2008 Woodie Awards
Students upset by Gandhi
Daniel Maciejewski, Diana Sroka, Michael Gaspar & Sarah Kirby
Scattered throughout campus this week are boards with quotes from Mother Teresa and restatements of the Catholic mission to promote peace and put an end to injustice. But on the same campus are advertisements for the speaking event of an individual who has been working against several defining principles of contemporary Catholicism.
Dr. Arun Gandhi, who will give the keynote address on Thursday, hasn't exactly acted peacefully towards Catholics in recent years. In 2000, Dr. Gandhi participated in a Soulforce/Dignity USA protest at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Washington D.C. He demanded departures from Catholic doctrine, including the removal of current language on homosexuality and administration of Eucharist to active homosexuals. After a press conference he led a march on the shrine of the Immaculate Conception, blocking the entryways for our bishops.
Soulforce is a faith-based gay rights advocacy group that continually works against the attitude Catholics are expected to have regarding sensitive issues. Soulforce's website (www.soulfource.org) contains disturbing statements, the worst of which accuses the Holy Father of "continue[ing] to make spiritually violent statements and policies" which are part of a "war against homosexuals being waged by the ... Catholic denomination ..." The Church's moral teachings are said to cause "discrimination, suffering, and death."
Supporters of Dr. Gandhi's selection might try to say his appearance is within "academic freedom," but even that is not acceptable. Academic freedom would be reading an opinion piece Dr. Gandhi wrote, or discussing his grandfather's life in a class. Academic freedom would be a small speaking event at which questions could be asked and discussion generated about Dr. Gandhi's stances in relation to Catholicism and how we as Catholics should cope with these contrasting opinions. But hailing a speaker who so strongly and openly opposes our Catholic instructions during the week intended to be a celebration of Catholic identity is beyond academic -- it is disgraceful.
Scattered throughout campus this week are boards with quotes from Mother Teresa and restatements of the Catholic mission to promote peace and put an end to injustice. But on the same campus are advertisements for the speaking event of an individual who has been working against several defining principles of contemporary Catholicism.
Dr. Arun Gandhi, who will give the keynote address on Thursday, hasn't exactly acted peacefully towards Catholics in recent years. In 2000, Dr. Gandhi participated in a Soulforce/Dignity USA protest at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Washington D.C. He demanded departures from Catholic doctrine, including the removal of current language on homosexuality and administration of Eucharist to active homosexuals. After a press conference he led a march on the shrine of the Immaculate Conception, blocking the entryways for our bishops.
Soulforce is a faith-based gay rights advocacy group that continually works against the attitude Catholics are expected to have regarding sensitive issues. Soulforce's website (www.soulfource.org) contains disturbing statements, the worst of which accuses the Holy Father of "continue[ing] to make spiritually violent statements and policies" which are part of a "war against homosexuals being waged by the ... Catholic denomination ..." The Church's moral teachings are said to cause "discrimination, suffering, and death."
Supporters of Dr. Gandhi's selection might try to say his appearance is within "academic freedom," but even that is not acceptable. Academic freedom would be reading an opinion piece Dr. Gandhi wrote, or discussing his grandfather's life in a class. Academic freedom would be a small speaking event at which questions could be asked and discussion generated about Dr. Gandhi's stances in relation to Catholicism and how we as Catholics should cope with these contrasting opinions. But hailing a speaker who so strongly and openly opposes our Catholic instructions during the week intended to be a celebration of Catholic identity is beyond academic -- it is disgraceful.
Published: 2/1/05 Section: Viewpoints
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