On January 24, San Francisco’s Walk for Life West Coast drew pro-life student groups from all over the western United States. The presence of such groups is one of the Walk’s distinguishing features. Every year, the Walk is covered from start to finish by EWTN. The coverage is led by Fr. Mark Mary, the host of Life on the Rock. Fr. Mark walks the Walk, and interviews participants along the way. Because Life on the Rock is geared to a younger audience, Fr. Mark makes a special effort to interview student groups. This year, at 3:01:53 into the coverage, Fr. Mark conducted an interview that provoked both concern and anger among Catholics. Here’s the transcript:
“Fr. Mark Mary: What group are you with?
Young woman: University of San Francisco.
How many are with you today?
We have 3 her, we were not allowed to post any flyers at our school.
Really? The administration wouldn’t let you?
Cause it was an off-campus function, so liability. But we are a Catholic school and there was no email or any mention of the Walk.
But you’re undaunted, you’re here anyway, and do you go to this every year?
Yes, this is our third year, well second year for USF Students for Life.
What does it do for you to come?
Um, it remotivates us to face our campus every day and to try to change our campus to pro-life and uphold authentic Catholic values.
Do you have hope for your fellow students, your peer group, that they’ll be converted on this issue?
Yes! Absolutely we do have hope.
Fr. Mark Mary then asked a young man with the USF group “Are you motivated by faith to come out?
By faith and reason, faith and reason, yeah.
OK, thanks for chatting with us.”
A search the website of the University of San Francisco supported the contention of the USF Students for Life representative that the university has blacklisted the Walk. A search for “Walk for Life West Coast” or “Walk for Life” returns absolutely zero results.
USF’s refusal to allow any publication of the Walk is in marked contradiction to the school’s attitude towards San Francisco’s annual celebration of sodomy, the gay pride parade. A search on the same website using the term “pride parade” returns 3,380 results:
One example detailed participation in the 2014 gay pride parade:
“Proudly Part of the City That Defines ‘Pride’ Dons March in SF Annual Parade
“About 200 USFers took part in San Francisco's Pride Parade on June 29….Some USFers saw the event as a special way to bond with co-workers. ‘I don’t remember experiencing that much school spirit in my 10 years at USF,’ said Julia Hing, assistant director of employer relations at USF. ‘It was a fantastic day.’
The LGBTQ Caucus USF’s parade contingent, which was co-sponsored by the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good, Human Resources, the Office of Diversity Engagement and Outreach, and the Office of Communications and Marketing. The groups say they will march again in 2015….”
The professed concern about “liability” at “off-campus” events does not bear scrutiny. The USF administration obviously has no problem about endorsing off-campus events when it fits the schools agenda, or even whether safety is an issue or not. On February 18, the San Francisco Chronicle reported the gay pride organizers had cancelled the so-called “Pink Saturday” event, held the day before the gay pride parade: “The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are pulling the plug on this year’s Pink Saturday due to ‘an escalation in violence’ that marred the staple of Pride weekend.”
Another result promoted a planning session for the 2015 gay pride parade. The faithful young woman interviewed on the EWTN segment asserted “but we are a Catholic school.” That, unfortunately, is incorrect. The Walk for Life West Coast, which USF refused to even mention, was attended by 12 Catholic Bishops as well as Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, and included a message of support from Pope Francis. A real Catholic school would have done everything in its power to support such an event. By contrast, there has never been one iota of Catholic support for the gay pride parade, indeed, there is opposition, yet USF supports it wholeheartedly.
“Proudly Part of the City That Defines ‘Pride’ Dons March in SF Annual Parade
“About 200 USFers took part in San Francisco's Pride Parade on June 29….Some USFers saw the event as a special way to bond with co-workers. ‘I don’t remember experiencing that much school spirit in my 10 years at USF,’ said Julia Hing, assistant director of employer relations at USF. ‘It was a fantastic day.’
The LGBTQ Caucus USF’s parade contingent, which was co-sponsored by the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good, Human Resources, the Office of Diversity Engagement and Outreach, and the Office of Communications and Marketing. The groups say they will march again in 2015….”
The professed concern about “liability” at “off-campus” events does not bear scrutiny. The USF administration obviously has no problem about endorsing off-campus events when it fits the schools agenda, or even whether safety is an issue or not. On February 18, the San Francisco Chronicle reported the gay pride organizers had cancelled the so-called “Pink Saturday” event, held the day before the gay pride parade: “The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are pulling the plug on this year’s Pink Saturday due to ‘an escalation in violence’ that marred the staple of Pride weekend.”
Another result promoted a planning session for the 2015 gay pride parade. The faithful young woman interviewed on the EWTN segment asserted “but we are a Catholic school.” That, unfortunately, is incorrect. The Walk for Life West Coast, which USF refused to even mention, was attended by 12 Catholic Bishops as well as Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, and included a message of support from Pope Francis. A real Catholic school would have done everything in its power to support such an event. By contrast, there has never been one iota of Catholic support for the gay pride parade, indeed, there is opposition, yet USF supports it wholeheartedly.
1 comment:
These so called 'Catholic' Universities are not really Catholic any more. It's too bad the Bishops can't step in and take their Catholic status away. To call themselves Catholic is a total deception.
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