Free Republic

The holy wars have not been canceled yet, despite what you may have heard on cable news. In New York City, the largest Catholic school in the Big Apple recently canceled the celebration of Columbus Day. That would be St. John's University , which you may have thought would be the one place where such traditions might be honored. That's not the case, however. At issue is the university's decision to "cancel" Columbus Day. Why? Because it doesn't pay sufficient homage to Native Americans Day, of course. So Columbus has been politicized out of existence at St. John's. (NY Post)St....

QUEENS, N.Y. -- The ROTC program at St. John's University here seems perfectly placed for an Army that's desperate for officers who are bilingual and comfortable in foreign lands. About 40 of the 120 students speak second languages, including Turkish, Korean, Mandarin, Hindi, Albanian, and Gujarati. "I had never even heard of Gujarati until I learned I had a cadet who spoke it," says Lt. Col. Timothy Walter, who heads the program. But instead of being hailed as a model for the Army's future, the St. John's Reserve Officer Training Corps program is a lonely outpost of diversity. In the...

Senator Rick Santorum Receives Medal for Distinguished Service to God and Country and Delivers Commencement Address at Christendom College Front Royal, Va. – “We need to summon the moral strength to create a civilization of peace and justice, and of course, of love,” said United States Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) to Christendom College’s graduating class of 2003. “This is where you come in. I believe of all the great gifts God has given to the young, the greatest of these are energy, idealism, and rebelliousness. I want to challenge each and every one of you to be a radical, to...

One decade after the U.S. Catholic bishops prohibited Catholic honors and honorary speaking platforms for public opponents of Catholic teaching at Catholic institutions, The Cardinal Newman Society has identified at least 20 Catholic colleges and universities that are hosting scandalous speakers and honorees at commencement ceremonies in 2014.That represents nearly 10 percent of America’s Catholic colleges and a sudden increase in the number of commencement scandals beyond the six reported by The Cardinal Newman Society last year.  The Society’s concerns peaked in 2006 with 24 Catholic colleges.While this year’s count may yet set a record—several colleges have not yet...

We're looking for your action on a number of urgent issues!  On the heels of a successful protest of "The Vagina Monologues" on Catholic campuses, your e-mails, letters and phone calls to Catholic colleges can have a tremendous impact.  As always, please be courteous and respectful in your correspondence. EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS * Catholic Youth and Homosexuality Conference * 'Monologues' Campaign a Success CATHOLIC CAMPUS NEWS * Archbishop Keleher Bans Pro-Abortion Speakers * Seton Hall Waffles on Homosexual Club, Student Sues * Notre Dame (IN) Rejects Gay-Straight Club * Georgetown Researchers Use Aborted Fetal Tissue * Women's Ordination Advocate at...

Another St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Feminists on thirty-four American Catholic Universities are planning a new St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, aimed at the Church’s traditional moral teaching, by organizing showings of the infamous lewd play, The V***** Monologues in the weeks surrounding St. Valentine’s Day. The choice of St. Valentine’s Day particularly offensive, since it is a feast day of the Church instituted to honor three martyrs who died to defend the Church. According to the Cardinal Newman Society’s website (www.cardinalnewmansociety.org), the play is a conglomeration of vulgarities, obscenities and explicit discussions of sexuality and sexual encounters including lesbian activity and...

Queer eye screens straight campus Gay group hosts its first fest at ND Notre Dame. Queer Film Festival. David Pais thought he'd never see the day. "I was at Notre Dame in the Dark Ages," Pais, a 1972 graduate of the university, recalled with a laugh. "I wasn't even out. The idea of having a festival on campus that would help students understand their sexual orientation ... would have been incredibly enlightening. "But the campus has made some significant changes since I was there," adds Pais, now of Brooklyn, N.Y. He's co-chairman of the Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association of...

Donald Trump is making New York a swing state. A confrontation over a Trump sticker erupted on the Queens campus of St. John’s University Wednesday when a student threatened to smash a classmate's computer over her allegiance to the Donald. The anti-Trump student posted a photo to Twitter of a woman with a “Trump Make America Great Again” sticker on her laptop and asked his followers to share the image.

NEW YORK -- A St. John's University freshman was arrested on the Queens campus with a rifle and President Bush, police said Wednesday. Police sources said the suspect, Omesh Hiraman, 22, told police that he was acting alone and walked across campus with the gun. Hiraman did not give any reason why, police said. St. John's University was locked down and classes were cancelled as a result. A campus security officer, a student and an NYPD cadet taking courses at Queens’s campus tackled Hiraman. Police said the NYPD cadet, Christopher Benson, was sitting on a bench on campus when he...

NEW YORK -- One person carrying a rifle in a bag was arrested on the St. John's Queens campus Wednesday afternoon, police said. The man appeared to be wearing a President Bush mask, according to preliminary information from law enforcement officials. Authorities asked students and faculty across the campus to stay indoors. There was a large police presence on the campus. Areas near the site of the man's apprehension have been locked down. Police said they were possibly looking for more suspects. The St. John's University Web site issued this advisory: "A male with a rifle in a bag was...

St. John’s University's so-called “Dean of Mean,” Cecilia Chang, was found dead of an apparent suicide inside her Queens home this morning, a day after melting down on the witness stand. Chang was on trial for allegedly embezzling $1 million from St. John's and using foreign students as her personal, indentured servants. Chang hung herself and cops found her body at 7:38 a.m. inside the disgraced administrator's Jamaica Estates home, according to federal and local law enforcement sources.

A confrontation over a Trump sticker erupted on the Queens campus of St. John’s University Wednesday when a student threatened to smash a classmate's computer over her allegiance to the Donald. The anti-Trump student posted a photo to Twitter of a woman with a “Trump Make America Great Again” sticker on her laptop and asked his followers to share the image. “7000 retweets and i'll smash this b---h’s computer,” the student wrote in the post. The Trump supporter in the picture complained to the school’s public safety office, according to another student. A short time later the two ran into...

LeRoy Ellis, 72, a first-round draft pick of the Lakers in 1962 who was the backup center to Wilt Chamberlin on the 1971-72 NBA championship team, died Saturday in Portland, Ore., after battling cancer.

Disgraced St. John’s University dean, Cecilia Chang, who was charged earlier this month with embezzling over $1 million in donations from the college, was nabbed again today by the FBI and accused using scholarship students as domestic servants. Chang, 57, allegedly forced students to do her laundry, clean her house, cook and chauffeur her son around. “Chang threatened the students and placed them in fear that if they refused to perform these personal services they would lose their scholarships and be unable to attend St. John’s,” FBI Special Agent Kenneth Hosey wrote in the arrest warrant.

Note: Photo included. Contrite St. John's Univ. student behind alleged massacre threats on Facebook says booze to blame BY KERRY BURKE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Thursday, September 17th 2009, 3:34 PM PHOTO CAPTION: "Radames Santiago Jr., 18, a student from St John's, who was arrested for making threats on his Facebook page." SNIPPET: "A St. John's University freshman who posted messages on Facebook threatening to launch a "Virginia Tech attack" at the Queens campus told the Daily News that he was just drunk and never would have caused anyone harm." SNIPPET: "Santiago, who lives in Washington Heights with his mom...