Dissenting Catholic Politicians & Catholic Universities

One of the issues facing pro-choice Catholic politicians (the Democrats, at any rate) is whether their stance on abortion will mean that they will no longer be permitted to speak at Catholic institutions, like universities. Conservative Catholics would like to see exactly that happen.

Carol Zimmermann writes for Catholic News Service:

Scrutiny of who should and should not speak on Catholic college campuses comes in part from the U.S. Catholic bishops' "Catholics in Political Life" statement released June 18. The statement does not point a finger specifically at Catholic colleges but includes them in its overall wording, noting that "the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, an organization that promotes Catholic identity at Catholic colleges, said he was "thrilled" with the bishops' statement because he saw it as "a formal endorsement" of the long-held position of his organization, primarily that those who have publicly supported laws favoring abortion should neither be honored nor given platforms to speak at Catholic colleges.

Georgetown University in Washington, a frequent stop for presidents and political pundits -- Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry gave a major economic policy address at the school April 7 -- was not responding one way or the other to the bishops' recent statement. University spokeswoman Julie Green Bataille told CNS the university needed to "reflect on the statement and look at the full report in the fall."

There are a number of Catholic universities, like Georgetown, that are prominent social institutions in their own right and people come to speak a them for reasons that have nothing to do with whether they are Catholic or not. A policy that limits speakers to those who adhere to a strict interpretation of Vatican policies would, in effect, be the same as hanging a “No non-Catholics permitted” sign outside the gates, as far as speakers are concerned. Will the institutions really benefit from limiting possible speakers in this way?

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