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Thanks for posting this, Diago.

Though I "gave up" FR during Lent, I just received a small but encouraging bit of news regarding the VM play at Catholic universities, and wanted to share it.

I posted a related thread before Lent, Press Release: An Open Letter to the President of the College of the Holy Cross.

This effort at publicizing the problems with this play lead to Gonzaga University cancelling the play. It was scheduled for February 28:

Dateline: 02/25/2002


GONZAGA UNIVERSITY NEWS RELEASE

Dale Goodwin, Director
Peter Tormey, Associate Director

WOMEN’S STUDIES CLUB TO PRESENT ‘VAGINA MONOLOGUES’ FEB. 28, MARCH 1-2
The Women’s Studies Club of Gonzaga University will present “The Vagina Monologues,” a dramatic production that is part of V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, at 7 p.m., Feb. 28, March 1 and March 2 at the WestCoast River Inn.

*****

We just got a call at the Catholic Family Association of America from Gonzaga, a Jesuit Catholic university out west. The president had just prohibited the VM scheduled by it's WOMEN'S STUDIES CLUB for FEB. 28, MARCH 1-2. They had seen our open letter to Fr. McFarland. His assistant, a good priest, was looking for ammo to defend his decision in a televised public forum on freedom of speech this evening. It was of great interest to him that Holy Cross alumni were outraged. We forwarded just about everything we had.

It's great to hit a homer, even a small one.

As a proud alumnus of Gonzaga ('76), I am not surprised that the leaders of this institution turned them down. Last year, they turned down a request by the NOW gang to use campus facilities for a speech. The NOW supporters were apoplectic over this rejection, and cried foul due to First Amendment considerations. Fr. Bob Spitzer, President of Gonzaga, politely knocked that objection out of the ballpark, citing the precedence of Catholic doctrine and the sanctity of life over secular concerns.

Over the past few months, they have welcomed Rev. Jesse Peterson to speak on campus, and I'm sure it was well attended.

It's been a pleasure for me to see the basketball team catch up to the excellence of this great school. GO BULLDOGS!

BTW, when I attended GU, I was not Catholic. However, I am convinced that Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, patron saint of youth, played a major role in my conversion 4 years ago. It was with great joy that I attended my first Mass at Gonzaga as a practicing Catholic last June.

At that time, my wife and I were unaware that she was pregnant with our fourth child (we lost one to a miscarriage several years ago). Nathan Michael (Gonzaga class of 2024) was born last Friday, a healthy 7 pounds, 11 ounces.