The Catholic University of America Adopts Community Pledge

From Catholic Education Daily

By Tim Drake

The Catholic University of America is adopting a Community Pledge created through the joint efforts of students and administrators, calling the campus to embrace a life of Christian virtue.

Speaker Boehner's Commencement Address to The Catholic University of America Class of 2011

122nd Annual Commencement Address

John A. Boehner

61st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

East Portico, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

May 14, 2011

President Garvey, thanks for the warm welcome. I don’t know about you, but I began my day by counting my blessings…my wife, my two daughters, my 11 brothers and sisters, this great country of ours, and the privilege you have given me to address CUA’s Class of Two-Thousand-and-Eleven.

“This university has stood over the years, and stands today, as the center of Catholic intellectual life in America. Now, I am a loyal alumnus of Xavier, another great Catholic university. But being here today, with your new president, with Cardinal Wuerl, and all the distinguished faculty and trustees … let me say how impressed I am with the continued growth and success of this institution, and that I am truly humbled to take part in this ceremony.

New President Says Catholic University Should Unite Intellect with Virtue

John H. Garvey, J.D., President of The Catholic University of America

John H. Garvey, J.D., was inaugurated yesterday as the 15th President of our alma mater, The Catholic University of America.  He has very big shoes to fill and we wish him well.

Garvey's inaugural address, in which he reflects on Blessed John Henry Newman, suggests that he has thought seriously about not only the distinctively Catholic culture on the campus of America's pontifical university, but the importance of integrating virtue with the intellectual life and thus transforming and renewing the culture.  His inaugural address is here, and the  beautiful  Mass and installation ceremonies can be seen in the video below.

Bishop O’Connell, Successful Catholic University President, Criticized by Dissenters

From Catholic World News

Coadjutor Bishop David O’Connell of Trenton transformed the Catholic University of America from a school with “a lot of theology but no faith” to one with a resurgent Catholic identity, according to a July 7 Washington Post profile. During his 12 years in office, Father O’Connell raised $180 million, and the student body grew by 25%.

Father O’Connell received criticism in the article from gay students and from dissenters. “He was a very conservative Catholic educator at CUA and will be a very conservative bishop in Trenton,” said Father Richard McBrien of the University of Notre Dame.

Bishop O’Connell’s successor is John Garvey, the dean of Boston College Law School, who supported Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign and lauded abortion proponent Rep. Edward Markey upon naming him commencement speaker.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Departing Catholic University president turned school around but sowed divisions, some say (Washington Post)


• Catholic U’s new president: Law school dean who named abortion proponent a commencement speaker (CWN, 6/15)

Controversy Swirls around Catholic U of America’s New Prez

From LifeSiteNews

By Patrick B. Craine

Catholic University of America, the national university for the U.S. Catholic Church, announced Tuesday that they had hired John H. Garvey, dean of Jesuit’s Boston College Law School, to serve as their 15th president.

Announcing the appointment, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, who chairs CUA’s Board of Trustees and who led the search committee, praised Garvey as "an accomplished jurist, scholar, and teacher,” adding that he is “a man of strong faith in Christ and a very committed member of the Catholic Church.”

The move has sparked concerns among some Catholics, however, due primarily to Garvey’s record of support for pro-abortion politicians. At the same time, the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), which is dedicated to promoting the faithfulness of America’s Catholic universities, has received the news with optimism.

“Archbishop Vigneron has publicly assured Catholics that Father O’Connell’s outstanding efforts to strengthen Catholic identity will continue,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of CNS. “I am sure that is meant to be not only a promise, but a welcome challenge to President Garvey, who no doubt understands that CUA is much different from Boston College.”

Garvey will begin his new post on July 1st and is replacing Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., who is leaving to serve as coadjutor bishop for the Diocese of Trenton.

Critics have pointed to the fact that Garvey’s law school hosted pro-abortion Rep. Edward J. Markey for a commencement address in 2007. Announcing Markey’s acceptance, Garvey praised the congressman as one of the Law School’s “most distinguished graduates.” Garvey added that Markey’s “career of public service reflects the very best values and traditions of the School.”

According to some the award was a violation of a 2004 directive from the U.S. Bishops, ‘Catholics in Political Life’, which stated that Catholic universities “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.”

In 2002, Garvey’s school also hosted former Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci as commencement speaker. A talk by Cellucci at a Boston Catholic high school had been blocked by the Archdiocese of Boston in 1991, reports the New York Times, because, according to Bishop Roberto O. Gonzalez, he had been “publicly and consistently in favor of abortion.”

Garvey has also been a supporter of pro-abortion senator and 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry. According to Catholic World News, Garvey gave $250 to the Kerry Committee in June 2002, $1,000 to John Kerry for President, Inc. in March 2003, and $500 to the latter in April 2004.

There have also been concerns that, as dean, Garvey espoused an approach to academic freedom that is in conflict with Ex Corde Ecclesiae, Pope John Paul II’s 1990 apostolic constitution laying out the identity and mission of Catholic colleges and universities.

In a 2002 letter on the Law School’s response to the sex abuse crisis, Garvey sought to abate concerns that the school “will require a certain orthodoxy.” “No school that regulates ideas can justly call itself a university,” he argued.

In September 2009, he defended a professor for his public stance in support of true marriage in a StandForMarriageMaine.com television ad. He wrote, however, that the professor’s “public statements represent his own opinions … and do not state any official position of Boston College Law School."

"We also have faculty members who hold a contrary view, which they too are free to express publicly,” he continued. “Many have done so while referring to themselves as BC Law professors. ... Others have taken controversial positions on such subjects as abortion, euthanasia, and the treatment of detainees.”

In Ex Corde Ecclesiae, John Paul II wrote that a Catholic university must guarantee academic freedom, “so long as the rights of the individual person and of the community are preserved within the confines of the truth and the common good.” He went on to lay down in a canonical norm the requirement that “all Catholic teachers are to be faithful to, and all other teachers are to respect, Catholic doctrine and morals in their research and teaching."

At the same time The Eagleionline, a student paper for the BC law school, reports that Garvey’s nomination for a high-level position at Notre Dame Law School was vetoed by “a vocal minority of faculty” over the fact that he was “too Catholic, too conservative, and too elitist.”

The paper also reports that shortly after he was hired as dean in 1999, he made the following complaint when the faculty opposed his efforts to bring on two new faculty members: “This faculty will not hire a conservative or a Catholic.”

Archbishop Vigneron emphasized that they had chosen Garvey precisely because he is committed to advancing the vision of Ex Corde Ecclesiae. The archbishop said that the committee sought someone who, “by building upon the achievements of Bishop O'Connell, will advance the mission of CUA so that it will shine out as exemplifying the nature of a Catholic university in service to the Church and to the nation.”

“We have found that person in Dean Garvey,” he continued, describing Garvey as “a man of strong Catholic faith with rich experience and a proven record as a scholar and a leader in higher education.”

“I can imagine the excitement and freedom that comes with leading a seriously Catholic institution in partnership with America’s bishops and the Vatican,” said Reilly about Garvey’s appointment.

“CUA has already turned the corner on Catholic identity and rejects practices like honoring pro-abortion politicians, hiring vocal dissidents, and hosting The Vagina Monologues,” he added. “These are the old, failed practices of secularizing universities. CUA is on a better path, and Catholics can be grateful to John Garvey for leaving a prestigious post to carry on the exciting renewal of the nation’s Catholic university.

Catholic U’s New President: Law School Dean Who Awarded Honorary Degree to Abortion Proponent

It is with bitter disappointment that we came across the following news about our alma mater. After so much improvement under Father David O'Connell, this marks a turning back. A look at the University's trustees, which include some of the worst American bishops (Gregory, Loverde, Myers and Wuerl), explains why.

From Catholic World News

John H. Garvey, the dean of Boston College Law School, has been named president of Catholic University of America. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Harvard Law School, Mr. Garvey served as assistant to the Solicitor General during the Reagan administration. He has written numerous articles on legal issues, concentrating on the First Amendment.

Commenting on academic freedom and Catholic identity in a 2002 letter, Mr. Garvey wrote:

On several occasions I have heard people express concern that the Catholic identity of Boston College and the Law School will require a certain orthodoxy, or suppress unorthodox opinions, among its faculty and students. No school that regulates ideas can justly call itself a university. Indeed, it is precisely because we are committed to the search for truth in an atmosphere of academic freedom that the Law School can render a useful service to the Church and the cause of justice. It is natural that we should have a particular interest in the intersection of law and religion. (Though this is not our only focus.) But when people address that subject here they do not speak for (or against) the church hierarchy. They follow where their inquiries lead them.

In 2007, Mr. Garvey was criticized by the Cardinal Newman Society when the law school awarded an honorary degree to Rep. Edward J. Markey, an abortion proponent with a 100% 'pro-choice' voting record. “Congressman Ed Markey is one of the most distinguished graduates of Boston College Law School, whose career of public service reflects the very best values and traditions of the School,” said Mr. Garvey. “I don't believe Boston College has ever had a better friend in the United States Congress than Ed Markey.”

In awarding an honorary degree to Rep. Markey, Boston College Law School failed to heed the 2004 US bishops’ document “Catholics in Political Life,” which stated, “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

“I'm very grateful that he's an accomplished scholar, and I think he brings from his legal scholarship a lot of wisdom about the Church's place in contemporary society,” said Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, who led the search for the new president of the university, which was founded by, and is sponsored by, the bishops of the United States. “He's a very thoughtful man, very measured. He tries to bring light and insight to matters about which there's a lot of argument.”

In a 2002 Commonweal essay, Mr. Garvey said that he assented to Catholic teaching on the immorality of divorce but disagreed with Pope John Paul’s statement that “professionals in the field of civil law should avoid being personally involved in anything that might imply a cooperation with divorce.” However, by the conclusion of his article, in which he quoted additional papal remarks, Mr. Garvey appeared to be in agreement with the Pope.

In a 2000 essay on Mario Cuomo-- the New York governor who supported legalized abortion-- Mr. Garvey concluded, “The point is that most of us, not just Catholics, see nothing wrong with relying on authority to decide moral questions. And if that is so, there is no reason to disqualify religious authorities.”

According to federal election records, Mr. Garvey made three donations to Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, whose support for abortion led 14 bishops to state during the 2004 presidential campaign that they would deny him Holy Communion. In June 2002, Mr. Garvey donated $250 to the Kerry Committee; in March 2003, he donated $1,000 to John Kerry for President, Inc.; and in April 2004, he donated $500 to John Kerry for President, Inc.

Mr. Garvey succeeds Vincentian Father David O’Connell, who has been named coadjutor bishop of Trenton.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Catholic University's next president: Boston law school dean (Washington Post)
• John H. Garvey (Boston College)
• John H. Garvey, “The Pope’s Submarine,” in Law and Religion: A Critical Anthology
• John H. Garvey: Divorce, the death penalty & the pope (Commonweal)
• Federal Election Commission
• Letter From The Dean (Boston College Law School)
• Another Catholic College--Boston Law School--to Showcase Pro-Abortion Speaker (LifeSiteNews.com)
• Catholics in Political Life (USCCB)
• 2007 Commencement Speaker: Congressman Edward Markey (Boston College Law School)

Rembrandt Work Discovered in Closet at Catholic University in Washington

From Catholic World News

An etching that was discovered last year in the cabinet of a bathroom on the campus of Catholic University in Washington, DC, has been confirmed as the work of Rembrandt. Father David O’Connell, the outgoing president of Catholic University, discovered the work while he was looking for paper towels.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Rembrandt etching hidden in DC university bathroom now featured in new exhibit (AP)

HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL OF TONY SNOW

Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, C.M.

President

The Catholic University of America

Delivered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Washington, D.C.

July 17, 2008

Archbishop Wuerl, President and Mrs. Bush, Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, Mrs. Snow, Kendall, Robbie, Kristi and members of the Snow family, my sisters and brothers all:

What is the measure of a man? This question has been asked over and again from the beginning of time by philosophers and theologians, poets and writers, statesmen and common folk, believers and atheists --- in short, by all of those who share our human mortality. What is the measure of a man? It is a good question; an important question; an enduring question; an ultimate question when we face the death of someone we know and love. Someone like Tony Snow.

In his case, our answers to the question are immediate. He was a loving husband to his wife Jill and an adoring father to his children Kendall, Robbie and Kristi. He was a wonderful son to his father and step-mother and a great brother. The measure of a man can certainly be found in the love of family: love given and love received.

In Tony’s case that loved spilled over to touch and include many others, part of an extended family, and they are here today in this magnificent Church. Friends who grew up with Tony or who shared moments of his life --- both personal and professional, both great and small, both joyful and difficult --- people who became his companions on life’s journey. The measure of a man can also certainly be found in such people: those who made up his every day.

And his every day was lived to the full. It was only last year, on the steps of this Basilica, that Tony --- sharing his own experience --- advised the graduating class of The Catholic University of America: “Live boldly. Live a whole life.”

No one of us among his family or friends believes that Tony’s life was long enough. And, yet --- in the face of its brevity --- we respond in faith, as believers, that the measure of a man is not found, as the Book of Wisdom comforts us today, “in terms of years (Wisdom 4:8).” It is, indeed, our faith that reminds us: “the just man, though he die early, shall be at rest. For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time. He who pleased God was loved (and) … having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career; for his soul was pleasing to the Lord (Wisdom 4: 7-14).” For people of faith, people who believe, the true measure of a man lies in his efforts to please God.

Tony shared that conviction of faith. He believed, as St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans affirms, that “no one lives for oneself” and “no one dies for oneself (Romans 14: 7),” that we live and we die for the Lord, that we are his. And to the Lord, above all and alone, we shall give an accounting for our life.

And what a life he lived! From his earliest years growing up in Cincinnati, Tony Snow “lived a whole life.” He excelled in school and athletics and it should come as no surprise that he was on the debate team. He attended Davidson College and loved to tell stories about his brief days as a self-described “socialist.” At graduation, Tony was not sure what he wanted to do with his life --- perhaps become a social worker or a teacher. After graduate studies at the University of Chicago, his career path emerged: he would become a journalist, a decision that shaped the rest of his life and that, eventually, introduced him to his wife and brought him here to Washington. It was here that the whole world would come to know him. An editor, columnist, broadcaster, analyst, presidential speechwriter, member of a rock band, White House press secretary and news commentator, Tony Snow was destined to live a “whole life” and in the process, to do great things. And, yet, the measure of this man’s life was never his job or title or even the long list of accomplishments in the public eye, as impressive as they all were. The measure of this man’s life can be found in his character, in his optimism, in his joy and humor, in his courage, in his passion for what was good and right and true, in his love for God and family and neighbor and country. Tony Snow did not need a long life for us to measure. It was, rather, we who needed his life to be longer.

"I don’t know why I have cancer,” Tony wrote in Christianity Today last year, “and I don’t much care.” He continued, “We don’t know how the narrative of our lives will end but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face to face … those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main and faith to live --- no matter how their days may be numbered.” Those words are for all of us to hear.

The passing of anyone we love moves us to question: what is the measure of a man? Whatever our answer may be, we can be sure that the measure of a man is not found in words or titles or length of days but, rather, in deeds done, in a life lived, in a love shared and in the beliefs that made it so. The Gospel of St. Matthew tells us today: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, clean of heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted, the just (Matthew 5: 1-12) … these are the measure of a Christian man. For Tony Snow, these were the ways he embraced to “live boldly” and to “live a whole life."

When he spoke to the graduates of Catholic University last spring, Tony shared an especially poignant and profound thought about his latest battle with cancer. He reflected that “While God doesn’t promise tomorrow, he does promise eternity."

For Tony Snow, that promise has now been fulfilled. Amen.

Funeral Arrangements for Tony Snow

Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, C.M., President of The Catholic University of America,

presents 2007 CUA commencement speaker Tony Snow with an honorary degree.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for Tony Snow at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, July 17, at 10 A.M. The Archbishop of Washington, The Most Reverend Donald Wuerl, will preside, and the President of The Catholic University of America, Very Reverend David O'Connell, will be the Celebrant and Homilist at the Mass in the Shrine's Great Upper Church. President and Mrs. Bush will attend and the Mass will be open to the public.

In May of 2007, Tony Snow gave Catholic University's commencement address from the steps of the Basilica from which he will be buried.