What’s so wrong with wanting to be Catholic in a Catholic university?

Why is it that the students are the ones demanding Holy Hours, pro-life groups, rosaries, and orthodox speakers? Why should they have to fight the administration to get these? Why should any Catholic university be afraid of “offending” students/faculty/staff who have knowingly chosen to attend/teach at/work at a Catholic university? Is there any good reason?

If there is, well, excuse my ignorance. I personally find the current state of nearly all Catholic universities ridiculous.

Pax Christi,
a Catholic university student

Washington DC, Sep 27, 2007(CNA).- The oldest Catholic university in the nation has changed its policy to permit grants to law students who intern with abortion agencies, such as Planned Parenthood.

Law Center Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff of Georgetown University announced the policy change Sept. 7 in a letter published in the Law Center’s student newspaper. It was reported in The Hoya, the Georgetown University newspaper.

The decision came after the Law Center got flack from pro-abortion students and faculty for directing student group Equal Justice Foundation to refuse funding to a student who applied to intern at Planned Parenthood.

The Hoya reports that the University Law Center will no longer consider the mission of organizations in determining grants, as was the case for the initial denial of funding.

“In partnership with the Equal Justice Foundation, the Law Center will provide grants to all students who work on law-related issues at a public interest organization or government agency,” wrote Aleinikoff.

Joy Welan the president of the Law Center’s pro-abortion group, Law Students for Choice, was pleased with the decision. She said her group met with Aleinikoff several times over the policy.

“We think that this compromise is fantastic news, for students who are interested in pursuing careers in reproductive rights advocacy,” Welan told The Hoya. “The dean has taken a huge step forward in advancing Georgetown’s commitment to public interest law, and we applaud him for it.”

Daniel Hughes, president of the Law Center’s pro-life group - “Progressive Alliance for Life” - said plainly that the Catholic University was now funding abortion advocacy.

“Aleinikoff has a radically secular, morally relativistic vision for the Law Center,” Hughes said in an e-mail to The Hoya. “He and other administrators have crafted a dishonest, legalistic ‘compromise’ that will allow students to gain assured, extensive Georgetown funding for pro-abortion legal work.”

This weekend, I sacrificed precious essay- and Socratic dialogue-writing hours to attend the Catholic Women’s Conference here in San Antonio. I learned so much about my vocation as a Catholic woman and my dignity as a woman.

I continue to grow in holiness, and I thank God for that. He is the greatest gift to receive. This weekend, my pastor Fr. Jan Klak - one of the most amazing men on the face of this earth - gave a wonderful talk about discerning God’s will for our lives. It was enormously helpful and encouraging to me. I urge you to pray for young people discerning the vocations to religious life / priesthood.

With that, I draw your attention to the words of Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP: Kids These Days: What they don’t want from the Church. Read it!

Man, am I glad these guys are our future priests. Here’s a parody of the new-age movement to replace Confession with hand-washing and Rosary with prayer crystals:

Part One:

Part Two:

Be on familiar terms with the angels; often contemplate them invisibly present in your life, and above all love and venerate that angel who watches over the diocese to which you belong. Pray to the angels of the people with whom you live, and especially to your own guardian angel. Call on him often and praise him every day, imploring his help and support in all that you do, spiritual or temporal. The angels present your petitions before God. [cf. Tb 12:12]

– INT. Part II, Ch. 16; O. III, p. 105

Taken from the lovely blog of PhatCatholic.

my band of choice continues to be mewithoutYou.

I don’t have a long post or update for now, only a reminder. The past couple of weeks have been a blaring reminder of how important it is to maintain a strong and real prayer life. Doing otherwise is the equivalent of painting a bullseye for Satan on your soul.

Because my prayer life had grown weak, and Satan took advantage of that opportunity, I kicked myself halfway down the mountain of God. Now, even after setting my ways right, the task of gaining back the ground I lost is intimidating. It’s easy to lose heart.

But the prize keeps me going. I long for God.