Recent actions and statements by Saint Louis University leaders show that many of the University’s leaders either totally disregard or fundamentally misunderstand Catholic teaching.
The most egregious recent example of actions contrary to Catholic teaching is the plan, revealed in October, to build a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center in the Busch Student Center, perhaps using student development funds.
According to an Oct. 5 article in The University News, this center will provide “support and information on GLBT issues.”
Also, literature would be provided for those who are “struggling with their sexuality.”
SLU President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., claimed in the article, “We’re not doing anything the Catholic Church would disagree with.” Any well-studied and knowledgeable Catholic should know how incorrect Biondi’s statement is.
The official teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexual actions, courtesy of the Catechism of Catholic Church: According to Section 2357 of the Catechism, “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered . They are contrary to the natural law . Under no circumstances can they be approved.”
The Catechism could not be clearer. Homosexual acts are wrong and must never be condoned. The GLBT center in the BSC would thus be celebrating and approving a lifestyle that is fundamentally and completely at odds with Catholic teaching. Essentially, student funds will be used for a center that will promote and approve a lifestyle that is directly contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church.
It would be one thing if Biondi and his fellow liberal Catholics wanted to claim they simply disagreed with Catholic teaching on homosexuality and simply chose to disregard it, but it is much worse that they are publicly misrepresenting the church’s teaching on this issue. Biondi and others simply cannot be allowed to fundamentally misrepresent the Catholic Church’s official position in an effort to justify their blatant disregard of that very position.
If SLU wants to be true to Catholic teaching on homosexuality, it should practice treating everyone with dignity and respect instead of actively promoting and condoning homosexual activities. Biondi did get the Catholic teaching correct in the GLBT center article when he said, “We’re all welcome in the kingdom.”
The Catechism makes this teaching clear by stating that homosexuals, like all humans, must be treated with “respect, compassion, and sensitivity.” Clearly, Catholics are called to treat all human beings with dignity and respect. Any aggressive harassment of anyone, including homosexuals, is completely unacceptable.
While homosexual persons are welcome in the kingdom, homosexual acts are not welcome. Homosexuals themselves deserve dignity and respect, as owed to all human beings, but homosexual actions deserve no dignity and respect, as they are against Catholic teaching.
Creating the GLBT center inappropriately gives dignity, respect and even approval to the homosexual lifestyle. SLU officials must make a choice on the issue of homosexuality. They must either declare their disagreement with Catholic teaching or they must cease their activities that are in direct contradiction to that teaching.
Unfortunately, SLU’s powerbrokers have misused Catholic teaching in their pursuit of liberal activism in other areas as well. An example that comes to mind is the annual protest, sponsored by SLU’s Campus Ministry, at The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, which was formerly known as The School of Americas.
Since 1996, members of the SLU community have been traveling to Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., to protest this military training school, which is run by the United States Military. Father Biondi was even arrested in 2000 while protesting at the base. The protestors gather at Fort Benning to call for the closure of WHINSEC/SOA because graduates of the school committed major human-rights abuses in South America, including the murder of several Jesuits.
While it is true that graduates of the school have committee terrible atrocities and deserve severe punishment-unlike most liberal Catholics, I would argue some likely deserve the death penalty-it is absurd to hold this school or the United States military accountable for these terrible acts. Are the protesters claming that the instructers at the school taught their students to kill innocent civilians? Given the strong anti-military penchant of many liberal Catholics, they would have certainly released even any rumors of such impropriety immediately. The idea that members of the American military, the best disciplined and most ethical military in the world, should not be allowed to spread their wisdom to foreign military officers is both absurd and detrimental to international peace and security. If more militaries were as disciplined and ethical as the American military, the world would be a much better and safer place, especially for civilians in war zones.
Campus Ministry argues that the operation of this military training school goes against Catholic teaching. I would like to ask the protesters the following question: Since when is improving the discipline and ethics of national militaries against Catholic teaching? These protesters are either extremely misinformed or have a separate anti-military agenda.
I have no problem if they do have this agenda, but I am extremely offended that, in pursuit of this agenda, they are willing to misuse Catholic teaching and somewhat question the Catholicism of Catholics, such as I, who find their protest seriously misguided.
On both the issues of homosexuality and protesting the military, it is important that Catholics who better understand and are more true to the teachings of the Church hold SLU’s powerbrokers accountable.
John Witt is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
