Archbishop Raymond Burke will visit Saint Louis University next
week to speak on “The Sanctity of Human Life” at 7 p.m. Tuesday,
April 13, in Room 171 of the Busch Student Center.

“This is a unique opportunity for students. We would really like
to give him a warm welcome,” said Joe Eble, treasurer of Students
for Life.

The speech is open to the SLU community, and Burke will field
questions from the audience after his presentation.

“[Burke] is probably one of the more outspoken bishops on
pro-life,” said Barney Barry, S.J., moderator of Students for
Life.

Burke has been in the news lately for his beliefs regarding the
actions of Catholic politicians in their public and private lives.
According to a recent article in The New York Times, Burke
admonished presidential hopeful John Kerry not to take communion if
he attended Mass in St. Louis.

“Whenever you get a speaker it’s good to get someone
controversial, to draw a crowd,” Barry said.

Students for Life is sponsoring the event. Eble wrote to the
archbishop to invite the archbishop to speak.

“The goal was to have a speaker who had recognition and who also
gave a thoughtful articulation about the issues involved in being
pro-life,” Eble said.

This is the first official event at the University that Burke
has attended as archbishop. “The idea is for the archbishop to have
an intimate forum with the University,” Eble said.

The visit by Burke is an early kick off for Celebrate Life Week,
which begins on Sunday April 18, at 10 p.m. Mass.

Other events will follow, including a carnival in the quad
including free cotton candy and sales of Vito’s pizza on Monday,
April 19, from 11:40 a.m. until 3 p.m.