Another Take on Seton

LIFENEWS.COM, April 16 — Yes it decorated a judge who struck down New Jersey's partial-birth abortion ban. But Seton Hall University insists it is committed to the gospel of life.

“The award that will be given at the law school is not a reflection of university policy,” said Dr. Mel Shay, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs, in a statement released prior to the awards ceremony.

The school awarded Judge Maryanne Trump Barry the 12th annual Sandra Day O'Connor Medal of Honor on April 16, upsetting pro-life advocates and the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., in which the school is located, LifeNews.com reported.

Archdiocesan spokesman James Goodness said Archbishop John Myers was “extremely upset” by the award.

New Direction in Dallas

DALLAS MORNING NEWS, April 15 — The University of Dallas has named Dr. Francis Lazarus its next president.

Currently Lazarus is vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of San Diego. He will take office in July, the newspaper reported.

Lazarus succeeds interim president Robert Galecke, who succeeded Msgr. Milam Joseph in December.

Lazarus is “committed to the quality of education, the mission and the Catholic identity of the university,” said Msgr. Dan Dillabough, vice president for mission and university relations at the University of San Diego. “For us, it's wonderful that he can take his experience here and use it for the challenges there.”

No Time for Tenet

ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, April 5 — Jesuit Father Lawrence Biondi, president of St. Louis University, has announced he will not stand for re-election to the Tenet Healthcare Corp. board of directors.

Father Biondi has been chair of the ethics committee for the corporation, many of whose 114 hospitals perform abortions. He had been a board member since shortly after Tenet acquired St. Louis University Hospital in 1998.

Last year, according to a Cardinal Newman Society newsletter, the group called on Father Biondi not to run for re-election this May.

Winging It in Worcester

CHRONICLE.COM, April 7 — Is “unquestioning obedience” to Church teaching a help or a hindrance to new Catholic colleges and universities springing up around the country?

That was the question posed by a Chronicle of Higher Education live online colloquy April 7. David O'Brien, the Loyola professor of Roman Catholic studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Wocester, Mass., was the colloquy's featured guest.

In a transcript of the lively discussion at Chronicle.com, O'Brien stated: “By the way, as a sometime left-winger with 35 years in these schools, I have yet to find an institution of the left.”

History-Making Texts

CATHOLICTEXTBOOKPROJECT.COM, April 13 — Volume 3 of the Catholic Schools Textbook Project is now available for fall 2004, the project's organizers have announced.

A Light to the Nations: Ancient to Medieval covers Western tradition pre-history, first civilizations, and ancient Egypt, Israel, Greece and Rome through Medieval Christendom from a Catholic perspective. The volume includes supplemental documents, art, literature and music.

The other texts in the series are From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America and All Ye Lands: World Cultures and Geography.