman Society also will present its Ex Corde Ecclesiae Awards
for significant contributions to the renewal of Catholic higher education.
Recipients will be announced soon.

The banquet promises to be an enjoyable celebration of Cardinal Newman
Society's 10th anniversary. H.W. Crocker III, the brilliant and witty
author of the best-seller Triumph: The Power & the Glory of the Catholic
Church, will present an insightful discourse on "What Every Catholic
College Graduate Should Know About the Church." Eric Genuis, accomplished
classical pianist and composer, will entertain accompanied by violinist
William Merimee.

To secure a place at the conference or awards banquet, register as soon as
possible by completing the form at www.cardinalnewmansociety.org or
calling (703) 367-0333.
____________________________

[Announcement]
PACWA TO KEYNOTE STUDENT CONFERENCE ON THE EUCHARIST

On Sunday, November 9, students at Catholic colleges-students at other
colleges and high school seniors are also welcome-will gather in
Washington, D.C., for the second annual conference of the Association of
Students at Catholic Colleges (ASCC). The conference immediately follows
Cardinal Newman Society's national conference and awards banquet (see
above).

Beginning with a Mass and keynote address by EWTN host and biblical
scholar Rev. Mitch Pacwa, S.J., participants will discuss the relevance to
student life of Pope John Paul II's new encyclical, Ecclesia de
Eucharistia, and ways to promote Eucharistic Adoration on campus.

To register, complete the form at www.cardinalnewmansociety.org or call
(703) 369-0444. Further information and a registration form are also
available at the ASCC website, www.catholiccollegestudents.org.
____________________________

[Announcement]
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER SERIES LOOKS AT MANDATUM

If you're not following the excellent series about the mandatum for
theologians in the National Catholic Register, you're missing a lot.
Reporter Tim Drake has examined the failure of most Catholic colleges to
require the mandatum as a condition of hiring for theology professors,
consistent with Canon 812 of the Code of Canon Law. Articles have focused
on Georgetown University (DC), the University of Notre Dame (IN) and
Loyola University of Chicago (IL). The most recent article in the August
17 issue highlighted Benedictine College (KS), where the theology faculty
eagerly requested the mandatum from Archbishop James Patrick Keleher. All
five parts in the series are available in the archive at
www.ncregister.com, but we recommend subscribing to the Register for
excellent coverage of Catholic higher education.
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