Questioning College's Catholic identity
Heidi Wilbershied
co-president
Saint Mary's claims that it fosters an environment of intellectual, emotional and spiritual growth. One must wonder, however, what sort of spirituality is indeed being fostered at a Catholic institution that has encouraged and financially enabled its students to lobby for pro-choice causes, via the Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership established by Saint Mary's.
One must wonder why an institution, public or private, would so blatantly support, financially and otherwise, one side without giving the other side equal treatment. Of course, it's rather sad and disturbing that we even have to address this point. After all, we are a "Catholic" institution, right?
One of the wonderful and blessed advantages of attending a Catholic institution is the encouragement one is given and the ability one has to express one's theological beliefs and Christian morals. American society, more often than not, is hardly conducive to Christian morality, abortion being just one of the many horrors permitted. At this point, we render the discussion or debate of orthodox Catholic belief concerning abortion superfluous. Abortion is wrong. Yes, that's right, it's that simple.
Furthermore, it's not wrong because the pope says so. It's not wrong because your parish priest says so. It's not even wrong because some ancient personality called Moses is said to have been given tablets from Yahweh with the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." Speaking as a Catholic, these may very well be good reasons to consider abortion as morally unacceptable. At this point, it seems natural to offer scientific evidence and philosophical arguments to demonstrate why abortion is, at the very least, problematic. However, this is not the point of our letter.
The point is simply this: Saint Mary's is a Catholic institution. It only makes sense that Saint Mary's should be actively committed to upholding Catholic values. Yes, that's right — Catholic values. Just in case any of us are confused as to what the Catholic Church's position on abortion is, let us turn to the timeless Catholic classic fondly referred to as "Humanae Vitae."
One need not read far to ascertain the stance of the Church's position: Life is good, life is blessed, murder is wrong. Let us say that again: Catholics believe that life is sacred. As Catholics, we are called to embrace life at all stages. Truly, as Catholics, we are called to be pro-life.
Saint Mary's support of anti-life and anti-Catholic values is an abomination against both human life and the Catholic Church. Right to Life hopes that Saint Mary's seriously considers its role as a Catholic institution.
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, January 31, 2003
