Abortion, John Kerry And Jim Crow

Boston College, which has invited Secretary of State John Kerry, who was a consistent proponent of legal abortion and same-sex marriage during his years in the US Senate; Holy Cross, which invited Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, also an advocate of legal abortion and same-sex marriage; Loyola University in Chicago, which invited White House speechwriter Jon Favreau, who has compared defense of traditional marriage to enforcement of Jim Crow laws; 

Link (here)

Protestant Weddings No Longer Allowed At Chicago Loyola's Madonna Della Strada

Loyola University Chicago changed its guidelines for wedding ceremonies on campus, adopting an official policy ahead of Illinois' equal-marriage law on June 1. The new policy, enacted last December, only allows Catholic weddings in the university's Madonna della Strada Chapel. All other civil or religious weddings, including same-sex unions, are banned from campus facilities.

The decision also comes after a Loyola student launched a Change.org petition last September, urging university administrators to allow same-sex ceremonies on campus. Christine Irvine, a Loyola junior studying visual communication, started the petition after officials denied her request to use university facilities for her upcoming wedding. 

Irvine said there were no problems until officials learned she would marry a woman. To date, the petition has more than 2,900 signatures. In her first interview about Loyola's new policy, Irvine told Windy City Times that the decision doesn't seem bad to anyone who may not know how it came about. She believes the university made the decision to specifically forbid same-sex ceremonies on campus. "It's really disheartening," Irvine said. "It's a sign of the non-acceptance and non-tolerance of the LGBT students on campus ... a sign of disrespect of our love compared to our peers." Before Loyola enacted its official policy last December, the university's standard practice welcomed ceremonies "legally recognized" in Illinois. But despite legal recognition of same-sex civil unions in Illinois, those ceremonies were still forbidden at Loyola venues.

Latin Mass At Loyola University Chicago

Photos of a recent EF Mass celebrated at Loyola University Chicago this past Saturday,
May 4th in the Ignatius House Chapel of the Jesuit Residence.
The celebrant was Fr. Robert John Araujo, S.J. 
Link (here) to The New Liturgical Movement

Primary Focus Of The Teaching

Within a few years of the founding of St Ignatius College in 1870, an unidentified librarian made an extensive shelf-list catalogue of the library’s holdings. The c.1875 catalogue lists approximately 5500 titles, encompassing over 8000 volumes. It is broken down into six sections that reflect the primary focus of the teaching at the time (Pantology, Theology, Legislation, Philosophy, Literature, and History).

Link (here)

Stunned

While the selection of a new pope from Latin America was surprising, some found it even more unexpected that the cardinals tapped a Jesuit as the leader of their church. In fact, 

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio will be the first Jesuit to lead the Roman Catholic Church in its 2,000-year history. Founded in 1540 by the Spaniard St. Ignatius Loyola, the Society of Jesus — as the Jesuits are formally known — eschews higher church positions, instead encouraging members to keep a lower profile, said the Rev. Michael Garanzini, president of Loyola University Chicago and a Jesuit priest. Garanzini said he was stunned when Bergoglio, who took the name Pope Francis, was selected Wednesday.  

"It is surprising to us because we normally don't want to be in church hierarchical positions," Garanzini said in an interview Wednesday. "We usually ask if we can turn them down."

Link (here) to The Chicago Tribune

Loyola Chicago Hosts Tajma Hall

The Jesuit Loyola University in Chicago will host its sixth annual drag show Thursday night on campus featuring professional drag queen Tajma Hall. The university website states that “The event will be filled with amateur student performers and a guaranteed great time!” The LUC’s Student Diversity & Multicultural Affairs Facebook site invites all to  

“Come see performers take it to the edge of the boundaries of gender expression. A night of music, dancing, and just all-around fun will hopefully make inquiring minds out of everyone to see what is it like to live outside the binary.” 

When the first drag show was held on campus in 2008,  LUC’s “Official GLBTQ Organization” asked students to “Bring your dollar bills”. “When Catholic parents send their children to a Catholic university they should be able to expect at least basic standards of decency and morality,” wrote Cardinal Newman Society President Patrick J. Reilly in a letter to Loyola’s president two years ago.  “Events like this not only undermine the sacred trust parents have in Loyola University, but may lead to serious personal and social problems caused by confusion about sexuality.  Drag shows debase the human person and are an affront to Catholic teaching on the dignity of the human person.”

Link (here) to the Cardinal Newman Society

The Blind Leading The Blind

Pieter Breugel's "The Blind Leading the Blind"

Following Mercy Sr. Margaret Farley’s ten-minute address, which was greeted by a standing ovation, a number of the theologians present asked questions of their colleague, both expressing concern for her well-being and probing what broader significance the move against her might have for their future. Susan Ross, the chair of the department of theology at Loyola University Chicago who is expected to accede to the presidency of the CTSA Sunday morning, said in an interview Saturday that the event was an opportunity for those present to show their appreciation for Farley and to express concern for her. “[Farley]’s taught so many people, she’s influenced so many of us that I think people wanted to be able to talk about it,” said Ross. “And be able to, in one way or another, offer their support to Margaret…I think that there was a very basic kind of concern for her." Explaining how she saw the importance of the Friday night event, Ross continued: “And I think what was really moving about her presentation last night is how on the one hand she’s trying to balance her commitment as a Catholic, as a Sister of Mercy, as someone who loves the church, with her conviction that, as she said, 'People are suffering'  What she’s really trying to do is balancing on the one hand all of her love and passion for the church, with the other hand of the need to address the suffering of people in a way that speaks to their concrete reality.”

Link (here) to The National Catholic Fishwrap

"And He spoke also to them a similitude:

Can the blind lead the blind?

do they not both fall into the ditch?"

 

Luke 6:39

40 Million Dollars To Loyola University Chicago

Michael Quinlan and Ronald McDonald

A former CEO of McDonald's Corp. has given Loyola University Chicago $40 million for a revamped business school, according to a published report Sunday. The donation from Michael Quinlan, who was head of the Oak Brook-based fast food chain for 11 years until 1998, is the largest gift the private university has received from an individual, according to the Chicago Tribune. The money means the Jesuit Catholic university can build a nine-story building for the business school at the university's downtown campus. The building will be named after Quinlan, who holds both undergraduate and master's degrees from Loyola. "When people ask me where did I go to college, I am very proud to tell them I am a two-time graduate of Loyola," Quinlan said. "It has given me more than I have given it." The donation was announced Saturday during an annual dinner at the university. Quinlan started working in a McDonald's mailroom as an 18-year-old Loyola student, and he eventually worked his way to the top of the fast food chain over the next 35 years, and later serving on the board of directors. Quinlan is credited with helping develop the Egg McMuffin. Quinlan, who received a full scholarship to Loyola, was the first in his family to graduate from college. In 2001 he was chairman of the university and head of the committee that chose the school's current president 

Link (here) to read the full story.

What Is Justice?

Bonasera kissing the hand of Don Vito Corleone

As a Roman Catholic priest, I often hear the confessions of people seeking God's absolution; yet, I have a confession to make. In 1972, when I was halfway through law school, several of my classmates and I took a study break to see Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather.' In the opening scene of the film, Bonaserra, an undertaker,seeks a favor from Don Corleone. Bonaserra's daughter, a recent victim of violence and attempted sexual assault who nonetheless retained her honor and virtue, convalesces in the hospital. The undertaker wants the Don to kill the two young men who tried to rape his daughter. He implores Don Corleone for justice-that is, revenge. The Don reminds Bonaserra that his daughter is still alive and that murdering the perpetrators would not bejustice. The Godfather and the undertaker compromise: the two boys responsible for the assault will suffer as Bonaserra's daughter has. Don Corleone and Bonaserra agreed that making the attempted rapists suffer as their victim had was justice. Was that justice? More importantly, what is justice, and what is the role of the Christian academy regarding it?

Link (here) to read the full essay entitled, Realizing a Mission: Teaching Justice as Right Relationship at The St. John's Law Review by Fr. Robert John Araujo, S.J.

Jerica Arents And Todays Liberation Theology

Jerica Arents

Jerica Arents is a graduate of Loyola’s Masters of Social Justice program and co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a campaign to end the U.S. occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. She lives at the White Rose Catholic Worker in West Roger’s Park. Jerica is an organizer with Witness Against Torture and recently spent a month in Afghanistan, learning about the affects of U.S. policies of war on ordinary Afghan people. She is interested in using alternative choices, social analysis, and integrated nonviolent resistance to create more sustainable communities for our neighbors and the earth. She has worked in interfaith circles on issues of worker’s rights, juvenile justice, and racial reconciliation.

Link (here) to DePaul University

Those protesting at Obama’s campaign headquarters said members of Catholic Worker communities from at least 10 states gathered for a retreat, and that Monday’s demonstration was meant to launch their “Week Without Capitalism” campaign and push for “nonviolent resistance to the corporate G8/NATO agenda.” Jerica Arents, of the White Rose Catholic Workers, told the Chicago Tribune that some of the demonstrators had come from across the Midwest and would be joining NATO protests all week. She then reaffirmed her group’s commitment to pacifism before blasting NATO for consuming the world’s resources.”We see NATO as using up a lot of resources in the city and the world,” she said. What was meant to be a peaceful demonstration, however — complete with the handing out of rolls with which to “break bread” — ended as it typically does with members of far left movements: in handcuffs. In total, eight protesters were arrested. They were cheered by other activists who showed their solidarity by dancing around Obama’s headquarters and singing gospel and folk songs. As the apprehended were led to a police van, yet another horde of protesters began chanting: ”Ain’t going to Study War No More.”

Link (here) to The Blaze

A Little J.U.G. For Nancy Pelosi

With the recent tippings of the hands of the Vice President and President (by relying on his Christian faith) to support the initiative to legalize same-sex marriage (a matter traditionally within the jurisdiction of the states), former Speaker of the House, Representative Nancy Pelosi [HERE], has thrown her support in favor of this “evolving” concept. Not only did she endorse the President’s views and embrace his rationale, she offered her own perspective in response to the related questions, “Do you believe that religion and the idea that you can support gay marriage should be separated? And how do you grapple with the idea that you support gay marriage as a Catholic?”, by stating that,

My religion compels me, and I love it for it, to be against discrimination of any kind in our country. And I consider this a form of discrimination. I think it is unconstitutional on top of that. So, I think that yesterday was a great day for America because the President in a very personal, as well as presidential way, made history.

Once again, with the greatest respect to the representative and her leadership post in Congress, I suggest that she does not understand very well what her religion—which happens to be mine as well—says about discrimination.

Link (here) to read the full post by Fr. Robert Aruajo, S.J. at the blog entitled, Mirror of Justice

“Mary’s Pence” At Loyola University In Chicago

“Mary’s Pence” reportedly celebrated its 25^th anniversary on the campus of Loyola University in Chicago April 28. Mary’s Pence describes itself  as “a grassroots organization that directs donated resources to small women’s projects. Funding decisions are rooted in a Catholic tradition of social justice together with feminist values where all are welcome at the table.” In reality, however, Mary’s Pence is an organization whose work is often diametrically opposed to the Catholic Church and which awards grants to gay advocacy organizations and female ordination advocates. The organization’s name itself is, according to the National Catholic Reporter, a take-off on the church’s annual “Peter’s Pence” collection for the Vatican. In fact, keynote speaker and “founding mother” Edwina Gateley, reportedly recalled Mary’s Pence encouraging donors to put wooden nickels in the collection basket during the annual Peter’s Pence collection to indicate a donation was made to Mary’s Pence instead.

Link (here) to The Cardinal Newman Society to read the full story

What A Drag

The Jesuit-run Loyola University of Chicago again hosted an annual drag show on the university campus last week, featuring a lineup of crossdressers and inviting students to “question why gender is rigidly controlled.”

Link (here) to LifeSite 

Pictures on the groups Facebook page (here)

More from the Cardinal Newman Society (here)

Loyola Management Company

The Society of Jesus (Jesuits), a Roman Catholic priests' religious order, owns and leases large tracts of real estate property in the Chicago area on behalf of Loyola University of Chicago. These investments are held by the Loyola Management Company, while a registered lobbyist with the City of Chicago has been appointed as the firm's president, according to Jesuit tax documents. An IRS Form for the year 2009 filed by the Loyola Management Company, located on 820 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago was signed-off by Wayne Magdziarz, the principal officer. He earned a salary of $213,766/year as an employee of Loyola University.

Tax documents filed by Loyola University of Chicago disclose on pg. 24 of 61 that Magdziarz is vice president of Capital Planning for Loyola and is a registered lobbyist with the City of Chicago. The Jesuit-sponsored Catholic university paid $199,924 in 2009 for lobbyist activism on behalf of the school.

Jesuit tax documents say, "during the fiscal year 2010, the lobbying activities of the University involved contracts with legislators and their staffs at the Federal, State and City levels. These contracts through office visits, phone conversations and large gatherings were principally for purpose of goodwill and for issues related to student financial aid and tax issues at the Federal, State and City levels."

The Jesuits hired two other lobbyists, employees of Loyola University, for services rendered, including Philip Hale, vice president of Public Affairs, a registered lobbyist with U.S. Congress and Senate, and the state of Illinois; Jennifer Clark, director of Community Relations, registered with the City of Chicago.

Link (here) to The Dallas Blog

$498,568.00

The Jesuits declares to the IRS that the president of the college is exempt from paying income taxes, by saying,  

“Father Michael J. Garanzini, S.J. is a member of the Society of Jesus and has taken a vow of poverty. During Calender year 2009, the university paid compensation and benefits in the amount of $498,568 to the Society of Jesus, 

the founders of Loyola University of Chicago for his services.”

Link (here) toThe Dallas Blog

Jesuits Raise 150 Million Dollars In Sale Of Hospital

The nation's largest Jesuit Catholic university, Loyola University Chicago, announced intentions to sell its academic medical center in the Chicago suburbs to the national Roman Catholic system Trinity Health of Novi, Mich. Under the terms of a letter of intent jointly announced Friday by Loyola and Trinity, the 535-bed Loyola University Medical Center and its network of clinics and campuses would be sold to Trinity in a transaction that would include $150 million to build a “state of the art medical research enterprise” on the medical center's campus in Maywood, Ill., the systems said.

Link (here) to the full article.

The Gizillionth Lavander Laced Article At America

As part of his doctoral research in the education program at St. Louis University in the 1990s, Michael Maher studied the attitudes toward student hom@sexuality in Catholic high schools. He was shocked by the silence about this topic. When he met with four experienced Catholic school counselors, with over 50 years of counseling experience among them, they told him only one student had ever come to them to discuss the topic of hom@sexuality. 

Link (here) to read the full article at America's blog In All Things.

What A Drag In Chicago

According to the University Calendar on the Loyola University Chicago website, an event titled “The Queens of Drag” was held last night (10/28) at the Centennial Forum Student Union on campus.  The event page reads:

Taj Mahal, Dida Ritz, and the DGK Kings take to the stage to show the Loyola campus some gender-bending at its best!  Performance to be followed by half hour Q andA with the performers.

Is the Q and A session an attempt at making the drag show vaguely academic?  According to the flawed logic of some, events like this or The V@gina Monologues are acceptable for a Catholic university if a panel of theologians discusses the event through a Catholic lens afterwards.  But this is a Q and A with the performers!

Link (here) to read the full post the Cardinal Newman Society

The Cardinal Newman Society, Jesuit Institutions And Pro-Life Yahoo's

The Cardinal Newman Society compiled the following list of Catholic colleges and universities whose commencement speakers have publicly opposed or acted contrary to Catholic values on fundamental teachings. Link (here) to the full press release and list.
These are Jesuit institutions on that list.

Boston College (Mass.)

Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric (GE), will be the commencement speaker and honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree recipient at Boston College’s commencement ceremony on May 24.  GE has an official company policy permitting experimenting on embryonic stem cells and last year launched a partnership with Geron Corp. to sell products derived from embryonic stem cells. 

Boston College Law School has invited U.S. Senator Scott Brown to address its May 28 commencement ceremony.  While running for office in 2002 in Massachusetts, Brown made public his position in support of legalized abortion with some restrictions.

College of the Holy Cross (Mass.)

Mark Shriver will be the commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree at the College of the Holy Cross on May 28.  Shriver is currently Vice President and managing director of Save the Children.  While a 2002 candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland, Shriver stated in a Washington Post interview, “Women's issues are critically important and I will continue to fight for a women's right to choose; family planning funds; maternal and child health funding and education for girls both here and abroad.”

Georgetown University (D.C.)

Baroness Brenda Hale will be the commencement speaker at Georgetown University Law Center on May 23.  In 2004, Hale became the first woman to serve in the British House of Lords as a “Lord of Appeal in Ordinary,” the equivalent of a U.K. supreme court justice.  Hale has “argued for gay civil partnerships and no-fault divorces” (The Guardian) and supports gay adoption as well as better rights for “cohabitees”.  The Independent reported in 2003 that Hale stated: “My present view is that there is a strong case for introducing a legal commitment between people who are unable to marry, principally gay and lesbian partners.”

Loyola Marymount University (Calif.)

The Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, was the commencement speaker at Loyola Marymount University on May 8.  Prior to serving as governor, Patrick was assistant attorney general for the civil rights division during Bill Clinton’s presidency.  Patrick’s campaign website boasts that that he "helped lead the fight to keep discrimination out of the Massachusetts constitution and preserved the right of same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts."

Marlene Canter was the graduate commencement speaker for Loyola Marymount University on May 9.  She is a former member of the L.A. Unified School District board.  According to LifeSiteNews, Canter has called the legalization of same-sex marriage an "issue of simple fairness and basic human rights."  The same article reports that Canter has opposed a parental notification abortion law.

Loyola University Chicago (Ill.)

Clarence Page will be the commencement speaker for the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago on May 14.  Page is a syndicated columnist and a senior member of The Chicago Tribune editorial board.  He has written that people who want to ban abortion are “yahoos”.  As a guest on the MSNBC program Hardball last year, Page described proposed pro-life language to the healthcare bill as “worse… because this is declaring that even a woman can’t use her own money to pay for an insurance plan that also covers abortion.”  He has stated, “I stand firmly on the pro-Roe side of the abortion debate.”  Page also supports same-sex “marriage” as evidenced by his editorial “In defense of same-sex marriage”.

University of San Francisco (Calif.)

On May 22, the University of San Francisco will host as commencement speaker Dale Minami, who will also receive an honorary degree.  A supporter of same-sex “marriage,” Minami is lead partner at Minami Tamaki LLP, which in December 2007 sponsored a fundraiser and donated funds to Asian Pacific Islander Equality, a group that advocates for same-sex “marriage.”

A 50 Million Dollar Gift To The Loyola University Chicago

Adorned with European antiques, 17th century tapestries, classical sculpture and other works of art, the entry to the Cuneo Estate is a portal to privilege most can't comprehend.

Casual visitors once included business titans like former Chicago Blackhawks and Bulls owner Arthur Wirtz and insurance mogul James Kemper. A hand-carved table of walnut and olive wood was a gift from publishing giant William Randolph Hearst, a friend of printing magnate John Cuneo.

What was once the family home for more than a half-century, the Cuneo Museum and Gardens was opened by John Cuneo Jr. in 1991 to share his father's collections with the public.

"It shows people another way of life," Cuneo said of his boyhood home.

But after all this time, Cuneo, 78, is ready to move on. Although his immediate involvement will end, the legacy and family largesse will be preserved with the gift of the Cuneo Estate and nearly 100 acres to Loyola University Chicago.

Link (here) to the full article.