Pro Abortion Chowdhury At Saint Peter's College

Saint Peter’s College in New Jersey announced recently that a population control advocate who supported efforts to reduce population in China and India, supports the distribution of contraceptives, and even opposed the Holy See on conscience clauses to protect healthcare workers from being forced to perform or take part in abortions will be honored at the college’s May 21 commencement ceremony.

Former U.N. Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury is scheduled to be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and deliver the commencement address at Monday’s ceremony. According to the college’s website, “Ambassador Chowdhury is an active advocate and renowned lecturer in world affairs.”

But what does Chowdhury advocate?

In 1983, The U.N. Fund for Population Activities, which Chowdhury chaired, outraged many by awarding grants to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India’s efforts at population control and to China’s family planning chief for their efforts to reduce population. Both countries reportedly ”used brutal methods to curb population growth,” according to the New York Times including forced sterilization. Anwarul K. Chowdhury also served as President of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which was labeled by The Vatican, according to the New York Times, as “an advocate of birth control.” And it doesn’t stop there. Chowdhury currently sits on the board of the population control group “Population 2005” which lists as its goal and purpose:

Accessibility to reproductive health services to all individuals of appropriate ages through the primary health care system as soon as possible and no later than the year 2000.

Meeting the family planning needs of all countries’ populations as soon as possible and no later than the year 2015 so as to provide universal access to a full range of safe and reliable family planning methods and lawful reproductive health services to individuals and couples who need them. He sits on that board with not one, but two former high ranking members of Planned Parenthood. 

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

Tomes On Theology

St. Peter's College Library

At my own small Jesuit college in Jersey City, the library has had no choice but to winnow down its books due to lack of space, not to mention the increasingly daunting task of taking care of all those dust-collecting volumes. Books do mold and a leak in the library’s roof and occasional break-downs in the air-conditioning system do not help. Furthermore, many of the books in our college library were simply not the sort of thing 21st-century students majoring in Criminal Justice, Accounting, Biochemistry and Nursing would find useful. Holdings from the libraries of now-closed Jesuit seminaries (like the one formerly in Shrub Oak, New York) found their way to us, but we really didn’t have too many readers for tomes on theology, journals about linguistics and The New Criterion. Faculty were asked to choose journals, duplicates of books are still on sale for $1 and a few volumes were discovered in boxes beside trash bins by some of my students, who hurried to rescue them.

Link (here) to read the full article

There Are Two Sowers

Rakshases

Saint Peter’s College, only Roman Catholic Jesuit college of New Jersey (USA), is providing a “Hindu prayer space” on its campus. Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a release today, has commended Saint Peter’s College (SPC) and termed this gesture as a “step in the right direction”. Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, has urged all universities, colleges and other educational institutions of USA and Canada to provide “Hindu prayer space” for its students. 

Rajan Zed pointed out that there was urgent need of allocation of permanent Hindu prayer space complete with a small library of Hinduism books at campuses because of unique requirements of Hindu rituals and prayer traditions; including deities, burning incense and jyots, taking off shoes, sitting on floor while praying, etc. 

These should be available to students 24-hours a day and seven days a week to meet their spiritual needs.

Link (here) toTruthDive.com

"There are two sowers" a reference found (here)

A Jesuit Sacramental Expansion

St. Peter’s College says it has entered into a partnership with the Archdiocese of Newark to take over the historic St. Aedan’s Church and use it as a cornerstone for a renewed emphasis on ministry at the college. St. Peter’s plans to transition the Bergen Avenue church into a college church, staffed by members of the college’s Jesuit community, and rename it St. Aedan’s: The St. Peter’s College Church. College officials note that the church will continue to operate as a place of worship for current and future parishioners, and will remain connected to the larger Jersey City Catholic community. 

Link (here) to Jersey City Independent
About the picture (here)

The Zen Jesuit On The Mantra Benedictine

Father Robert Kennedy, S.J., professor of theology, led the 2009 John Main Seminar, titled "When God Disappears." The John Main Seminar, held this year from August 28-30, celebrates the life and teaching of the Benedictine monk whose life's work was passing on the ancient practice of Christian meditation to anyone who wanted to learn. The seminar was held at The Christian Meditation Centre, St. Mark’s (Church of England Parish, not Catholic), Myddelton Square, London, and was preceded by a three-day silent retreat, which he also led.

Link (here) to the Inside St. Peter's College blog.

Photo of Fr. John Main, O.S.B

Blogger Note: Fr. John Main was assigned 1954 to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he met the Swami Satyananda, who taught him meditation utilizing a mantra as the means used to arrive at meditative stillness. It is my opinion that 40 years does not qualify as ancient Christian practice.