Regis University On List

Regis University

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released today a list of the higher education institutions under investigation for possible violations of federal law over the handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. In the past, Department officials confirmed individual Title IX investigations at institutions, but today's list is the first comprehensive look at which campuses are under review by OCR for possible violations of the law's requirements around sexual violence.

"We are making this list available in an effort to bring more transparency to our enforcement work and to foster better public awareness of civil rights," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said. "We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue. I also want to make it clear that a college or university's appearance on this list and being the subject of a Title IX investigation in no way indicates at this stage that the college or university is violating or has violated the law."

Regis University is the lone Jesuit university on the Ob@ma Administration list
See the list (here)

A Jesuit University And "Union Busting"

The NLRB is expected to set a vote for some time in May. However, Seattle University officials say they expect to appeal the decision; the appeal deadline is May 1. Adjuncts, sometimes called contingent faculty, are instructors who are not eligible for tenure at colleges and universities and sometimes restricted to part-time work. They’re usually paid at a lower rate than their tenured counterparts — sometimes significantly so — and receive lesser benefits and little job security.

Seattle University argued that it was exempt from NLRB jurisdiction because it is a religiously-operated institution. An earlier Supreme Court case found that the NLRB, the federal agency that safeguards employees’ rights to organize, could infringe on a school’s First Amendment rights if it were to have jurisdiction over a school.

Seattle University also argued that it should be exempt because full-time adjuncts should be classified as managers, because the employees who want to unionize do not represent a “sufficient community of interest” and because the proposed union did not include faulty in the College of Nursing and School of Law. Ronald Hooks, regional director of the NLRB in Seattle, rejected all of those arguments. Among other findings, Hooks wrote that Seattle University “lacks substantial religious character” because it receives no funding from the Catholic Church or Society of Jesus, that only a minority of its students are Catholic and its faculty are subject to no religious requirements.

Link (here)

Jonathan Taylor Breaks Into Gonzaga Dorm Students Defend Themselves

A "mug shot" of Jonathon Taylor

In case you missed it, administrators at Gonzaga University have decided to place four students on probation, with the possibility of expulsion on the table. Their crime? Defending themselves against a six-time felon Jonathan Taylor inside their university owned apartment by brandishing a firearm (for which they have a permit). Naturally in typical academic fashion, officials are punishing their own students for fighting back and protecting themselves from a violent criminal with a long rap sheet.

The details of this story have already been covered, but what's missing is the scrutiny against the so-called "intellectuals" in this situation.

The actions taken by Gonzaga officials to punish students for a) owning a firearm and b) using that firearm in self-defense, shows us exactly how far they're willing to go in the name of their own partisan ideology. Officials at Gonzaga are clearly more interested in upholding their anti-gun agenda than keeping students safe.

Think the case of a felon on Gonzaga's campus is an isolated incident? Think again. In 2007, a young woman named Amanda Collins was raped at gunpoint just 50-feet from the campus police station at The University of Nevada-Reno. The University of Nevada-Reno is a gun free zone. At the time of the attack, Collins was in possession of her concealed weapons permit but was not in possession of her firearm due to university policies prohibiting carrying concealed weapons on campus. Her attacker, a serial rapist, went on to rape two more young women, killing one of them. Red-tape and university policies empowered her attacker while she, the victim, was punished. 

Link (here) to the full story at Townhall.com

Heroin Bust Of Regis Jesuit High Dean

Nicholas deSpoelberch

The dean of a Manhattan Catholic school was busted in Connecticut for heroin and Oxycodone possession after cops found him passed out in a car in the middle of a dead-end road, according to reports. Nicholas deSpoelberch, 35, dean of students at Regis High School on the upper East Side, was allegedly found asleep at about 10 p.m. Thursday in his 2005 Nissan Altima. An officer who inspected the vehicle parked in the town of Wilton and woke deSpoelberch said the educator had glassy eyes and was talking slowly, according to the Darien Times. DeSpoelberch, who lives in Darien, told police he was using medication and had pills not prescribed to him, according to the Darien Times. Cop searched his vehicle and found three packages of heroin, five Oxycodone pills, three Clonidine pills and drug paraphernalia — including two silver spoons and two hypodermic needles in a zippered briefcase, and a syringe under the driver’s seat — the Villager of Wilton reported. DeSpoelberch was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of drug paraphernalia and retaining prescriptions pills outside of their original container, according to the Wilton Bulletin.

Link (here) New York Daily News

"Bix", Arrested Again!

Twenty-three people, including the new U.S. provincial supervisor of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, were arrested Saturday after crossing the property line of a new nuclear weapons complex. The group was participating in a PeaceWorks protest at the National Security Campus, also known as the Kansas City Plant, a five-building facility where 85 percent of the non-nuclear parts for U.S. nuclear weapons will be made or procured. Line-crossers were arrested, fingerprinted, photographed and held at the Jackson County Police Department, according to a PeaceWorks Kansas City press release. All have been released. ... "When I heard Carl invited his provincial, I wanted to join into that," said Jesuit Fr. Bill Bichsel of Tacoma, Wash. "That whole sense of solidarity, I like that. Things become more alive when you're connected to the people that you're doing the action with. It makes it more vibrant and alive -- a spirit that moves." 

 Bichsel was one of two 85-year-olds arrested Saturday. When asked how many times he has been arrested at similar demonstrations, Bichsel laughed and said more than a hundred. "I think that gatherings such as this are much more powerful than a nuclear weapon," Bichsel said. "Relationships are so important in establishing our long-term struggle, our long term fight."  

The Kansas City facility is one of two newly constructed nuclear weapons plants in the United States and, according to Bichsel, is a linchpin in nuclear production. "The plant here in Kansas City represents the United States' thrust and direction into endless war, keeping us in war, keeping us in a wartime economy," Bichsel said. "Of course we're making enemies -- we're threatening everyone with guns to their head."

Link (here) to the Fishwrap

Repressed Memory

A child sexual abuse case involving a now-deceased El Paso priest was settled earlier this week. A suit was filed in 2011 against the New Orleans Province of the Jesuit Order and the El Paso Diocese by a former student and parishioner over an incident dating back several decades. Documents stated that the victim had repressed the memory of the abuse due to the trauma associated with it. The victim claimed that he was 8 to 12 years old when he was sexually abused by Father Alphonso Madrid when he was assigned to Sacred Heart Church and school. Madrid was assigned to Sacred Heart from 1970 to 1982, and before that, he was assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Archdiocese of San Antonio from 1966 to 1970. 

Link (here) to KFOXTV

Fairfield University And The New England Province Agree On A 12 Million Dollar Abuse Settlement

Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J.

A $12 million settlement has been reached in the civil cases arising out of the sexual abuse by Douglas Perlitz on at least 

23 abandoned Haitian street boys who were being taught, fed and clothed in a three-phase program funded by wealthy Fairfield and Westchester County Catholics and promoted by Fairfield University, the Knights of Malta and the Society of Jesus, New England. The settlement ended three months of negotiations between lawyers for both sides. The settlement money comes from insurance policies and will be spread out over a series of years. 

It expected that a monitor will be appointed to dispense the money. Perlitz, who created the program he named Project Pierre Toussaint, is serving a 19-year, seven month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to traveling overseas to engage in sex with a minor. His program, which began in 1997 with start up funds from the Knights of Malta, grew into a three phase program with an enclosed residential school that taught abandoned Haitian boys farming, carpentry, roofing, plumbing and other needed trades in one of the world's poorest nations. However, the program ended in 2009 when contributions dried up after the scandal became public.

Link (here) CT Post

Fr. John H. Reinke, S.J. "Fr. Donald McGuire, S.J. Positively Destructive And Corrosive."

Fr. John H. Reinke, S.J.

A 1970 letter written by the Rev. John H. Reinke, then-president of Loyola Academy in Wilmette, described "positively destructive and corrosive."

While the settlement doesn't name any priests accused of abusing minors who have not been previously disclosed to the public, it did name a number of Jesuit superiors who kept Fr. McGuire's crimes a secret and, the victims' attorneys said, which enabled him to abuse more young men. 

"Jesuits made choices time and time again that demonstrated willful indifference," said Jeff Anderson, the plaintiffs' attorney. "Not one Jesuit official has yet to be prosecuted for their complicity in these crimes." To date, lawyers have identified 28 men who have alleged abuse by Fr. McGuire from the 1960s until 2004. Eight have filed lawsuits.
Fr. McGuire's presence at the school as
Link (here) to Catholic Education Daily

Grade Inflation At Georgetown University Law Center

Georgetown University Law Center adjusted its grading policy in 2009.
Prior to the change, 10% of law students received an A, 15% received an A-, 15% received a B-, and 5% received a C+ or below.
Now, 12% get an A, 19% get an A-, and only 5-10% get a B- or below.
It puts failure that much further out of reach.

Link (here) to Business Insider

Fr. Gary Uhlenkott, S.J. Is Now On Leave, As The Federal Investigation Continue

Fr. Gary Uhlenkott, S.J,

What’s wrong with this picture? Federal agents raid a Catholic university in the state of Washington, and find a trove of child pornography, purchased with the credit card of a professor—who happens to be a Jesuit priest.

Father Gary Uhlenkott, S.J. is now on leave, as the federal investigation continues. We don’t know all the details, but federal officials say that more than $1,600 of porn was ordered with his credit-card account and shipped to his physical and/or internet address.

Horrifying? Certainly. A scandal? No doubt. But let me take a different perspective on this wretched affair. Leave aside, for now, the question of Father Uhlenkott’s guilt or innocence. Here’s what I want to know: How could he (or someone using his identity) spend $1,600 on videos of any description, without attracting someone’s attention? Can you, dear reader, spend $1,600 on your own entertainment—even assuming it’s healthy, licit entertainment—without prompting questions from your spouse, your boss, your parents, your colleagues, or your accountant? I certainly can’t. And unlike Father Uhlenkott, I haven’t taken a vow of poverty.

Link (here) to Catholic Culture to read Phil Lawler's full piece

 

 

Fr. Steve Kelly, S.J. Back In Federal Prison

Fr. Steve Kelly, S.J. being arrested

A noted Jesuit peace activist who has spent over a decade in jail for nonviolent protest actions, mostly over Fr. Steve Kelly, who has been on probation since June 2012 after serving a 15-month sentence for breaking into a nuclear weapons facility, was sent back to prison May 20 by a federal judge. Kelly, 64, was transported from the SeaTac Detention Center to the United States District Court, Western District of Washington at Tacoma, to receive the 60-day sentence. With time served, he is expected to be released May 29. More than a dozen friends and supporters, including members of Tacoma’s St. Leo parish community and his Jesuit superior Fr. John Fuchs, attended the hearing. Some also attended a vigil outside the courthouse an hour before Kelly’s court appearance. Kelly was arrested March 29, Good Friday, for blocking a road outside the Lockheed Martin missile plant in Sunnyvale, Calif. A trespassing charge was later dropped, but he was taken into custody for an outstanding federal warrant associated with probation violations.

nuclear weapons issues, has been returned to prison for probation violations.

Link (here) to National Catholic Fishwrap

Price Of Sodomy 19.6 Million Dollars

Fr. Donald McGuire, S.J.

Jesuit officials in Chicago will pay $19.6 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by six men who claim theyDonald McGuire, formerly of Oak Lawn, is serving a 25-year prison term after being convicted in Chicago in 2008 of federal charges that he brought a minor across state lines to engage in sex. He also was convicted in 2006 of molesting two boys in Wisconsin during the 1960s. were molested by a former priest and onetime spiritual advisor to Mother Teresa, an attorney for the plaintiffs said Monday.

“The amount of the settlement is reflective of the magnitude of misconduct by the top Jesuit officials,” said Jeff Anderson, an attorney for the plaintiffs. 

The $19.6 million settlement against the Chicago Province for the Society of Jesus was reached in January.

Officials for the Jesuit order — the Roman Catholic religious order to which McGuire belonged — could not be reached for comment Monday evening. The plaintiffs range in age from their 20s to their 40s, and claim McGuire abused them when they were children between 1975 and the early 2000s, Anderson said. Some of the six plaintiffs were also victims in the criminal cases against McGuire, and Anderson says evidence uncovered for the civil lawsuits was turned over to prosecutors in Chicago and Wisconsin.

Link (here) to CBS Chicago

Abortion Advocates In Congress And Educated In Jesuit Universities And Colleges

Mike Quigley (IL-5) earned a law degree from the Loyola University School of Law. He also served as an adjunct professor of political science at Loyola University Chicago lecturing on politics, the environment and local government. Quigley referred to a bill that would have limited abortion to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy in Washington, D.C., as “especially cruel.”

Zoe Lofgren (CA-19) graduated from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in 1975. Ranked 100 percent by NARAL, Rep. Lofgren reportedly voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion.

Sam Farr (CA-20) graduated from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, and attended the Monterey Institute of International Studies and the University of Santa Clara. Rep. Farr voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion.

Pete Visclosky (IN-1) earned a Juris Doctoris from the University of Notre Dame Law School, and a Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University Law Center. He also earned a 100 percent NARAL rating in 2011. He also, according to VoteSmart, voted against a bill that would have prohibited abortions based on the race or gender of the fetus and voted twice against the proposal to block Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funds.

Steny Hoyer (MD-5) earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in 1966. NARAL endorsed Rep. Hoyer in its 2012 Election Guide.

Chris Van Hollen (MD-8) is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. On the House floor, VanHollen said, “A woman’s right to choose her own healthcare is a fundamental one, and the Congress should not tell women how to manage their health or reproductive care.”

Ed Markey (MA-5) attended Boston College (B.A., 1968) and Boston College Law School (J.D., 1972). He reportedly voted against the partial-birth abortion ban.

Mike Capuano (MA-7) received a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College in 1973, and a law degree from Boston College Law School in 1977. He was endorsed in the NARAL Pro-Choice Voter Guide.

Stephen Lynch (MA-8) graduated from Boston College Law School in 1991. While Lynch states that he’s pro-life, he voted against banning federal health coverage that includes abortion, he voted for expanding embryonic stem cell research,and according to the National Right to Life Committee, Lynch voted against the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 3803) that would have restricted abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy in Washington, D.C. He received a 55 percent rating on a National Right to Life scorecard, according to On the Issues.

Bill Keating (MA-9) attended Boston College where he received his B.A. and Masters in Business Administration.  Rep. Keating earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice and earned the pro-abortion rights group’s endorsement in 2012.

Gary Peters (MI-14) earned an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Detroit Mercy. Rep. Peters earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice and was endorsed by the abortion advocacy group in 2012.

Hansen Clarke (MI-13) earned his law degree from Georgetown Law School. Rep. Clarke earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

John Dingell (MI-12) finished his military service in the fall of 1946 to attend Georgetown University where he studied chemistry. He continued his studies at Georgetown Law School, graduating in 1952. Rep. Dingell earned a 100-percentscore in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Dingell was quoted saying, “I have voted to protect a woman's right to choose under Roe v. Wade and will continue to fight to uphold this constitutionally protected right.”

Bill Pascrell Jr. (NJ-9) earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in philosophy from Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y.  Rep. Pascrell has reportedly received 100 percent ratings from NARAL Pro-Choice America since 2006.

Albio Sires (NJ-8) received a four-year basketball scholarship from St. Peter’s College.  Rep. Sires earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Tim Bishop (NY-1) holds a BA in History from Holy Cross College in Worcester.  Rep. Bishop earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) is a graduate of Columbia University and Fordham Law School.  Rep. Nadler earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Bill Owens (NY-21) is a 1974 graduate of Fordham University School of Law. Rep.Owens earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice. He reportedly voted against the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act which would ban aborting children based on their sex.

David Cicilline (RI-1) earned a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Rep. Cicilline earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Peter Welch (VT) graduated magna cum laude from the College of the Holy Cross in 1969. Rep.Welch earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice. He voted against banning sex-selective abortions.

Bobby Scott (VA-3) is a graduate of Boston College Law School. Rep. Scott earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Jim Moran (VA-8) attended the College of the Holy Cross and was awarded a B.A.in economics in1967. Rep. Moran earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice. Jim Moran wrote just last year on the ProChoice Virginia website, “I will continue to strongly advocate for abortion rights for women. This is an issue of great personal conscience that should be free of government interference. The Supreme Court has proclaimed its legality; the rest should be left to a woman, her family and her physician.”

Adam Smith (WA-9) graduated from Fordham University in 1987 with a degree in Political Science. Rep. Smith earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice and won Planned Parenthood’s endorsement in 2012.

Gwen Moore (WI-4) earned a B.A. in Political Science from Marquette University. Rep. Moore earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice. Planned Parenthood endorsed Gwen Moore in the 2010 general election.

The incoming freshman in the 113^th session of Congress:

Jared Huffman (CA-2) graduated cum laude from Boston College Law School in 1990.As a state representative, Huffman earned a 100-percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice California in 2009. According to his campaign website, “Jared is firmly pro-choice and has a long track record of fighting for women’s rights.”

Juan Vargas (CA-51) graduated magna cum laude with a BA from the University of San Diego and earned an MA in Humanities from Fordham University in New York.After college, Vargas, according to his website, joined the Jesuit Novitiate (introduction) in Santa Barbara. After leaving the Jesuits, he decided on law school and graduated in 1991 with a JD from Harvard Law School, making him a classmate of President Barack Obama. As a state senator, Vargas earned a 100-percent score from NARAL Pro-Choice California from 2003 to 2006.        

 

Lois Frankel (Fl-22) earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973. NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC endorsed Frankel. Frankel also touted the endorsement of Planned Parenthood on her own campaign website.

John Delaney (MD-6) is a graduate of Georgetown University Law School. NARAL described Delaney as “pro-choice” on their website. According to OntheIssues.com, Delaney voted for public funding of abortion.

Ann Mclane Kuster (NH-2) graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1984. She was endorsed by EMILY's List in 2012. Kuster, according to a New Hampshire local news outlet, “strongly supports a woman's right to choose.  She has been endorsed over her opponents in this campaign by every major pro-choice organization.”

Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8) Jeffries holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University.  NARAL describes him as “pro-choice.”

Link (here) to The Cardinal Newman Society

                   

Fr. Mario Serrrano Marte, S.J. Arrested

Fifteen activists were arrested Monday while conducting a peaceful protest outside the Dominican Republic’s Central Electoral Board (JCE by its Spanish acronym) in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo. 

Among those arrested was Jesuit Father Mario Serrrano Marte, Executive Director of Centro Bonó, and several members of Reconoci.do. The protest was to bring attention to the discrimination suffered by Dominicans of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic, and the actions of the JCE which have denied many of them access to their identify documents, placing them at risk of statelessness. Late in the evening on March 11, four police vans arrived at the protest and police began confiscating the belongings of the protesters. 

Shortly thereafter, those who were still protesting were arrested and taken to a police station on the outskirts of Santo Domingo. An hour later, the group was released without being charged. At no point did the police provide any verbal or written reason for the arrest. Later that evening, after the group returned to the site of their arrest without most of their belongings to continue their peaceful demonstration, Father Serrano recounted the events of the evening and then offered these words via email: "The sunrise here is beautiful. We are about to being the morning prayer, and entreat you to pray along with us."

Link (here) to Jesuit Refugee Service

Jesuit Bites Cop, Cops Arrest Jesuit

Fr. John Lee Young-chan, S.J.

Jesuits in South Korea have urged authorities to release a man arrested last month after he bit the forearm of a police officer during a protest against a controversial naval base on Jeju Island. Father John Lee Young-chan, 61, was protesting against the violent arrest of a female activist at the entrance to the base construction site when the incident happened. A court confirmed the legality of his detention on Tuesday, and on Friday he was formally charged with attacking a police officer. He is being held in Jeju Prison. Following a Mass in support of Fr. Lee in Seoul on Friday, Father John Shin Won-sil said the accused should be allowed out on bail “as he is not a flight risk and would not destroy evidence.”

However, Woo Jeong-sik, chief inspector of Jeju police, said today the law would be strictly enforced given that “Fr. Lee bit a policeman who tried to restrain him,” which he described as “the obstruction of police work.” Meanwhile, Jesuit Fr. Kolbe Kim Sung-hwan, who claims to have seen the incident, said that Fr. Lee had done little more than bite the police officer’s clothes. “He acted in self-defense because he felt gravely threatened while three policemen held him by squeezing his throat and twisting his arms,” said Fr. Lee’s lawyer Kim In-sook.

 In a letter from prison, he said activists were engaged in “just protests” against the “unjust construction” of the naval base and accused police of undermining their rights. The construction of the naval base on Jeju Island, which will become home to a new fleet of 20 warships and other vessels, has sparked vigorous protests from residents, environmental activists and religious leaders. Protesters say the project would cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem of the island, a popular tourism destination and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Link (here) to UCANANEWS

Blogger Note:
Jesuit Fr. John Lee Young-chan and Brother John Park Do-hyun, were handed six months in jail, also suspended for two years. Earlier in the year for similar protests (here)

The Bankruptcy filling (here) of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus on  02/17/09 as a result of the aftermath of the child sex abuse scandal with in the province by 50 or so Jesuits (here).

French Canadian Jesuit Severely Beaten

College Jean-de-Brebeuf

An 86-year-old Jesuit priest may lose the use of an eye after being beaten outside a Jesuit retirement home in Pierrefonds. Father Louis Bourgeois was found at about 11 a.m.Monday lying on the ground near a Jesuit residence called Villa St. Martin, located at 9451 Gouin Blvd. W., where he lives. Bourgeois, an avid camper, was on a short walk when the attack occurred. “He was just going to clean his camper. Because the camper is just a bit far from the house, beyond the garden, so he was just out there cleaning,” said the director of Villa St. Martin, Father Gabriel Cote. Bourgeois was perhaps attacked by a squatter in the camper, though no witnesses can confirm those details. “It's the theory that he probably surprised somebody who was in the camper,” said Cote. It’s believed he crawled to a nearby parking lot, where he was discovered by a passerby. When police arrived, Bourgeois was confused, severely injured, and could not clearly describe what had happened. He was taken to Sacre-Coeur Hospital where he underwent surgery. His life is not in danger but he suffered injuries to his head and upper body, and  may lose the use of one of his eyes. Because of his age, he is being monitored closely. “They're keeping him calm. I sensed that he wanted to say a lot of things, but we just reassured him and we're fortunate to have a chaplain at the hospital who's his Jesuit brother also - so he's well taken care of,” said Cote. Twenty-four hours later, police were still hoping to talk to Bourgeois about what happened. "We're trying to learn if this person was assaulted by people. We're trying to see what was happening on the site," said Jean-Pierre Brabant of the Montreal police department. College Jean-de-Brebeuf sent out a newsletter Tuesday to alumni informing them of the attack and its severity.

Link (here) to read the original piece and watch  video of the attack site

Jesuit On Legalized Prostitution

Father Thomas Reese, a Catholic Jesuit professor, told CNN on Monday that religious belief should not be used as the sole basis for laws, noting that the philosophically-inclined saints Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas actually believed prostitution should be legal, though they morally opposed it.

Link (here) to CNN

A Message From The California Province

.....prevention of at-risk behaviors by Jesuits, and care and supervision of offending Jesuits.
Link (here) to read the full statement

Meth Labs, Fluke And Sensitivity Training At Georgetown University

Harbin Hall Georgetown

Georgetown University is no stranger to scandals. In 2010 a meth lab was discovered in one of the student dorms (Harbin Hall) and Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown law student drew major attention to the school when she appeared in a hearing to discuss birth control; specifically the Jesuit institution’s refusal to cover birth control under the student health care plan. Could yet another scandal be brewing?

Enter the Community Scholars Program at the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access. The CSP reaches out to disadvantaged youth and provides full scholarships and assistance for to GU. By all accounts it is a wonderful program that has great intentions and has helped many young people achieve their dream of attending college. Here is how they explain themselves at their website: 

The Community Scholars Program provides Georgetown students with the unique opportunity to thrive. Scholars are carefully selected during the admissions process based on their academic achievement, impressive co-curricular accomplishments, and commitment to the transformative power of education. They typically represent diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and are often first generation college students.

Scholars attend a five-week summer intensive on campus to prepare for the upcoming school year. .

Here is what is listed at the website as the course curriculum.

• The summer residential component is constructed around two credit-bearing courses – Humanities and Writing 009, and a second Summer School course. The Humanities and Writing course is an intensive critical-reading and writing course taught by Georgetown faculty with graduate-student writing tutors. A second Summer Session course, chosen by each student’s academic dean, provides participants with an opportunity to get a head start on their credit hours before beginning their first semester. Courses include Theology, Philosophy, Government, and Math, depending on their school and intended course of study.
• Scholars live in a residence hall along with Resident Advisors, who provide an extended orientation to life at Georgetown.
• Continuation of Humanities and Writing 009 course into the Fall semester. This course counts as six (6) credits.
• Fourth Hour Study Group for Core Courses – Led by former students who excelled in the course. Fourth hour support will be offered for Microeconomics, Chemistry and Calculus.
• Freshman Year Support – This support includes mandatory attendance at College Readiness Seminar Series, meetings with the Academic Advisor, and various social events.
• Ongoing Support - Ongoing activities throughout the remainder of a Scholar’s Georgetown career, including one-on-one meetings with the Academic Advisor; special faculty seminars; cultural and social outings; and community service opportunities.    

Sounds pretty basic. What is not included in this summary is one other workshop that students were required to attend as a part of the CSP. It was an LBGT “Sensitivity Training” course and apparently it was a requirement for students attending the program. According to multiple sources who wish to remain anonymous, although many students were uncomfortable about being forced to attend the training they were told they would face disciplinary action if they did not participate. One student who has yet to be officially named refused and was allegedly escorted off campus by Georgetown Campus Police. He was expelled from the summer program but there is a possibility he will still be eligible to attend regular classes in the fall.  And in case you were wondering if this is true, here is video taken at the actual workshop and slipped to us exclusively here at kiradavis.net. Also see Talitha McEachin’s reporting on this story for more info.