Better Late Than Never
-- Part One
of Two
I'm writing this edition of TN&V on Friday but
posting it today. Labor Day is one of those holidays, coming as
it does at the end of summer, that my family genuinely enjoys.
I try to be very circumspect when I comment on
battles within a church over abortion, particularly when it is
not my church. I thought about it for a few days and decided the
issues were so significant I should.
Last week, after it came under intense pressure,
Creighton University, a Catholic University, "mutual[ly]"
decided with Anne Lamott "to cancel her planned lecture."
Lamott was to have delivered the keynote address at a 2007
Center for Health Policy & Ethics lecture for women September 19th.
(Reportedly, a group of local churches has
already asked Lamott to give a talk with the title, "Faith and
Writing and Whatever: A Night With Anne Lamott.")
The furor was not hard to understand. Lamott, an
immensely talented and (as she would be the first to admit)
deeply troubled writer, is pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia. In
his explanation, Creighton University President John P.
Schlegel, S.J. flatly denied the decision was the result of
outside influence.
In his explanation Schlegel championed the
principle of academic freedom, but added that--because this was
about sponsoring Ms. Lamott-- "the issue is more nuanced."
"In this case, of course, the lecture was to be
sponsored by the Creighton University Center for Health Policy
and Ethics," he wrote. "Central to Ms. Lamott's work are very
strong views on certain issues of health policy and ethics.
[Editor's note. See Part Two.] While I certainly respect her
right to express those views, and admire her frankness in doing
so, her views are so clearly in opposition to the sacredness of
life from conception to natural death that I could not in good
conscience allow the University to place its imprimatur on her
lecture."
Take a minute and read Part Two, which is a
distillation of some of the things I've written about Lamott
previously. When you do you'll see why her selection was so
upsetting to many.
I look forward to your comments. Write to Dave
Andrusko at
daveandrusko@hotmail.com. Have a Happy Labor Day.
Part Two
