By Nadine Elsibai
April 17 (Bloomberg) — Pope Benedict XVI will get the
royal treatment today when he speaks at Catholic University of
America in Washington. Actor Stanley Tucci got the hook.
Tucci, the star of “Big Night,” was prevented from
taking part in a university forum in 2004 because he favors
abortion rights. He’s not the only one who’s been turned away.
A contractor with the school bookstore in 2003 canceled a talk
by Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s delegate to Congress,
and the university president initially delayed funding a campus
NAACP chapter, both over the abortion issue.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to offer everybody who
believes whatever, especially what is contrary to the church,
the pride of place that a platform on this campus provides,”
said Father David O’Connell, the school’s president.
That policy will make the 121-year-old institution, the
only Vatican-chartered graduate and research center in the
U.S., a fitting host for Benedict XVI, who as cardinal was in
charge of enforcing church doctrine.
Benedict, 81, making his first visit as pope to the U.S.,
will offer a message of encouragement to the heads of the more
than 200 U.S. Catholic colleges and universities and
superintendents of the 195 dioceses in his 5 p.m. address. His
talk follows a Mass he will say at the Washington Nationals
baseball stadium.
While he’s expected to face some protesters during his
Washington visit, including supporters of victims of sexual
abuse by clergymen, many of the 6,400 students at Catholic
University are offering only enthusiasm.
Procession for Pontiff
Three nights ago, 300 students held a candlelight
procession through the campus, with stops to say the rosary, in
honor of the pontiff. The Campus Ministry sold baseball shirts
with his name in block letters across the back to raise money
for its missions. Students in the architectural program
designed the chair he’ll use during his talk.
University officials say that while students are free to
debate contentious issues in the classroom, such views
shouldn’t be highlighted elsewhere.
That policy was evident in October 2004. O’Connell halted
plans to invite Tucci to speak at a seminar on the Italian
cinema, because of his ties to Planned Parenthood, a group that
favors abortion rights, said Victor Nakas, a university
spokesman.
Contrary Positions
“Catholic institutions should not honor people who take
prominent, public positions diametrically opposed to the
Catholic Church’s teachings,” Nakas said.
In February 2003, the scheduled appearance by Norton was
canceled by the bookstore contractor after students complained
about her pro-abortion stance, Nakas said.
In the spring of 2004, students filed a petition seeking a
campus chapter of the NAACP. The request wasn’t honored until
O’Connell met with the civil rights organization’s then-
president, Kweisi Mfume, to get assurances that the students
wouldn’t have to follow the group’s national policy endorsing
abortion rights, Nakas said.
Jennifer Plante, Tucci’s publicist, said her client was
unavailable to comment. Tamainia Davis, a spokeswoman for
Norton, and Robert McIntyre, a spokesman for the NAACP, didn’t
immediately provide comment.
“Catholic colleges here are more challenged by the
American notions of academic freedom, which tends to be very
absolutist,” said Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal
Newman Society, a group dedicated to strengthening Catholic
identity at church-affiliated schools.
Georgetown’s Different
That hasn’t stopped Georgetown University, a private
college in Washington run by the Jesuits, from allowing groups
and speakers whose positions don’t always follow the church.
H*yas for Choice, a gay rights and pro-abortion group named
after the school’s Hoyas nickname, recently hosted “Choice
Week” on campus.
Catholic University’s strict environment is relatively
new, said Mark Judge, a 1990 graduate. There was “a lot of
hedonism in the 1980s,” he said.
The “president is an orthodox guy who is faithful to the
magisterium,” said Judge, a Potomac, Maryland, freelance
writer. “Whereas before, that kind of orthodoxy was not
tolerated, now it’s celebrated.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Nadine Elsibai in Washington at
nelsibai@bloomberg.net.
.
::Tullycast:: 