ARTICLES

Calling Father Spitzer

Would USD Follow Gonzaga?

By Robert Kumpel

On April 12 Planned Parenthood speaker Laurel Kelley was scheduled as the guest speaker for Gonzaga University's Women's Studies Club -- that is until Gonzaga president, Father Robert Spitzer, S.J. stepped in to cancel the event. Spitzer asserts that the issue is not censorship, but non-sponsorship: A Catholic university cannot in good conscience allow their facilities to be used by an abortion provider to promote their agenda.

Would USD show the same fortitude as Father Spitzer? Several students and one faculty member had strong opinions on the matter.

Dr. Gerald Sperazzo, Psychology faculty
"I think it's certainly appropriate for a Catholic institution to define what it means by 'Catholicity'. If that means not permitting organizations that are not consistent with the Catholic faith, I think that's appropriate."

Stephanie Archuleta, Senior
"I think they should have allowed them to come on the campus to speak. First and foremost, you're talking to adults more than capable of making their own decisions. Just because they do something that the Catholic church is opposed to doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong for them to speak. They're looking to prevent unwanted pregnancies and if they come and they talk to these young people in advance, I think knowledge is power, and it would actually improve conditions on unwanted pregnancies and abortions, so that it would lower the numbers on those things."

Brian Soika, Senior
"I think that they should have been able to speak. To me, it does sound like a clash of ideas. Just because they support something that is incompatible with their beliefs, I don't think that's a justifiable reason to deny their presence on campus."

Jared Taylor, Sophomore
"I don't think that you can kick someone's opinion out without hearing them out first. It might conflict with Catholic values because we don't want abortions, but ... have someone who is pro-life right next to them explaining how Catholics believe. But we want to hear their [Planned Parenthood's] opinions too, because that's going to allow us to further our minds and allow us to be more open. Planned Parenthood may be one of the largest abortion providers, but they probably have good things to say -- there's a good side to them as well as a bad side."

Robin Politte, Sophomore
"I think that they're allowed to do that because for one, it's a Catholic school, it's a private university, so they are sponsoring Catholic morals. Also, the head is a priest himself. At a regular school, Planned Parenthood would be recommended and liked at the school. I don't believe in going against his [Fr. Spitzer's] teachings and the way he was brought up, but I do think they should have some sort of Planned Parenthood there, because it helps with college. There's so much sex around campus and in college that you need something there -- you need to educate people about it."

Jose Chavez, Sophomore
"Just because you're Catholic doesn't mean you're going to be just against abortion. You can have mixed opinions about both, and I strongly feel that opinions matter. By that guy kicking those people out and not allowing them to enter, I think that was a poor choice. Everybody has a right to their opinion and all the students at that school, or whoever wanted to attend, should have been allowed to get a broad perspective, not just a limited perspective."

Emily Roth, Sophomore
"I would not want Planned Parenthood coming here because it is the largest abortion provider and it goes against everything that our mission as Catholics stands for, which is promoting life. I'm not saying that we should be closed-minded, but as a Catholic universty, we would be sponsoring something that is basically contradicts what we believe in and what our mission is."

Edward Oliva, Junior
"I can understand how Gonzaga with their ideals wouldn't want Planned Parenthood to be there, yet, Planned Parenthood should be there. I am against abortion, personally. It goes against what I believe in, but I can also see the other side where you should be responsible for whatever 'mistakes' you make as a teenager or a college student. The bottom line is, anyone and everyone needs help wherever they can find it."

Vicky Rodriguez, Senior
"I can understand how Father Spitzer did not want Planned Parenthood to come because of their [Gonzaga's] Catholic ideals. I am Catholic but I am pro-choice, so I can understand how they might be getting a lot of flack for it. If they did come on campus and speak, it could be kind of contradictory. Personally, I wouldn't mind them coming on campus and speaking, because there's a lot of stuff to learn, but I can understand why they wouldn't want them to come on campus and speak."

Laura Osborne, Senior
"I'm not Catholic, but I feel fine and think it's great, regardless of what it represents. There are solid facts that young adults need to be educated. I don't think they should have been kicked off campus. It's the president's choice, of course, but I would have encouraged Planned Parenthood to be able to present because young adults need to be educated about contraception, reproductive choice -- were they going to talk about invitro and all that kind of stuff -- alternatives? I just dealt with this in ethics, but I guess I call myself pro-choice versus what people call pro-life, so that wouldn't influence me to kick them off or keep them on campus to present. I would promote Planned Parenthood being able to speak to young adults because education is education, regardless of abortion."

Megan Turner, Sophomore
"Being that I am Catholic and I grew up with a Catholic education since preschool, I can see why the president of Gonzaga may not have wanted Planned Parenthood to speak. But I also see the need for education, because a lot of people aren't getting the education that they need in that area. Planned Parenthood, I think, does a lot of really good things, but abortion is the one thing that I have to disagree with. It's hard, it's like contraception and stuff -- I think that needs to be available to everybody. They should have been able to speak about it, however I don't know if I agree with them speaking at a Catholic university. It should have been publicized and the speaker should have been off campus someplace."

Monsignor Steven F. Callahan, Rector, St. Francis Seminary, Diocesan Chancellor
"I have a policy of not talking to News Notes."

Sister Virginia McMonagle, R.S.C.J., Assistant Vice President for University Relations
"I happen to have the experience of having Planned Parenthood ask me if they could meet at a private school in Seattle, Forest Ridge. So I checked with the archbishop. I happened to be on the board for the Sex Education Association for King County. I was representing the diocese under Archbishop Connolly. So they used to have their meetings at my place. Several of the parents rose up in horror, because they walked by the assembly room and saw a Planned Parenthood board in there meeting with me and a Jesuit priest.

"I was asked to represent the Catholic point of view, which I didn't think was a bad idea. The archbishop was the one who asked me. So things blew over and we continued meeting there, but we knew where they stood and they knew where we stood. So I think it was profitable for both of us."

Paul Santero, Seminarian, St. Francis Seminary
"I agree with what he said that in good conscience they could not sponsor what the Catholic Church is so totally against. Even though eveyone has a right to free speech, I think a private, Catholic university has every right to say who is going to come and what they're going to say. That isn't extreme at all -- I mean abortion and Planned Parenthood being number one in it -- the pope is so against that. He saying that now when we vote for people -- you know that document he came out with -- if you vote for a pro-choice candidate, you have to realize that you're supporting abortion and that's going to be on your conscience and that's the most important thing that you have to consider in elections now. I totally agree. If you're Planned Parenthood and you're promoting death, which the Catholic Church against."

Katie Delahunty, Senior

"I agree with the decision. Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of abortions and I definitely agree. I'm against what Planned Parenthood stands for. They can be really deceptive and lure people. I know that there's times when they've advised people in the third trimester to abort, and there's the partial-birth abortion. I'm definitely against abortion and anyone who is in favor of it should not be allowed to have influence or be respected on a Catholic campus."

Heather Merlo, Junior

"I'd have to agree. I've been raised Catholic my whole life and I don't believe in abortion. I'm not sure I would agree with Planned Parenthood coming, but, on the other hand, not everybody's Catholic, and they have the right to their own opinion, so if certain people wanted them [Planned Parenthood] to come, then they should be allowed to, if it was outside of school. This being a Catholic university, I don't think they should have been allowed, especially without him [Father Spitzer] knowing."

* * *

It should be noted that I was accosted on campus by Liz Harman, news bureau director for USD's office of public relations. When asked what I was reporting on, she said, "We're not interested in that" and asked me to leave the campus. I called her the following day to ask what the university's position would be regarding Planned Parenthood coming on campus to speak. She replied that it would be incompatible with the mission of USD.

Sister McMonagle protested to News Notes the following day that I did not identify myself as a News Notes reporter and requested that we withhold her comments as it is not "Ethical or fair for a member of the news media to misidentify himself or his publication when requesting an interview." I told each interview subject that I was with the Catholic press and if they asked which publication, I told them specifically. Harmon also called to protest using McMonagle's response. When asked why the diocese exercised a policy of stonewalling News Notes, she said that she could not speak for the diocese. When asked why USD was so hostile to News Notes, she insisted that she could not speak for USD but reiterated that Sister McMonagle did not want her comments published.

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