I don’t necessarily think there is a connection between the two events, but the Bishop of Buffalo said he would let Hillary Clinton speak at a Catholic college about health care. However, before her speech she collapsed briefly at another event. It was evidently no big deal and her speech at Canisius College went on.
Bishop Edward Kmiec did pull the diocese’s sponsorship of the lecture, but he said that he thought it should go on because “the Church needs to maintain a dialogue with Clinton.” How exactly is allowing the most prominent pro-abortion politician in the country to have a platform to speak at a Catholic institution a dialogue? Where is the back and forth?
And what is this fetish with dialogue? Why should we dialogue with people who have made it clear that they are rabidly pro-abortion? Why not present the Church’s clear teaching and let them respond? Dialogue implies that there can be compromise. On abortion, there can be no compromise.
Also, didn’t the bishops agree last November that pro-abortion politicians should not be granted the honor or opportunity of speaking in Catholic institutions? Isn’t this a violation of that?
As for her collapse, Hillary fainted before giving a speech on Social Security because “she had been suffering from some sort of 24-hour flu.” She was able to go on and give her Canisius speech.
This bishop obviously doesn’t know the abortion industry.
This is serious stuff.
I’m proud of the protesters. It often takes the weak and little to shame the strong and those that like to dialogue.
Dialogue assumes two equal participants. When we come to the dialogue table, we give the opposition a hand up. The problem exists particularly in interreligious dialogue, and it gives the laity the impression that goes along with bargaining in any venue. Either we stand for what we believe or we give the impression we no longer believe it. You can’t have it both ways.
Obviously the folks in charge of speakers at the various colleges that promote programs like this one think there is more to be gained by rubbing shoulders with famous people than standing up for the faith. Worldly values are not supposed to have a permier place in Catholic institutions, but obviously they do. A parent would be better off sending a child to a secular college where at least it can be assumed that “they” believe differently than a Catholic, as opposed to a Catholic institution where “we” obviously believe something other than the Church teaches.
Here’s contact information at Canisius for more protesting:
Rev.Vincent M. Cooke SJ,President
Canisius College
Address:
2001 Main Street
Buffalo,NY 14208-1098
(716)-888-2100
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)