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Catholic university to give award to abortion proponent

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By Matt Abbott
Op/Ed

On Sept. 1, 2004, Loyola University Chicago had as a guest speaker former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, an avowed pro-abort and homosexual "marriage" proponent.

On Oct. 30, 2004, Loyola University Chicago School of Law will give the 'St. Robert Bellarmine Award' to pro-abortion, pro-homosexual "rights" Illinois Attorney General Lisa M. Madigan, an alumna of the school. Madigan once threatened to go after "phony" crisis pregnancy centers in Illinois because they don't perform abortions.

Meanwhile, a concerned pro-lifer who sent Loyola an e-mail protesting Howard Dean's appearance there received the following response:

"Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion about what should or should not be permitted to happen at this Catholic university. The Catholic Church's tradition of fostering higher education is based on the metaphysical and theological convictions that one should seek God in all things. The Church's profound affirmation of our God-given gifts of freedom, reason, and responsible inquiry reaches back through the centuries to the very founding of the great Catholic Universities in Europe and Northern Africa and around the world. That rich heritage of learning blossomed in the United States with the founding our many Jesuit and other Catholic universities in major cities throughout the nation during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

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"That institution that was invented to be the sole and best focus of research and truth-seeking in our civilization is the university. For centuries the university has been the single most enduring bastion of free and open inquiry, of truth-seeking, and of the generation of new, even if at times troubling, knowledge. The university has been called a 'Temple of Learning' -- an apt expression which conveys a spiritual, almost religious, reverence for inquiry and the unbridled pursuit of truth and humane understanding. But, again, for the person of Faith trusting in the ultimate unity of Truth that is what it takes to truly seek the hand of God in all creation.

"Consider what John Cardinal Newman said in his book, The Idea of a University, about the reason universities exist and the tolerance that should characterize the academic community of learners:

"This is why, to erect a University is at once so arduous and beneficial an undertaking, namely because it is pledged to admit, without fear, without prejudice, without compromise, all comers if they come in the name of Truth; to adjust views and habits of mind; to give full play to thought and erudition. Thus to draw many things to one is its special function; and it learns to do so by sagacity, wisdom, and forbearance, acting upon a profound insight into the subject-matter of knowledge, and by a vigilant repression of aggression or bigotry in any quarter."

"Loyola University Chicago is Chicago's Jesuit Catholic University. We are a diverse community seeking God in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice and faith. Loyola is blessed with a wonderful community of Jesuit priests in residence who teach courses to our students. We have a large number of younger Jesuits doing their graduate study here on campus. Loyola sponsors a Catholic Speakers series which brings many excellent people to campus each year to address our students and those in the Chicago area who might wish to attend. We offer courses in marriage and Catholicism through our department of Theology. We offer our students, faculty, and staff a variety of opportunities to make retreats and to explore the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. We have Mass on campus in the beautiful Madonna Della Strada church, and we have a Catholic college seminary, St. Joseph's, on campus as well. To learn more about our Mission and Ministry programs you might wish to visit www.luc.edu/mission