Last week, the Cardinal Newman Society broke the news that Planned Parenthood CEO and president, Cecile Richards, was invited by the Lecture Fund at Georgetown University to speak at the Catholic university in April. The invitation has gotten more attention recently, as a petition has been launched against Richards speaking at Georgetown.
The Catholic Church takes a clear stance against abortion. Planned Parenthood not only advocates for abortion, but is the nation’s largest abortion provider.
The Lecture Fund advertises itself as “a non-partisan student-run organization that exists to enrich the academic experience of the Georgetown community. The Lecture Fund strives to bring speakers to Georgetown’s campus to enlighten, educate and, occasionally, entertain.”
Cardinal Newman Society President Patrick Reilly had strong words about the invitation and warned that:
Surely the group could have invited someone who isn’t the antithesis to Church teaching. However, Georgetown University defended its invitation, since Richards is not being paid to speak, and “an appearance of any speaker or guest on campus is not an endorsement by the university.”
This defense was not sold on the Archdiocese of Washington, however, which asserted that the issue does not have to do with free speech:
In any case, this is not our issue here. What we lament and find sadly lacking in this choice by the student group is any reflection of what should be an environment of morality, ethics and human decency that one expects on a campus that asserts its Jesuit and Catholic history and identity.
The Cardinal Newman Society has launched a petition, as has LifeSiteNews.com, which is sponsored by Georgetown University Right to Life and Students for Life of America (SFLA).
SFLA president Kristan Hawkins shared that there are also plans for pro-life activist Abby Johnson to speak at the university as a counter-protest. She emphasized that they “try to be sensitive” to what the student groups actually want.
