PHOENIX, Arizona, September 22, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – A Jesuit prep school in Arizona banned an alumnus from its Facebook page for pointing out Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine’s support for abortion.
Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix responded quickly to Eric Halvorson’s comment on its post of an article touting Kaine’s Jesuit high school education. The article also cited Kaine’s claim that “he lives by the Jesuit maxim of men and women for others.”
“After reading the piece in its entirety, I proceeded to enter a comment to the effect that 'Mr. Kaine may be a 'man for others;’ however, he is not a man for the unborn’ – based on his public record and especially with whom he’s running: Hillary Clinton,” Halvorson told Renew America journalist Matt Abbott in an email. “I then signed my name and stated that I was an '84 alum.”
Brophy’s Facebook page manager messaged Halverson within minutes of his comment to request that Halvorson refrain from making political comments on the school’s page.
Halvorson replied that his remark was meant to be religious in nature and to speak to the sanctity of life.
Halvorson concluded his response to Brophy’s Facebook page manager with a reminder to the school of Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life. Later that day, he was banned entirely from the school’s Facebook page.
The September 6 USA Today article posted by Brophy, which is part of the California Province of the Society of Jesus, tied Kaine’s having taken a year off from Harvard Law School to work with Jesuit missionaries in Honduras to his run for the vice presidency. “The richness of his experience is with him as he campaigns across the country.”
Kaine, who has a 100 percent voting record from Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America, has stated he holds “a traditional Catholic personal position” but conversely said he is “a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade.”
Aside from supporting abortion as an elected official, Kaine has voiced public support for homosexual “marriage,” adoption for same-sex couples, and women’s ordination, all in conflict with Catholic Church teaching. He recently said he thinks the Catholic Church would change its doctrine and support homosexual “marriage.”
There have been a few instances of Catholic clergy rebuking Kaine’s pro-abortion stance and public support for other issues in conflict with Church teaching. But Catholics remain concerned about an overall silence from the bishops on Kaine’s avid support for abortion, especially his claims of being a devout Catholic and exploiting his connection to Jesuit education.
In the email to Abbot, which copied school officials as well, Halvorson stated he understands that his First Amendment rights don’t extend to commenting on Brophy’s Facebook page and that the school has the right to monitor its page the way its sees fit.
However, as a second generation alum, he said, the experience left him numb, with a horrible taste in his mouth, and made him sad as well.
“The perception I was left with is that Brophy is OK with featuring and celebrating Mr. Kaine's Jesuit education experience and service to others despite his public record on abortion,” Halvorson said.
He said further that during his lifetime as a Catholic “the sanctity of life for many millions of American Catholics — and I include so many Jesuit priests as well — has now become passé and a pick-and-choose exercise. They have caved in to the secular pressure of the 'pro-choice' crowd.”
“Now, in this country, even in many Catholic circles such as Brophy's, one is considered to be a pro-life 'freak' or 'radical' if one even dares to bring up protecting the innocent unborn,” Halvorson said in summation. “One is now scorned and banned in American Catholic circles if one discusses the unborn.”
According to Abbott, he reached out to the Brophy officials copied in Halvorson’s email, and neither he nor Halvorson received a response.
Abbot then wrote, “It's unfortunate that a pro-life alumnus of Brophy has apparently been banned from commenting on his alma mater's Facebook page merely for pointing out Mr. Kaine's pro-abortion position.”