Bishop John Carroll Has Got to Be Turning Over In His Grave

The Cardinal Newman Society recently released this story. When I read it part of me said Bishop Carroll can't be too happy about this. FYI, Bishop Carroll founded Georgetown in 1789. It is Jesuit because Bishop Carroll was a Jesuit priest before the suppression in 1773 & he entrusted it to some fellow Jesuits as he has just been elected the 1st Catholic Bishop in America. (Thanks in part to a good word by Ben Franklin to the papal nuncio in France.)

I am pretty sure this isn't the direction he saw Georgertown heading when he began it. But, given the direction most "Catholic" colleges are going these days, esp most of the Jesuit ones, this isn't surprizing to see. This shouldn't even be on the table & the only discussion should be taking this opportunity to explain what the Catholic Church teaches & why it will never happen.

You don't "dialogue" with evil. What we are seeing is a part of the fruit of the 1967 Land O'Lakes Statement. But there is plenty of blame to lay at the feet of the USCCB & most individual Bishops as well for their playing games to avoid implimenting Ex Corde Ecclesiae as they should. The 10 year review for the implimentation of Ex Corde is scheduled for 2011. (USCCB Votes to Accept Recommendations for Ex Corde Review) At this point, I highly expect it to be just as disingenuous as the CCHD has been. Most "Catholic" colleges will probably claim they have done much to improve their "Catholic identity" when the truth is that they have put "lipstick on the pig" to make it look like they are Catholic. The real Catholic Colleges (see Cardinal Newman guide) didn't wait for the Bishops to dither until finally forced to act for appearances sake. They were already living out what Ex Corde talked about or in the process of cleaning up things to get there. Or, as is true in a few cases, newly started with what Ex Corde talked about in mind.

IMHO what is really needed is an Apostolic Vistation like the 1 the Vatican is doing of the Women Religious in the USA & the LCWR in particular. At the least it would put the Bishops on notice to shape things up.

Gender-Blind’ Student Housing Is Under Consideration at Georgetown University

According to The Hoya, Jesuit Georgetown University’s student newspaper, officials at the University have said they are willing to broach the topic of “gender-blind housing,” which would “not take into account gender when assigning housing to students.”
This past Sunday, Georgetown student senators voted to “take a closer look” at this suggestion for on-campus housing, the article reported, which “could lead to a more accepting atmosphere for LGBTQ students.”
Regarding the proposal, Todd Olsen, Vice President for Student Affairs, reportedly told The Hoya, “I am open to discussing ideas and interests with students as they pursue this dialogue.”
It seems that Georgetown students have mixed feelings about “gender-blind” housing on campus, as The Hoya reports:
As formal discussion of gender-blind housing begins at Georgetown, some students have questioned its viability.
“Though I think gender-blind housing would potentially be a positive thing to consider, we have to remember that if significant others chose to live with each other then broke up, we would have a higher number of people needing to change rooms, thus creating a housing nightmare,” Moriah Lenhart-Wees (COL ’13) said.
For other students, the benefits of a change in housing policy would be widespread for the campus.
“Gender-blind housing would be very beneficial to the Georgetown community. It would be helpful to the many people on campus who have friends of the opposite sex and who have different sexual orientations,” Eric Bulakites (COL ’13) said.
The GUSA resolution, which garnered 17 votes in favor and four abstentions, also spurred debate among senators.
“GUSA is responsible for allocating funds to various clubs and organizations. However, when you get into the issue of gender-blind housing, its gets dangerously political, and I don’t think that is where GUSA belongs,” Senator Colton Malkerson (COL ’13) said.
Get the full story here.
The article fails to even mention the fact that, as a Catholic university, Georgetown has a responsibility to promote the virtue of chastity on campus. Placing men and women together as roommates completely undermines this. It is disturbing that “officials” at the institution are even willing to broach this topic with students. The answer should be quite simple: No.
Unfortunately, many Catholic universities already have very lax, if not non-existent, male/female intervisitaion policies for dorm life. Allowing “gender-blind” housing would only serve to institutionalize the hook-up culture which sadly pervades much of Catholic higher education.
Fortunately for Catholic parents and students serious about living the Catholic faith and the virtues during the college years, there are institutions that make chastity a corner-stone of campus life. The Catholic colleges and universities profiled in The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College have student life policies in effect that severely curb and in most cases eliminate the hook-up culture from campus.
Georgetown and many other “prestigious” Catholic colleges would do well to study the policies of Newman Guide colleges in order to turn the tide of Catholic campus culture back to a practice of the virtues. Read The Newman Guide for free online here: http://www.thenewmanguide.com/