Thursday, May 12, 2005
'Tis the Season to Disinvite
Okay. A few more thoughts before heading back to bed.
Suffering through the usual rounds of Spring disinvites and neocon criticism of abortion supporters getting to speak at Catholic institutions, I have these questions to ask (of bishops, school leaders, or anyone who wanders by)
Why are controversial people invited in the first place, if it's just going to cause trouble? In the age of the internet, it's easy enough to find out what the person supports, especially if nobody has the guts to ask them straight out: do you support legal abortion?
Do bishops and school intend to put the worst face possible on the Church by first inviting, then cancelling invitations? Isn't this just like handing ammunition to the adversaries?
What would happen if a bishop, instead of boycotting or condemning such a speaker or the institution, asked for three minutes at the podium? (I know, I know: no bishop ordained can talk about anything in less than ten, but go with me on this one ...) Even a canned speech like: So-and-so is a good person for supporting Catholic moral teaching on this issue, blah-blah and that issue blah-blah-blah. But I wish she or he were with us hoping to end abortion. Rather than disinvite or publicly condemn, I publicly urge all of us, especially our honored speaker, to consider our stance on this issue and uncover specific ways in which we can work for the end of abortion, especially this fine hosting institution. If our speaker finds it in his or her heart to acknowledge abortion is a difficult issue, I would be pleased to match any contribution he or she might make to Birthright, and our diocese would match any donation from any contributor present today. We need to turn the tide for people in need who want alternatives. Why not start today and help folks who don't want to abort a child?
