What’s gotten into all these bishops and cardinals recently? Many are actually…standing up for morality all of a sudden. Up until recently there had been so much “contextualizing” of abortion from bishops. Yes, they’d say, abortion is very important but so is immigration and welfare and the War in Iraq. But it seems that many have realized that without the right to life, all other rights are meaningless.
I bring this up because Cardinal Egan today criticized Fordham University for giving an award to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a supporter of abortion rights. The Jesuit university wasn’t just giving him any award though. Breyer is scheduled to receive the Fordham-Stein Ethics Prize Wednesday at a dinner in New York. Ironic, huh? A judge who’s supported partial birth abortion is receiving an ethics prize from a Catholic university.
A spokesman for the New York Archdiocese said Cardinal Edward Egan was surprised to learn Breyer would receive an award from Fordham’s law school and has spoken to the Catholic university’s leaders to ensure “that a mistake of this sort will not happen again,” says the Associated Press.
Leaving no room for misunderstanding, spokesman Joseph Zwilling said Monday that Egan was talking specifically about Breyer’s votes on the court in favor of abortion rights.
More than 1,100 Fordham alumni and others have signed a petition to the university administration calling for the reward to be revoked, the Cardinal Newman Society said on its Web site.
While it’s depressing that they have to, I have been thrilled recently to see bishops and cardinals standing up against public immorality by Catholics and Catholic colleges.
Hooray for Cardinal Egan!
October 27, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Some things will never change with those zany northeastern Jesuits – rankling Church leaders, righteous indignation, bread, wine…
October 27, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I wonder if the recent uptick in episcopal spine is in any way related to the recent visit of our Holy Father to these hallowed shores. I remember some pro-abort Catholics received communion at the papal masses, prompting some “feedback” from some bishops. Maybe they just said, alright enough is enough…let’s get this thing on!
October 28, 2008 at 2:14 am
Bottom line – Breyer is still receiving the award. The Cardinal has less backbone than you give him credit for. “This sort of mistake” happens all the time. Does the diocese really think that this was a “mistake” on the part of Fordham. If so, they are totally delusional. The Cardinal needs to deal with it in the present, not the future.
October 28, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Sorry, wasn’t this the same Cardinal that not only gave Obama a public platform, but quite socially sat next to Obama the beautific baby-killer?
Perhaps if his excellency were to set an example ….
November 1, 2008 at 7:46 pm
“More than 1,100 Fordham alumni and others have signed a petition to the university administration calling for the reward to be revoked, the Cardinal Newman Society said on its Web site.”
Word is that not one – not ONE – of those signatures were Fordham alumni.
Interesting, eh?