MANASSAS, Virginia, May 5, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic education watchdog group that discovered more than 150 connections to Planned Parenthood on the websites of dozens of Catholic colleges has confirmed that many of the offending references have been removed since their survey was published.
The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) update came on Monday, three weeks after they released the report, “A Scandalous Relationship: Catholic Colleges and Planned Parenthood.”
The initial Internet survey, conducted by CNS and issued as a report on April 11, found more than 150 current and past connections at various Catholic colleges to Planned Parenthood.
Those connections included referrals to Planned Parenthood for health services, the recognition of Planned Parenthood internships and fellowships, as well as employees who had a background with Planned Parenthood, and other types of ties.
Now, a review of the original research shows that some 30 of the original connections have been removed from college websites, either by entirely taking down certain web pages or by removing specific text and hyperlinks.
“The underlying problems at these colleges are still there and need to be addressed, and that takes time,” CNS President Patrick J. Reilly said in an interview Monday with Tim Drake, senior writer for the National Catholic Register.
“But we do know that, as often happens at these institutions, problem faculty, staff, and students create these links and it’s not until we bring it to the attention of college officials that they’re able to do anything about it,” said Reilly.