Last week, The Cardinal Newman Society reported that Scranton University is hosting a former Congresswoman and advocate of abortion rights on campus to help train women to run for public office. On Tuesday, The Cardinal Newman Society sent the report to more than 90,000 online members.
Today, the Diocese of Scranton issued a statement saying Bishop Joseph Bambera specifically requested the Jesuit university to withdraw the invitation but they’ve refused.
Bishop Bambera called the college’s decision “dismaying” and “personally disheartening.” He said:
“The gravity of this issue speaks to the heart and substance of who we are as Christians. Because of the incarnation of Christ, every human life has value and worth. As Christians, we must be committed to defending human life at every age and every stage from conception to natural death.”
“Although a forum such as this, designed to support and encourage women to engage in public service, is by its nature good and noble, for a Catholic institution in the Diocese of Scranton to invite a pro-abortion advocate to speak at a University sponsored event is dismaying and personally disheartening to me. And to do so within days of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., is particularly demoralizing.”
According to the diocesan statment, University officials said that their invitation to Ms. Margolies was not an endorsement of her personal views. But the diocese said that the inclusion of Ms. Margolies in a University sponsored program has created “concern and confusion” among members of the Christian faithful.
The diocese said that the University’s charge as a Catholic institution of higher learning has been “compromised.”
The keynote lecturer for The Ready to Run Campaign Training for Women program on January 28,2012, Marjorie Margolies, served in Congress from 1993 to 1995 and later, acted as director of a PAC committed to electing pro-abortion rights women.
Here is the diocesan statement in its entirety:
The University of Scranton is part of a national network of institutions offering the Ready to Run Program, which is a bi-partisan program sponsored by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The Program at the University of Scranton is being hosted by its Department of Political Science and is scheduled for January 28, 2012.
The keynote speaker for the University of Scranton Program is Marjorie Margolies, who is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. During her two years in office (1993-1995), Ms. Margolies focused on issues affecting women, from abortion to health care. She co-sponsored the Abortion Clinic Access Bill, which sought to make it a federal crime to impede access to abortion clinics; voted in support of an Abortion Counseling Bill, which would have required federal recipients of funds for family planning to provide patients with information about obtaining an abortion; and opposed the “Hyde Amendment”, which prohibited federal funding of abortions.
After leaving Congress, Ms. Margolies served as executive director of the Women’s Campaign Fund, a group dedicated to increasing the number of women in office who support reproductive choices and options from all parties and at all levels of government.
Recognizing that the University of Scranton planned to host a keynote speaker who clearly supports a pro-abortion agenda, the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, engaged in a dialogue with the University. The Bishop specifically requested that the invitation extended be withdrawn; however, his request was denied.
In response to the University of Scranton’s decision to refuse his personal request, Bishop Bambera expressed his disappointment and concern by offering the following:
“The gravity of this issue speaks to the heart and substance of who we are as Christians. Because of the incarnation of Christ, every human life has value and worth. As Christians, we must be committed to defending human life at every age and every stage from conception to natural death.”
“Although a forum such as this, designed to support and encourage women to engage in public service, is by its nature good and noble, for a Catholic institution in the Diocese of Scranton to invite a pro-abortion advocate to speak at a University sponsored event is dismaying and personally disheartening to me. And to do so within days of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., is particularly demoralizing.”
The University’s unwillingness to work with Bishop Bambera in an effort to reach an acceptable resolution to this unfortunate situation is an unsettling turn in the relationship that the Bishop has been pleased to maintain with University officials during his tenure as Bishop of Scranton. In Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the apostolic constitution issued by Blessed Pope John Paul II regarding Catholic colleges and universities, it is noted that: “Bishops have a particular responsibility to promote Catholic Universities, and especially to promote and assist in the preservation and strengthening of their Catholic identity. A Catholic University, as Catholic, informs and carries out its research, teaching and all other activities with Catholic ideals, principles and attitudes.” In attempting to achieve a resolution, University officials noted that their invitation to Ms. Margolies was not an endorsement of her personal views. Despite the University’s lack of endorsement of the personal views of the keynote speaker, as a Jesuit and Catholic university, the inclusion of Ms. Margolies in a University sponsored program has created concern and confusion among members of the Christian faithful. Thereby, in this instance, the University’s charge as a Catholic institution of higher learning to permeate “all university activities” with “Catholic teaching and discipline” has been compromised.
To this point, Bishop Bambera commented further, “The University of Scranton has left me with no other choice but to publicly express my disapproval of the invitation of this speaker and my concern regarding the University’s evolving relationship with me as Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton. Despite this unfortunate situation, I continue to be open to working with University officials to promote, preserve and strengthen the Catholic character of the University of Scranton.”
Adam Wilson
CNS Staff
Matthew Archbold
Charlotte Hays
53 Comments
Yet another JESUIT (notice a pattern to Jesuits) institution that calls itself Catholic, but its actions speak louder … they want to call themselves Catholic, but do not want to be Catholic. Time to get rid of he Jesuits!~ bpp
Paul, you seem to a specific grudge against the Jesuits. There are many bad priests and bishops caught in the child sex scandal. Does it mean that you should shout get rid of the Catholic Church?
Another liberal response trying to obscure the facts. Bishops and priests that were involved in the sex scandal were and are sinful. Jesuits who abandon the teachings of the Church the swore to uphold are sinful. It is not a grudge against the Jesuits it is a painful fact that the once courageous defenders of the Catholic faith have strayed so far from the truth and insist on pushing their error at Catholic institutions of higher education. That is not a grudge. Preaching and spreading error is a sin and they need to remember their vows of Ordination.
Francis, if the Catholic Church openly and without regret encourage molesting children, YES! The church should be gone. The church does not encourage such activity, but suffers from it. Not a real comparison. Look into the Jesuits and you too will clearly see their disdain for having to “serve” the Catholic Church. Shameful.
Because of my job I attended many Knights of Columbus council meetings. One was in a parish staffed by Jesuit priests from the University literally across the street.
The pastor and council chaplain in a talk pointed out that a KofC counsel in a Jesuit parish was unusual. The “Knights are loyal to the Church. We Jesuit’s are working for our third excommunication.
Francis: You are obviously a Catholic hater. Your comment is ignorant. Statistically, abuse by priests is less than 1% yet the media loves to overblow it. While it should be zero, it is the lowest of all religions.
Whether you know it or not, if you consider yourselves a Catholic, Catholics are supposed to OBEY our Priests and Bishops
Maybe you have forgotten. Please, now that you have been reminded, please reconsider. Murder is Murder.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Catholic bishops and advocates for religious freedom hailed the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in the Hosanna Tabor case.
The ruling reaffirmed the right of religious communities to choose their own clergy without government interference and was a major victory. The fact that all the liberal justices went along with the decision is almost miraculous.
The Jesuits who disobey the Catholic Doctrine and Faith should be fired.
Correct Francis. Many Jesuits have changed the last few decades. It appears they follow a different gospel with little regard to a higher authority. It seems like they are equal to protestants in their disdain for the Catholic Church. I would like to see their schools be called Jesuit schools, not Catholic schools.
How can they say that by inviting her they are not endorsing her views. How can you separate one and the other? She is a pro abortion woman,it’s part of the package… Just like when barack obama was invited to speak at Notre Dame. The unborn are the most vulnerable, and yet, some Catholics are willing to trade the lives of the unborn to have concessions for the illegasl, as shown at Notre Dame.
Well said!!
Sorry! That should read “…when what they’re preaching or teaching something morally wrong.”
Okay! I’ll try this again “…when what they’re preaching or teaching is something morally wrong.”
Over the years I’ve had two children graduate from Scranton. I’ve heard from one, my daughter, a sad story of a lay professor asking direct questions to his class whether they experienced great orgasm over the weekend. I explained to her that you will experience that kind of person during your life time even though it was difficult to accept from a Catholic University. That I can try to understand. But for the University officials to disobey the Bishop of their diocese is another matter. What a terrible example of blatant disobedience to set for their student body as well as those Catholics both in the diocese and throughout the country. Even if you judge yourselves to be right, you are wrong since you are disobeying the Church’s ordained authority. The operative word is “scandal” which destroys the unity we as Catholics are trying to achieve per Jesus’s request. The University should yield to the bishop’s request and avoid the disunity and the resultant scadal.
What? The question from the professor is completely out of line from any professor anywhere and anytime, even outside of class. Not only is this a tacit suggestion to engage in sex, it is completely unethical, not only prying into the private lives of his class but also in a public forum. The prof should have been immediately called on the carpet and disciplined if not dismissed.
In fact, to ask such a question could even be considered sexual harassment. This is a person in authority horribly violating the privacy and dignity of those who are in a subordinate position. There is certainly grounds for filing a complaint. Just my opinion.
Mr. Hugelmeyer, thank you for sharing your heart broken sad story. I am heart broken too. In work environment, a supervisor would be in the violation of sexual harrassment or hostile working environment for making such sexual comment or question. I think we should write a petition to the Superior General of Society of Jesus, Rev. Adolfo Nicholas and a letter to our Pope Benedict XVI. Blatant disobedience to the Church is a sign of demon.
I’m sure this wasn’t the first crude thing out of his mouth. I would hope that college level students would of gotten together and reported that. ANd demand that it stops. A percentage of professors these days seem to be only interested in publishing or pushing theiri on their own screwed up agenda. And we are paying big money for them to do so. Pretty Sad!
Seattle University is Jesuit run, and has on its philosophy faculty Daniel Dombrowski and Robert Deltete who authored “A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion.”
The book’s title is an oxymoron of course, but it is true to its title in that it attempts to defend abortion from a Catholic philosophical perspective. It fails utterly in doing that but it does bring into question just what the Jesuits stand for(or stand up for).
I believe they were once the defenders of the faith.
Where is the “defense’ of abortion ! Science has prooven that LIFE begins at conception ! WHere is amyones right to take a totally innocent and defenseless human being and kill it ! This University should loose its acreditcation as a Catholic School and the people that teach and openly support abortion should be excommunicated
It seems to me that every time a college or university disobeys a Bishop’s request, especially when the request has to do with Church teaching, the college or university should be fined for not abiding by the Bishop’s request. Perhaps, if they are penalized, they will think twice about having speakers who go against the Church’s teaching. These institutions are known as Catholic; therefore, they should only teach Catholic Doctrine. It’s a major issue when faculty members go against the tide, and insist on having speakers who teach on matters which are contrary to the Gospel. People who want to send their kids to a Catholic Institution of higher learning, will think twice before sending their child to one of these schools, because they expect their children to remain solid in the Faith. Through CNS, I’ve learned that colleges and universities, who identify themselves as Catholic, aren’t always teaching and defending Catholic Doctrine. This is very sad, and something needs to be done immediately!
These defiant acts of teaching by these so called Catholics colleges, goes on and on. If they do not teach our Catholic Dogma and standing,they should not be allowed to be called Catholc because they are not.They should be called to task by our higher authority, which to date has done next to nothing Also our so called political leaders who call themselves Catholic, continue to be Anti Catholic in many of their public remarks should likewise be punished.
One of the problems the bishops and the faithful face is that in many of these colleges and universities the faculties are no longer largely Catholic. At the University of Notre Dame the faculty has slipped to barely 50% even nominally Catholic and the university has stopped publishing long-available data in that regard. See http://projectsycamore.com/bulletins/120112.php for an analysis of that decision by the alumni watchdog group Sycamore Trust. Unfortunately, Notre Dame’s faculty actually retains more of a Catholic character than many of our “Catholic” institutions of higher learning. Our Catholic institutions are rapidly following the lead of the Ivy League schools, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, etc — all of which began under the auspicies of one religious denomination or another. The research of the dedicated Catholic Notre Dame alumni researchers for Sycamore has found that the key component in the disintegration of the religious identity of these universities and colleges has been the loss of a faculty predominantly, but not exclusively, composed of the founding denomination’s adherents.
There is clearly a spiritual battle going on at Notre Dame, Our Lady’s (!) university. Such outrageous public displays of rebellion and yet such heartfelt faith and devotion among so many of its students and even faculty. We need to pray for the University of Notre Dame.
@Richard Mac Donald: I will sign on to that.
@Paul Pettie: Time to keep the Jesuits and get rid of the rif-raf.
Enough. It is time to dismiss from the Church any Catholic University or College that in any way fosters abortion. Although this article is about a Jesuit school, there are other orders that are just as guilty. There is no other way to say it anymore.
The university leaders, even if they are nominally Catholic, probably have very little real idea what having a Catholic character to the university would mean. If they are like many today, they may have no clue why it is scandalous and inconsistent to have a speaker who advocates killing babies regardless that that wasn’t what they invited her to speak about, and because of their lack of moral understanding they may interpret the bishop’s actions as political in nature. But it is encouraging that the bishop spoke up anyway, and needs to continue speaking with them and teaching them about authentic Catholic identity.
Perhaps the faithful can stand at the doors of this event and hand out literature regarding the anti-Catholic nature of this event, given the fact the sponsoring organization is affiliated with pro-choice groups, therefore it is inappropriate for faithful students to go inside.
We’re heading for big trouble.
I thank Bishop Bambera for speaking out on this issue. His job is to direct the faithful, including the Universities in his Diocease. His job is also to correct when the faithful or the Universities go against the Church’s Teaching, in this case re: abortion. It does not make sense for a Catholic institution to designate a pro-abortion person to instruct in any part of its programs.
Jesuits/abortion. They seem to go hand in hand.
What has happened to the Jesuit VOW of “Obedience to the Pope”?
Why not just put the college under interdict? Public defiance of a bishop’s authority is extremely disturbing.
Praise God for Christians who stand up for life! Abortion is murder and is against the natural law. It creates deep wounds for the mother, the baby and all of society.J Praise God for this Catholic Bishop Bambera! University of Scranton should get a refresher course on what it means to be Catholic. Better still, what it means to be Christian.
Rachael is Crying for her children.
A woman who is honest to herself and has a bit of love for children cannot agree for abortion.I do not know if Margolies is a mother?.She can only speak out of her ignorance.Life starts at the time of conception and heart od the child starts beating 21 days after conception(Scientifically proven fact).So by the time a woman is detected pregnant the child can feel, hear,and sense what ever happening against him/her. So isn’t this a murder? Doctors have repeatedly testified that abortion is painful to fetus.
Unfortunately, it is reported on a parallel thread on this blog discussing the event itself more than the university, that Ms. Margolies is indeed a mother; she is the mother-in-law of Chelsea Clinton.
If the decline isn’t halted it will continue… The so-called Catholic universities and the rebellious Jesuits are contributing toward the decline which will continue unless and until someone turns it around in the right direction.
I asked a good Nun friend of mine about what is going on with these rogue Jesuits. Her response was: When the Jesuits are good they’re really good but when they’re bad they are really bad.
Time to get rid of the bad apples.
After reading your article on the Unversity of Scranton, I was not suprised, seeing it is a Jusuit University.
I did , however, call the school, 1-570 941 7400, ande asked to be put into the President’s office. Seems there were so many calls that a PR person answered and too my rage.
I told her that my daughter, who was considering their school, will not attend there because of the scandal.
I would advise you that read this note to call also.
Regards,
John J Flynn
Thanks for posting this number- I called and told the PR person the same thing. Our daughter was considering the University of Scranton as well- we have family outside of Scranton- it might have been a great fit. Oh well…her 3 little brothers might have followed her there as well. Very disheartening!
Because the Jesuits bear Jesus’ name( the Society of Jesus), they need our prayers! Don’t forget what Our Lady of Fatima said, that in these end times, there would be a diabolical disorientation. Satan’s plan is to take Jesus and His priests out of the Church! Jesuits and our Pope are his favorite targets. As we approach the hundredth anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance at Fatima, let us make a note of who was and who is the current Pope! In 1917, Pope Benedict the 15th! Today, Benedict the 16th! Spread the word, pray the Rosary!
University of Scranton should stop being a Catholic University and become a secular one. A perfect solution….case closed.
Time to CALL OUT these so-called “Catholics” as FRAUDS.
Ain’t no wiggle room in promoting the murder of unborn children.
S-C-A-N-D-A-L
Shun these people and shun their university. Starve the beast of attention and funds.
AMEN!!!!!!!!
I applaud Bishop Bambera on his efforts to shepherd his flock. The actions of those officials at the University of Scranton demonstrates the lack of knowledge and commitment to the teachings of Christ and His Church. Unfortunately this is yet another example of Truth being kicked to the curb in substitution for “feel good, be the best that “I” can be” teaching of some schools that are obviously only Catholic flavored. I will keep Bishop Bambera in my prayers as well as all Catholic schools in our country, so that they stand firm on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
God bless you.
A so called Catholic Institution failing to take a strong stand against abortion and other anti Catholic positions, what else is new? My son attends (a Catholic HS) Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, NY. The high school was attended by present New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who championed so called Same Sex Marriage in New York State & promises to expand abortion rights by passing proposed legislation called the Reproductive Health Act. By the way, Cuomo is a member of Molloy’s Hall of Fame. I’ve contacted the Principal & President of the school trying to remove him and other politicians from the hall of fame who promote Anti Catholic legislation. To date I have not been successful. Say good bye to Catholic Institutions.
The Jesuits are not alone among Catholic religious congregations systematically challenging, modifying or nuancing the core doctrines of the Faith and thereby sowing confusion, doubt and eventual apostasy among the befuddled faithful. That the “protestantisant” mindset has found such fertile ground is highly suggestive. The epithet “diabolical” might rightly and fittingly be applied to such toxic mind games. The Adversary. it seems, knows his own.
Prayer is GREAT and it’s a wonderful thing. But we as Christians in todays world must become alittle more vigilant and forceful in the DEFENSE of OUR faith. The world that we live in expects to ROLL over us as they wish, but we must stand fast and I mean by protecting our families, our churches and espcially our institutions from the daily liberal radical assalts we experience. If this means picking up the sworn then that is exactly what it means.
It’s time to reform some of the Jesuits, and all of us Catholics from time to time. Thanks be to God, the younger men who are entering the order and at least one province are indeed faithful to the magisteriujm, once again. Let us continue to storm heaven in prayer, that the schools that continue to defy the church may be brought back to good sense and fidelity, and that our young people may be well formed in the faith everywhere.
That is WELL SAID!!!! AMEN!!
Why must many SJ Catholic Universities continue to follow the $$$$$$$$$ in place of their mission ??
Last year – 2011 – Planned Parenthood has been subsidized for 320,000 abortions! Since the speaker obviously professes that “Two Wrongs make a Right”. My question for the speaker is “What city in the United States with a similar population would she like euthanized and that might solve many of her concerns?
The Jesuits as proud defenders of the Church in the past now seem to be the class clowns of Catholic education! Does it ever occur to the invited guest to decline the invitation after seeing the discomfort it causes? If the Jesuits can’t do the right thing maybe the guest could!
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