This is becoming a habit, but one I’m happy to indulge. I don’t want to just complain about bad bishops. I want to applaud those who do something good as well. In the latest case, Bishop John D’Arcy of South Bend, Indiana, told a Catholic high school and a Catholic university that he would not attend events as long as pro-abortion speakers were invited. He says that it was not intended as an ultimatum, but just as a fact.
And St. Joseph’s High School revoked its invitation to Gov. Joe Kernan, not because of the bishop’s pressure, but because they recognized it was the right thing to do. The University of St. Francis also rescinded its invitation to Dr. Nancy Snyderman, a former ABC News medical correspondent for her public pro-abortion views. However, I was less enthused about the groveling apology made by the university’s president. It made the revocation seem less like a principled stand and more like something done under duress.
Still, Bishop D’Arcy showed leadership, caused a change in a bad situation, and publicly educated Catholics of his diocese and beyond on Catholic moral principles. Exactly what a bishop should do.
Yeah, takin’ a stand… Way to go, Bishop D’Arcy! Over time, it would be good and right for abortion-loving politicans and TV newscasters and their sort to just know that they will not be giving speeches at Catholic schools and universities. For such is a serious form of defilement…
It is very sad that this is the exception rather than the norm. Let’s keep praying that more bishops step up to the plate…