WASHINTON, May 23, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Fifteen U.S. Catholic colleges invited abortion or gay ‘marriage’ supporters to give addresses to graduates this year, according to the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS).
CNS, a watchdog group seeking to ensure Catholic colleges live up to their Catholic identity, issued its annual report on commencement speakers and honorees Friday.
They argue that the invitations of the speakers contravene the 2004 instruction issued by the U.S. Catholic Bishops called ‘Catholics in Political Life,’ which forbade Catholic institutions from granting honors and platforms that might suggest support for opponents of Catholic teaching.
“Catholic colleges have a choice of speakers and honorees,” said CNS. “And when they make a choice — especially when selecting someone to serve as a role model for graduation — the choice should be for speakers and honorees who best exemplify the standards of a Catholic college education.”
The colleges identified in the 2011 report are:
Georgetown University
University of San Francisco
St. Mary’s College of California
Fordham University
St. Vincent’s College of Connecticut
Salve Regina University
Seton Hall University
Benedictine University in Illinois
St. Catherine University
University of St. Thomas in St. Paul
Villanova University
St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia
Xavier University of Ohio
University of San Diego
Regis College in Massachusetts
CNS notes that it does not condemn the politicians and famous figures given the invitations. “Good people who compromise morality to do bad things — harmful things — deserve our compassion and counsel, but not our honor,” says CNS. “We certainly do not want Catholic college graduates following the same path, expecting the future admiration of their mentors.”
See the full CNS report here.