Libby A. Nelson at Inside Higher Ed weighs in on the conflict and compromise that many Catholic universities are increasingly faced with today. The article covers much more, but mentions the controversies involved in institutional recognition of public figures whose moral commitments don’t quite square with Catholic teaching. Timely, since graduations are this week and next for many universities, and Kathleen Sebelius has been invited to speak at Georgetown:
Commencement speaker controversies aren’t uncommon, and the colleges’ choice of speaker can often be fraught. A 2004 directive from the church instructed colleges not to honor those whose views conflict with church doctrine. As well as the uproar at Notre Dame over Obama in 2009, Speaker of the House John Boehner drew protests from Catholic University faculty members when he served as that institution’s commencement speaker. They believed that his political positions did not uphold church teachings on poverty . . . While controversies over speakers on campus are perennial, bishops and presidents agree more frequently than they used to, said Galligan-Stierle. “When I look at where we were 20 and even 10 years ago, and where we are today, I think there’s substantial agreement,” he said, in part due to better relations between bishops and presidents.
You can read the full article here , or see last year’s most hotly disputed commencement speech here .
While I have you, can I ask you something? I’ll be quick.
Twenty-five thousand people subscribe to First Things. Why can’t that be fifty thousand? Three million people read First Things online like you are right now. Why can’t that be four million?
Let’s stop saying “can’t.” Because it can. And your year-end gift of just $50, $100, or even $250 or more will make it possible.
How much would you give to introduce just one new person to First Things? What about ten people, or even a hundred? That’s the power of your charitable support.
Make your year-end gift now using this secure link or the button below.
