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Friday, April 15, 2011

Catholic Schools for Scandal: Trinity D.C. is one of them

Is there any common ground between the largest abortion killer in the world, Planned Parenthood and the Catholic Church? Hell no! And I mean that literally. Is there any common ground between heaven and hell?

And yet the Cardinal Newman Society has found over 150 so called Catholic schools partnering with Planned Parenthood, one of the most diabolical organizations on the planet. Not included in the Newman list is my own college (now university), Trinity in Washington, D.C. Perhaps they haven't had any internships at Planned Parenthood though it wouldn't surprise me. While Trinity may not be on the Newman list, they deserve exposure as an unfaithful Catholic school. So I'll include some data to warn Catholic parents who may consider sending their girls to this "Catholic" school.


I've long contended that Trinity trains women to be of the world and their lionized worldly alumnae certainly illustrate that fact. Nancy Pelosi and Kathleen Sebelius are both Trinity grads who publicly praise Trinity's impact on their lives. (No credit to Trinity.) Unfortunately, that impact helped make them women of the world rather than women like the early Christian martyrs. Trinity promotes liberalism vs. Catholicism.

In a recent President's Blog post (February 19) Pat McGuire bemoaned the attempt by Congress to defund Planned Parenthood, among other things:
Women, children and the poor will bear the brunt of last night’s ill-conceived Congressional budget decision, while the mostly-male mavens of Wall Street and the military will do just fine.  Slashing Pell Grants, Planned Parenthood, Americorps. funds for healthcare reform, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Chesapeake Bay and the D.C. Budget are cheap and easy targets. 
What McGuire fails to say here is that not a single group suggested for cuts (except the D.C. budget) should receive federal money in the first place. The Constitution does not authorize spending our money (There is no such thing as the government's money!) to fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or Planned Parenthood. Let them raise their own funds. But the fact that these are unconstitutional never bothers a liberal like McGuire. After all she has her $200,000 salary. Let the middle class who can't afford to send their kids to college, underwrite it by paying federal subsidies to Trinity.
In an interview in March 2010 with C-Span, McGuire claimed to be personally pro-life but also justified Trinity's love affair with some of the most pro-abortion women in politics. Every alumna she mentioned in the interview is pro-abortion:
LAMB: Former Congressman Barbara Kennelly, current Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Governor of Kansas and HHS Secretary…

MCQUIRE: Kathleen Sebelius. Yes.
LAMB: …and it goes on.
MCQUIRE: Yes.

LAMB: And Cathie Black who runs Hearst.

MCQUIRE: Hearst Magazines. We have such a wonderful roster of distinguished alums both from those eras. Barbara Kennelly was Class of ’58 and is a dear friend and was one of our first great superstars in Congress. And of course Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Class of ’62, her class loves to come to reunions and talk about their days at Trinity.

We’ve also had Maggie Williams, Class of 1977, was Hillary Clinton’s Chief of Staff when Mrs. Clinton was in the White House. And Maggie was the highest ranking African-American in the Clinton White House in her time, Class of ’77.
McGuire admits in the article that she's a liberal democrat and spouts the party line about social justice. In describing the Catholic identity of the college she says:
The most important characteristic of a Catholic college is do we live an institutional life that is in service to others, that is premised on the idea of charity toward all, and that gives a value to other human lives that is dignified and upholds their lives. (my emphasis - She is clearly not talking about babies in the womb.)
This is a laughable statement in view of the ensuing discussion on abortion and the promotion of pro-abortion alumnae. Note my comments in red:
LAMB: You walk in the front door of the main building. There’s a big banner up there saluting Nancy Pelosi. One of the most pro-abortion politicians in the country who continually pays lip service to her "devout" Catholic faith. Trinity enables that sham.
 MCQUIRE: Yes.
LAMB: I have something that won’t surprise you. This is from some operation called LifeNews.com.

MCQUIRE: Right.

LAMB: And the controversy is about what your relationship is with Nancy Pelosi…
MCQUIRE: That’s right.

LAMB: …the Catholic church’s relationship with her. This says Trinity President Patricia McGuire attended the speech – meaning the – I guess it was President Bush’s speech…

MCQUIRE: State of the Union Address several years ago.

LAMB: …when she was speaker.

MCQUIRE: Yes.

LAMB: And after that Mrs. Sebelius gave the response from the Democratic Party. But this – the whole issue is – and I’ll read this, that nowhere on the Trinity Web site is Sebelius’s support for abortion mentioned, Pat Reilly, president of the group, told LifeNews.com. ”It runs contrary to the very purpose of the Catholic university to apply the pursuit of power for gravely immoral ends,” Reilly explained, ”by deliberately associating itself with vocal advocates of what Pope John Paul II called a culture of death. Trinity University has taken the low road.” Absolutely right!
Deal with this one.

MCQUIRE: Well, I obviously disagree with that blog and with other bloggers of that, although they certainly have every right to express their opinion. Catholic doctrine is not opinion. Canon law 915 is clear on the necessity to refuse Communion to those engaged in serious public scandal like Nancy Pelosi et al. The fact of the matter is both Nancy Pelosi and Kathleen Sebelius have chosen careers in politics. And it’s part of the work and life of politicians to represent their constituents as they see fit and also to engage with the tough political issues of our time. What's McGuire's point here? Are politicians exempt from the faith when they address "tough political issues" or are they called to apply the moral teachings of the Church to non-negotiable moral issues like abortion which the Church has condemned for over 2,000 years?
I think in both cases I know both women. Both of them are very good women who care deeply about their faith, actually. This is a blatant and outright lie. You cannot be good and care deeply about your faith and repudiate its most fundamental teachings. They are mothers themselves. Which makes their support for killing children even more cold-bloodedly heinous! They have raised good families, Have they? If they've raised their children to defy the Church they have fulfilled the scripture, Matt. 23, that describes the Pharisees and scribes as "blind guides" who make their converts "twice as wicked" as themselves. and they have thought deeply about these issues. They have engaged in conversation with their bishops about these issues. How deeply does one have to think about ripping unborn babies limb from limb at any time during the nine months of pregnancy? McGuire is being a complete hypocrite here!

Now, it is the role of the bishops to call each of us who hold leadership positions to fidelity to church teaching. That is true. And if the bishop thinks that I or Mrs. Pelosi or Secretary Sebelius are going off the beam, the bishops will speak to us about that. Not necessarily. Many of the bishops are cowards and others don't believe in the faith . And I know that the bishops have spoken to them. Archbishop Rural (sic) Wuerl and I have had conversations about this in D.C.

LAMB: Does he criticize you?

MCQUIRE: No. He has not criticized. He’s been very pastoral. I.e., Cardinal Wuerl is an enabler of dissent and scandal. What else is new about liberal bishops? We’ve talked about the fact that as a diverse institution with many graduates who do many different things, we in fact honor our graduates and we honor their accomplishments. Honoring a graduate like Secretary Sebelius or Speaker Pelosi for their great accomplishment as the first women or one of few women to achieve these positions doesn’t mean we agree with every political position they have and it doesn’t necessarily diverge at all from teachings. Cooperation with evil is evil. We’re faithful to church teachings. No, you are not. Trinity wasn't faithful when I attended and they aren't today. I got my first exposure and indoctrination in Situation Ethics at Trinity. And it's clear that moral relativism continues to rule in their ivory tower today.

LAMB: Do you take a position on abortion in your blogs or in your…

MCQUIRE: Yes. I have spoken out in my blogs. I myself am pro-life. Oh please...Actions speak louder than words. And in fact, I’ve addressed this issue on my blog several times where we can certainly express pride in our famous political graduates without agreeing with them on their positions on abortion. And I have said that several times on there. Would McGuire be proud of an alumna belonging to the KKK? Planned Parenthood targets minority babies. Blacks, for example, represent about 12% of the population but have almost 40% of the abortions. Considering the school is heavily black and Hispanic McGuire betrays her own students by setting up as role models white women who support racial genocide.
LAMB: What do you think of the organizations that do take you on for this kind of thing? 

MCQUIRE: Well, again, I think we need to recognize them as political organizations also. The Newman Society is less political than Trinity. They are an organization of serious Catholics striving to recall Catholic schools to their Catholic identity. Trinity, on the other hand is a rogue "Catholic" school educating students to be liberal democrats and Catholic dissenters. They do not necessarily always speak for the Catholic Church. They do when they promulgate Catholic doctrine. The church is a large organization and a very diverse organization. It is clear that the church’s teaching prohibits abortion and prohibits support for any legislation that would promote abortion. And pro-choice is not acceptable to the church. But it's acceptable to Trinity if a famous alumna promotes it. Silence implies consent.
So we have to be very clear about that. And you think you are? By promoting high profile pro-abortionists? And I think I’ve been very clear in my blog and in what I say about that. Nonsense! McGuire excoriated pro-lifers who objected to Obama speaking at Notre Dame. In an article called Revisiting Roe she advances the spurious seamless garment rhetoric that dilutes the pro-life issues. She is a liberal democrat first and her claim to be pro-life is ridiculous in view of her support for champions of child-killing. Where are the pro-life speakers on campus instead of liberal democrats like Marion Edelman? Where are the honors for pro-lifers? McGuire is a member of the Catholic left who promote dissent while claiming fidelity.

LAMB: Who in the church has anything to say about you?

MCQUIRE: It would be the Bishop of Washington, Archbishop Wuerl, because the rules governing Catholic universities require each of us to have a relationship with our local bishop. So he is the person to whom I relate and to whom I go. I will sometimes prompt the discussions saying you know there’s this thing that is troubling, how do we deal with this? And we have a wonderful relationship, and he’s very pastoral. I.e, he will not exercise his authority to protect the Catholic identity of Trinity or defend the faith.
Another interesting segment of the interview involved McGuire's political transformation as a Trinity student herself:
MCQUIRE: ...Of course, when I came away to college – I loved politics. Politics – I thought I would run for elective office some day, and of course I instead have a different kind of political job. But when I came to Trinity, I chose Trinity. I had a full tuition scholarship but because it was in Washington, I loved the idea of coming to school in D.C.

And as I became involved – this was 1970 – came to Trinity, got involved in the anti-war movement, suddenly you know became exposed to many new and different ideas that I had never seen before. So over time, obviously, became increasingly liberal That's what Trinity was working toward. Trinity radicalized students politically and religiously. and soon became a democrat, much to my dad’s chagrin.

We had many long talks about what was happening to me, really. But you know that’s part of the educational process. And I just wish he had lived longer because we might have closed the loop again on some of those discussions.
LAMB: Of your six siblings, are they all alive, by the way? 

MCQUIRE: Oh yes, they are. Thank God. 

LAMB: What’s the breakdown in politics among the six?

MCQUIRE: I don’t ask that question. When we get together, we don’t discuss politics. 
LAMB: Never? 
MCQUIRE: So – well, we make jokes about it but I suspect most of them probably are still pretty conservative from the other social views they express. They didn't attend Trinity obviously
This part of the conversation illustrated exactly what's happening to students at Catholic schools today. Many enter as faithful practicing Catholics and leave with radicalized views of the world and the faith and a reliance on government as the instrument of forced redistribution of income, i.e., theft. The interview ends with Pat McGuire discussing what she wants from the Obama administration. Guess what!...more money for schools like Trinity, of course. This is after saying that most students pay a pittance toward their education already receive all kinds of federal and local aid.

Trinity is one of those Catholic in name only schools that serious Catholics will want to avoid. I consider my diploma from Trinity an embarrasment and a reminder to be a critical thinker. Just because someone wears a roman collar or a bishop's mitre or calls himself a Catholic, doesn't mean it's true. Check out their fruits. The ones Trinity is most proud of are rotten to the core!

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