Georgetown University alumni, students and others are preparing a canon law suit to be filed with the Archdiocese of Washington and the Vatican, seeking remedies “up to and including the possible removal or suspension of top-ranked Georgetown’s right to call itself Catholic or Jesuit in its fundraising and representations to applicants.”
The effort is being led by the distinguished Georgetown alumnus William Peter Blatty, who won an Academy Award for his screenplay and book The Exorcist and has been honored by Georgetown with its John Carroll Medal for alumni achievement.
Blatty is urging Georgetown alumni, students, parents, faculty and anyone associated with Georgetown to join the lawsuit at <www.gupetition.org>. The website includes an inspiring letter by Blatty and a description of Georgetown’s historical ties to the Jesuits, the Washington Archdiocese and the Vatican. (Source)
I like the letter from Mr. Blatty and especially like what he quotes from a Georgetown grad who wrote him.
Unfortunately, I found that Georgetown today lacks the integrity to consistently live the Catholic identity it claims. While faith and spirituality are embraced at Georgetown, they are respected only so long as they are either confined within the walls of Dahlgren Chapel, or diluted to appease the dictatorship of relativism which is sweeping our civilization. My Catholic manner of worship was always accepted, but my Catholic lifestyle and convictions were sometimes attacked by student organizations and staff members, themselves underpinned by tacit and even explicit university endorsement. Far beyond nuanced scrutiny or respectful debate, my convictions, especially those regarding the dignity of human life, were instead the subject of sweeping condemnation, even at university-sponsored events. My cultural identity was insulted; my intellectual autonomy and personal agency were denied in order to render my voice inconsequential. On those occasions I came to wonder why, at a Catholic institution, I was so ridiculed for my Catholicism. I sometimes felt betrayed by a campus culture which discouraged faithfulness, even while banners everywhere touted the ideal of “faith in action.”
Not an uncommon diagnosis of the state of Catholic eduction where Catholic identity is boasted of, but with the fruits predominately secular and often in a way that opposes the faith. Dr. Jeckle could not live the dual personalities of Dr. Jeckly and Mr. Hyde and Catholic institutions that try to do the same thing will also fail at it or have Mr. Hyde predominate.
There is also something cool about the author of The Exorcist as an alumni calling out the university. I can easily imagine a group of priests surrounding the President of the University and some of the faculty while chanting “The Power of Christ compels you!” Though considering the university there just might be a flood of pea soup involved.
How do you tell if a Catholic university is possessed? When suddenly it stops speaking in Latin.
Though the action of Georgetown and other Catholic educational institutions don’t require diabolic possession as an explanation. More like possession by the spirit of the age which seems even harder to drive out until it dies its own natural death. No doubt much prayer and fasting is required.
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>On those occasions I came to wonder why, at a Catholic institution, I was so ridiculed for my Catholicism.
Education is the culprit of course. I’m afraid one of the side effects of learning stuff like history, science and math is an understanding of the world and reality and sadly that makes ancient mythology and superstition look rather ridiculous and unlikely.
You mix in beer and the lack of parental pressure to be polite and mockery will happen.
But hey when your god throws ’em all into Hell the last sad laugh will be yours.
Salvage, if you could salvage an actual education from the post-modern Discovery Channel nonsense you appear to have been fed, then you’d see that you’re scoffing at something you don’t even begin to understand. But apparently we agree on this much: the truth will set you free.
Most Catholics would be loathe to see any accept hell over heaven.
>Most Catholics would be loathe to see any accept hell over heaven.
I know, it was that sort of thinking that lead to the various inquisitions (the Spanish wasn’t the worst but they were all pretty awful). See the idea was the if people died in sin without accepting Jesus your god would torture them forever and ever so torturing them just for a bit here on Earth until they accept Jesus would be a decent if not heroic act.
So they did, Jews, Muslims, others and natives from the various “new” worlds were all abused one way or another into the loving arms of Jesus.
And they sincerely thought they were being the most decent sort of people saving souls by ripping out finger nails.
Of course it’s lunacy on every level and thanks to the secularization of Western societies we’ve managed to reign in the worst of the theistic insanity through laws but gosh if you guys don’t keep trying to crack that wall!
Fortunately the trend away from religion that started about 300 years ago has really picked up steam in the last 50 years, who knows? In another few generations it might all be relegated to museums and crazies living in deserts compounds waiting for their god to come and make them right and their enemies suffer.
Notice how the Jester just lets Salvage roam freely; no moderation.
Are there crucifixes still hanging in the classrooms, meeting rooms, and public areas around the Georgetown campus?
There is also something cool about the author of The Exorcist as an alumni calling out the university.
Congrats Jeff, most definitely an exorcism is needed not only to salvage pedantic “scientists” for whom the words Wombs for Rent are not scientific use of embryonic human lives, or pharisees who “think” that an embryo killed by a morning after pill is a not a life.
We have to salvage Wuerl (sending him to meditate basic history in some cell in Rome). He was MOST responsible for the Eucharist being distributed to babyslaughterer lawmakers in the Papal Mass 0f 2008.
To salvage these selcomplacent selftrighteus clowns of the nazi babykilling culture of death, please join the legal action to PUNISH the culprits in Georgetown.
Cordially
Right ’cause Christians have never been persecuted. We were never persecuted by the Jews: Stephen wasn’t tossed from the top of the temple and when he survived that, he wasn’t stoned to death, no. Even though the man who was there wrote of the event. and wrote of his desire to arrest and kill Christians. Christians were never persecuted by the Romans, the whole being fed to the ” Lions and tigers and bears, oh my” is shear nonsense, and we are definitely not persecuted and ridiculed now. Mother Theresa’s nuns were not raped and Christian churches are not being bombed in the middle east. No we were never wronged. And as for Catholics in particular not being persecuted: tell that to the Irish Catholics who when the potato famine hit, who were still required to deliver their other crops ( corn, wheat etc etc) to England, the quota remained the same.
Salvage, if you want to play the persecution game, you’ve got to acknowledge the victims of persecution on our side.
SA(L)VAGE
>Right ’cause Christians have never been persecuted.
Of course they were but not quite as bad as you probably think. In the early days of Christianity (0-200 AD or so) it was viewed by the general Roman populace with suspicion not only because it was new (Romans didn’t like new gods) but they refused to acknowledge the Pagan gods. The Jews were given special dispensation to do so because the Romans respected the age of their culture.
But the persecutions were sporadic and no worse than anything the Romans did to other cultures.
>We were never persecuted by the Jews: Stephen wasn’t tossed from the top of the temple and when he survived that, he wasn’t stoned to death, no.
Um one guy compares to the countless thousands tortured and murdered by official Vatican policy? The Crusades? The aligning with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany?
> Mother Theresa’s nuns were not raped and Christian churches are not being bombed in the middle east.
Can you find me any culture in the Middle East that hasn’t been bombed, raped and murdered? Have Christians ever bombed, raped and murdered there?
Isn’t it interesting that the source of your religion, where your god meddled the most is pretty much the most awful place in the world.
>No we were never wronged. And as for Catholics in particular not being persecuted:
Can you please tell me where I said that? In fact Catholics were treated horribly all over Europe in several times and places, they were forced to convert to through torture and burnt at the stake.
Then again you had incidents like the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre so in the case of the Reformation and the violence it spawned there’s blame on both sides.
I wonder which side Jesus was rooting for?
> tell that to the Irish Catholics who when the potato famine hit, who were still required to deliver their other crops ( corn, wheat etc etc) to England, the quota remained the same.
Were there any cases of Catholic kings doing the same sort of thing or were they all right and just and always took care of the poor?
>Salvage, if you want to play the persecution game, you’ve got to acknowledge the victims of persecution on our side.
I wasn’t, I was point out the logical conclusion of your “Most Catholics would be loathe to see any accept hell over heaven.” but rather than give that some thought you went off on a rant about how Catholics were the real victims. Or something.
Catholicism ruled Europe right up until the Reformation and made life hell for pretty much everyone who wasn’t in order to save them from Hell.
I’m pretty familiar with that history and it’s not even mine, you should read up on it, learn where you come from.
Why not give my point some actual thought?
For instance would you torture someone here on Earth to save them from Hell?