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NEWMAN-GEORGETOWN Feb-7-2006 (830 words) With photos. xxxn
Cardinal Newman Society head says group operates within magisterium
By Agostino Bono
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A self-described watchdog organization that claims many Catholic colleges are losing their Catholic identity is not setting up a teaching authority independent of the bishops, said the head of the group.
The Cardinal Newman Society is exercising a "concurrent magisterium" in keeping with the church's teaching authority, said Patrick Reilly, the society's president.
He said that the organization presents to bishops its concerns that some Catholic colleges hire professors and invite speakers who oppose Catholic teachings, especially on abortion and sexual morality.
But the society needs no prior permission from bishops to issue its criticisms, he added.
"We have not had bishops tell us we're treading on the bishops' authority. If they did, we would back off," Reilly told Catholic News Service Feb. 2 after giving a speech at Jesuit-run Georgetown University in Washington.
"We get a lot of checks from bishops," he said. "I know some (bishops) don't like us."
The Cardinal Newman Society, which has its headquarters in Manassas, Va., lists several bishops as ecclesial advisers.
Reilly, in his talk, said that Georgetown is not doing a good job of maintaining its Catholic identity. "Georgetown University can't be Catholic if the faculty is not on board," he said.
Reilly said that Georgetown has a large number of faculty members who support legalized abortion and has allowed speakers on campus who support abortion.
His talk was sponsored by the Georgetown University Lecture Fund, a campus program for inviting speakers to discuss controversial issues.
Erik Smulson, Georgetown spokesman, told CNS that the university supports academic freedom and frequently invites Catholic speakers to present Catholic perspectives on campus.
"Faculty members and speakers on campus are free to express their own views which do not necessarily reflect the views of Georgetown University," he said in an e-mail response to a CNS query.
"Georgetown, as a Catholic, Jesuit university, embraces academic freedom and supports the free exchange of ideas in order to foster dialogue on critical issues of the day -- especially those relating to faith, ethics and religion," said Smulson.
In a question-and-answer session following his talk, Reilly said that people who want to complain about the situation at Georgetown may be better off waiting a few years before raising the issue with the Washington Archdiocese because it is currently headed by Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick.
The cardinal is 75, the age when bishops are required to submit their resignation to the pope.
"I'm not shooting across the cardinal's bow," said Reilly. "But we are seeing across the country a new set of bishops, who are younger and see more clearly the problems and dangers at Catholic universities."
Susan Gibbs, Washington archdiocesan spokeswoman, said that the cardinal has good relations with Georgetown but has no direct control over the university because it is run by the Jesuits.
If people raise concerns about events at Georgetown, the archdiocese passes these along to university officials, she said.
"My experience is that they (university officials) have been very responsive" to the concerns, said Gibbs.
Reilly, in his talk, also criticized the university for allowing a student group to present the play "The Vagina Monologues."
The play, based on interviews with numerous women, is a series of monologues in which women discuss their sexual experiences, including rape and other forms of violence against them.
Many U.S. college groups across the United States sponsor productions of the play in an effort to raise awareness about sexual violence against women and to raise funds for organizations working with physically abused women.
Reilly criticized the play as offensive and degrading to women. It does nothing to express church teachings on human sexuality and marriage, he said.
Reilly said that one of the monologues could have been used by serial child sex abuser John Geoghan, a former Boston priest, to rationalize his seduction of boys.
The monologue tells of a 16-year-old girl's seduction by an older lesbian who first gets the younger girl drunk on vodka. Reilly said that in the monologue the 16-year-old girl says that the lesbian seduction brought her joy and liberated her sexually.
"If Geoghan wanted to put out a work to justify what he did, this would be it," said Reilly.
Geoghan's 2002 conviction for groping a young boy helped spark the national clergy sex abuse scandal. He was killed in prison by another inmate in 2003.
During the question-and-answer session, Reilly got into an animated discussion with two female students who said they were involved with the production of the play.
One student said the play has been the most effective way on campus to raise awareness about domestic violence against women and to raise money for groups aiding women.
"Can't you raise money by doing something else than degrading yourself?" asked Reilly. He added that he was not opposed to raising the issue of abuse against women.
"I don't think 'The Vagina Monologues' helps. It hurts the effort to present a dignified view of women," he said.
END
Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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