LifeNews.com Editor
February 13, 2008
San Antonio, TX (LifeNews.com) -- A Catholic college in Texas is coming under fire from pro-life advocates for hosting a rally for pro-abortion Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Clinton's campaign has set up a rally at Greehey Auditorium on the campus of St. Mary's University and Catholic leaders there are concerned.
News of the rally reached San Antonio Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, who told WOAI radio that the Catholic educational institution is wrong to give Clinton a platform to air views that go against Catholic Church teaching against abortion.
"Our Catholic institutions must promote the clear understanding of our deep moral convictions on an issue like abortion, an act that the Church calls 'an unspeakable crime' and a non-negotiable issue," he told the radio station.
"It is clear that the records of Senator Clinton and some of the other candidates for President on important life issues are not consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church," Gomez said.
St. Mary's University president Charles Cotrell released a statement defending the decision to hold the rally.
"As a Catholic tax-exempt university, St. Mary's does not endorse political candidates or their positions on issues and acknowledges the fundamental differences between those of the presidential candidates and the Catholic Church," he said.
The concerns at St. Mary's come on the heels of complaints about Trinity University in Washington, which honored two pro-abortion politicians.
St. Peter's College, a Jesuit Catholic institution in New Jersey, also came under fire last month for allowing pro-abortion Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to hold a rally.
The Cardinal Newman Society, a pro-life group that monitors Catholic universities, says Catholic colleges have an obligation not to give a platform to pro-abortion politicians.
"It's irresponsible for a Catholic college and its leadership to host a political rally for an aggressively pro-abortion candidate," CNS president Patrick Reilly told LifeNews.com previously.
"Such events curry public attention at the expense of public morality. In so doing, they demonstrate reckless disregard for the most vulnerable human lives and contribute to the general decline of Catholic higher education," Reilly explained.
ACTION: Send your comments about the Clinton event to St. Mary's University, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, Texas 78228, call (210) 436-3011 or go here to send an email note.
