Fairfield Students Bussed to Hear Gay Advocate Bash the Church

The Cardinal Newman Society reports:Fairfield University’s student newspaper The Mirror reports that Fairfield provided transportation for students to hear openly gay sex columnist Dan Savage bash the Catholic Church in his keynote address for the “Pro-Queer Life” conference on Saturday.

The lecture contradicts assurances reportedly made by Fairfield President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., to Bishop William Lori that the conference would “not be a vehicle for dissent.”

The Jesuit university reportedly bussed students to Union Theological Seminary in New York as part of their “More Than a Monologue: Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church,”  (the moral teachings of the Church are not subject to 'dialogue') an effort by Fairfield and Fordham Universities along with two non-denominational divinity schools to apparently cast doubt on Catholic teaching on homosexuality.

The Mirror reported that Savage:

…denounced the Bible as a credible source of model behavior, saying that sins, like masturbation, premarital sex and use of condoms and birth pills, once so adamantly prohibited in the past, can no longer be judged by the authorities of the church. (WRONG! Christ gave such authoritiy to the Church)

“We have got to ignore the b——t in the Bible about gay people, just as we’ve learned to ignore what the b——-t in the Bible have said about women … about polyester, about farming and about slavery,” said Savage.(the Bible speaks about....polyester?)

Priests cannot see the sins of people, and according to Savage, homosexuality cannot be so easily judged from the outside. (which is why we have the Sacrament of Confession)

“They can’t see past our homosexuality to see our shared and common humanity, which is hugely ironic considering how many of those priests behind those pulpits are gay,” he said. (Confessors look at the state of the soul. Appealing to 'our shared and common humanity' is shorthand for saying we just can't help ourselves [true] so why make anything a sin?)

In a slightly ironic twist, The Mirror reports that after Savage called for everyone to “see our shared and common humanity,” he called traditional marriage supporter Maggie Gallagher “vile.” (Hypocrite...)

Savage’s lecture contradicts assurances to the bishops reportedly made by the presidents of Fairfield and Fordham Universities that the “More Than a Monologue” conferences, ”while sensitive to the experience of the participants, will not be a vehicle for dissent.”  (yeah, right) Those assurances were revealed in a September 22nd public statement by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York and Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, following a letter from The Cardinal Newman Society requesting Archbishop Dolan’s intervention and public concern arising from The Cardinal Newman Society’s reports on the conference series.

The bishops said, “With the assurances we have now received, we now must trust that the conferences will turn out as intended: not as a criticism or questioning of the faith and morals of the Church, but as a sincere attempt to listen to those who are trying their best to believe and live it, and who have some positive ideas about pastoral strategy to present it even better.” (are the bishops blind or just stupid?)

At least one Fairfield administrator reportedly seems to prefer Savage’s approach:

Meredith Marquez, assistant director of Student Diversity Programs, felt Savage’s speech was a fitting opener for LGBTQ History month.

“I feel like while we’re celebrating LGBTQ people of America,” she said, “One of the pressing things that’s going on right now … are the suicides that have been happening. This event allows students to go and hear from probably the most popular and the funniest—definitely the funniest—and, I would argue, the most effective person to talk about this issue.”

Marquez also noted that the conversation between homosexuals and the Church needs to continue.

“To [Fairfield University], being Catholic is being accepting,” (but not of sin and depravity) she said. “That’s how we can be the best Catholic institution if we live up to that mission.(Honey, it ain't Christ's mission) [It] is to be the most accepting that you can of all people. I am hoping that little messages will get through and it’s things like these that I would love all students will come to.” (this woman has trouble constructing a coherent sentence)

As part of the same series Fairfield will host its part of “More Than a Monologue” with a “Care of Souls” conference on October 29th. The theme of the event, according to The Mirror is, “pastoral care of and by LGBTQ Catholics.”(Ohhh....'pastoral'.....that means being soft on Church teaching in order to salve malformed consciences)