Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wis., sharply criticized Georgetown University’s decision to invite Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to speak at a ceremony during commencement weekend.
The bishop said those involved in Catholic education should be “witnesses and not just teachers,” and he warned that Georgetown's actions are “teaching the people by what we do the opposite of what we say.”
He told Raymond Arroyo on EWTN's The World Over in a May 10 broadcast that if he were president of the school, he “would never have moved in a direction like that.”
Georgetown University, the nation’s first Catholic and Jesuit college, ignited controversy on May 4, when it announced that Sebelius had been chosen to address Georgetown’s Public Policy Institute at an award ceremony on May 18.
Sebelius, who is Catholic, has drawn criticism for issuing a federal mandate that will require employers to offer health-insurance plans that cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates religious beliefs.
Catholic bishops from every diocese in the U.S. have condemned the mandate, warning that it threatens religious freedom and could force Catholic hospitals, schools and charitable agencies to shut down.
Sebelius has also long supported abortion, both in her current role and as governor of Kansas, where she vetoed pro-life legislation and opposed abortion restrictions.
A Georgetown spokeswoman responded to the criticism by saying that while Sebelius is speaking at an awards ceremony during commencement weekend, she is not a commencement speaker.
The university does not have “one main commencement speaker,” the spokeswoman said, because each of its undergraduate and professional schools holds a separate graduation ceremony.
Critics argue, however, that the university is still honoring Sebelius with the invitation and granting her an inappropriate platform to voice views that are hostile to the Catholic Church.
In a 2004 document entitled “Catholics in Political Life,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that “Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
A petition protesting the university’s decision to invite Sebelius has gained more than 24,000 signatures in one week.
Bishop Morlino said that Catholic educators “have to get involved and act in accord with what we teach.”
“I’m afraid too many of them have strayed from that direction,” he cautioned.
He pointed to Pope Benedict’s recent address to a group of U.S. bishops gathered at the Vatican, explaining that the education of young Catholics in the faith is “the most urgent internal challenge” facing the Catholic Church in America.
Bishop Morlino said, “I embrace that wholeheartedly.”
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The point is that she IS speaking at the PUBLIC POLICY graduation - in other words, her take on public policy is being endorsed by Georgetown, i.e. full access to abortion, the entire HHS debacle, by virtue of the invitation.
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It would almost (almost) be better if she was speaking at the commencement as her comments would be more of a general nature (“the future is yours, make of it what you can….blah, blah, blah).
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However, at a PUBLIC POLICY commencement she will surely speak of what public policy should be from her side of the desk. In other words, if you want a job in public policy after graduation, she’ll let you know the issues SHE (and our gov’t) think are important.
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Having sat through last year’s Public Policy graduation ceremony at Johns Hopkins Univ. I know. They chose a speaker whose research and ideals are near and dear to their (JHU’s) heart as they should.
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By choosing Sebilius, Georgetown is doing the same thing, whether their spokesperson will admit it or not.
So the awesome Bishop Morlino (all the way in Wisconsin) speaks out about this scandal, yet Cardinal Wuerl remains silent??? I am incredulous. Where are you Cardinal Wuerl? You cause me (and undoubtedly others) great despair with your inaction.
Its very sad that the church is filled with Benedict Arnolds
And puzzling they they are tollerated.
We hear excuses from the Vatican and the Diocese of Washington and the Jesuits themselves. But theyre lies. What are the real reasons?
I agree completely with Bishop Morling !
The Church must expell these blalant liars who have crawled into our church to deceive and destroy the ‘faithful’. Throw them out !!
What is interesting is that Archbishop George likened the LGTB march in Chicago to the KKK and when students at St. Norbert’s College did not want him to be their commencement speaker, the “powers that be” said that he should be allowed to speak to have the students exposed to all viewpoints. Now when Ms. Sebilius is invited to speak, certain church spokesMEN want her to be dis-invited. I guess the fairness issue of hearing many sides of an issue only applies when the side agrees with the church. Such hypocrisy!! Let Bishop Morlino in Wisconsin deal with his own myriad of problems that he has created.
They would say that they are encouraging “dialogue” and the open-mindedness vital to a university. That is disingenuous. No. It is a lie. Would they invite a klansman to give his views? They wouldn’t even invite someone who is a prominent conservative republican who could state the position of Ms. Sibelius and refute it point by point. No. They are only open and in dialogue with those people who hold these inhuman views and who champion them in their actions. The people at G’town are surely the “useful idiots” of our day.
It is embarassing that DeGioia could actually think anyone would buy his lame excuses. Can’t we just stop playing this silly game of Gtown pretending to be Catholic and the Church pretending to believe them? Just cut the corde already.
The only reason I can think of for playing this little game is the Church somehow thinks the dissenters are close to the end, and can just wait them out.
I do disagree with Benedict on one item though: The US Church’s biggest internal problem is NOT the education of young Catholics in the faith, but the education of ADULT Catholics in the faith. It does little good to teach middle schoolers the faith, only to have them lose it at University. The University profs need to be taught the faith (or removed). That is where the poison is. Cut the wound, and suck the poison out.
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