[IMC-Boston-Editorial] Fwd: Jesuits protest Boston College's "scandalous" honorary doctorate to Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice

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Sun Jun 4 21:24:02 PDT 2006



--- joseph mulligan <mull at ibw.com.ni> wrote:

> Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 11:10:54 +0200
> To: peace at agapecommunity.org, jcadarette at att.net,
> donbaralt at aol.com,
>         "Randy Forsberg" <forsberg at idds.org>,
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> <ginny_winter at yahoo.com>,
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> From: joseph mulligan <mull at ibw.com.ni>
> Subject: Jesuits protest Boston College's
> "scandalous" honorary
>   doctorate to Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice
> 
>                                          Fr. Joseph
> E. Mulligan, S.J.
>                                                 
> Colegio Centro America
>                                          Apdo 2419
>                                          Managua,
> Nicaragua
> 
>                                          Tel:
> (country code 505) 635-6381
>                                          Email:
> mull at ibw.com.ni
> 
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- May 31, 2006
> 
> Jesuits protest Boston College's "scandalous"
> honorary doctorate to Sec. of 
> State Condoleezza Rice
> 
>          Twenty-three Jesuits have sent a letter
> (below) to Boston College 
> protesting the university's decision to award an
> honorary doctorate to 
> Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
>          The letter, with a preliminary list of
> signers, was posted on 
> HuffingtonPost  at:
>
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/05/14/boston-college-professor-_n_20975.html?p=8#comments
> (at bottom of page).
> 
>          On May 22 about 50 students stood with
> their backs toward the 
> stage as Rice was introduced to give her
> commencement speech. A larger 
> number protested outside the stadium.
> 
>          Later that day, Fr. Thomas Massaro, S.J.,
> Professor of Social 
> Ethics at Weston Jesuit School of Theology, and Fr.
> Steve Privett, S.J., 
> President of the University of San Francisco, were
> interviewed on the Los 
> Angeles radio station KPFK (90.7 FM). Fr. Massaro
> pointed out how closely 
> Dr. Rice is associated with the war, both in its
> beginning and subsequent 
> execution, and stressed that she should be
> discredited among people with 
> any sense of ethics. He also noted that no Jesuit
> campus should signal that 
> we are condoning the war by inviting her to receive
> a degree. "A speaking 
> engagement (in the spirit of free inquiry) is not in
> itself objectionable," 
> he added, "but I still do not think she is the right
> person to give such a 
> high-profile address to graduates."
>          Fr. Privett told the interviewer that at
> this point most Jesuits 
> stood with the Pope and the National Conference of
> Bishops in denouncing 
> the war as immoral and illegal.
> 
>          "Condoleezza Rice Does Not Deserve a Boston
> College Honorary 
> Degree" is the title of a Letter to the President
> and Board of Trustees of 
> Boston College signed by 223 Boston College faculty
> members. It can be 
> found online at:
>
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=641
> The letter, initiated by Boston College theology
> professor David 
> Hollenbach, S.J., and Kenneth Himes, O.F.M., the
> department's chair, 
> declares: "On the levels of both moral principle and
> practical moral 
> judgment, Secretary Rice's approach to international
> affairs is in 
> fundamental conflict with Boston College's
> commitment to the values of the 
> Catholic and Jesuit traditions and is inconsistent
> with the humanistic 
> values that inspire the university's work."
> 
>          Steve Almond, an adjunct professor of
> English at BC, had resigned 
> in protest. See his letter of May 12 to the
> president of BC at:
>
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/12/condoleezza_rice_at_boston_college_i_quit/
> 
>          Fr. David Gill, S.J., of the Classics
> Department of BC, discussed 
> the controversy in his talk at the university's
> Award Ceremony on May 21:
>
http://www.agapecommunity.com/article.php?story=20060524123721239
> 
>          On the same website: Nun Tears Up BC
> Diploma Over Rice's Invitation
>
http://www.agapecommunity.com/article.php?story=20060516203229581
> 
>          The letter by the 23 Jesuits follows:
> 
>                                          Fr. Joseph
> E. Mulligan, S.J.
>                                                 
> Colegio Centro America
>                                          Apdo 2419
>                                          Managua,
> Nicaragua
> 
>                                          Tel:
> (country code 505) 635-6381
>                                          Email:
> mull at ibw.com.ni
> 
> TO: Administration, Faculty, and Students of Boston
> College
> FROM: Concerned Jesuits
> RE: The decision to award an honorary doctorate to
> Secretary of State 
> Condoleezza Rice
> DATE: May 20, 2006
> 
> Dear Friends,
> 
>          As Jesuits, we are scandalized and outraged
> by Boston College's 
> decision to award an honorary doctorate to Secretary
> of State Condoleezza Rice.
> 
>          Dr. Rice is one of the principal architects
> and representatives of 
> the Bush administration's illegal and immoral
> invasion and occupation of Iraq.
> 
>          The reasons given by Dr. Rice and others in
> the Bush 
> administration for the invasion -- weapons of mass
> destruction, ties 
> between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda --  have been
> demonstrated to be 
> groundless. It is impossible to avoid the conclusion
> that Dr. Rice and 
> others deliberately deceived the American people and
> Congress in their 
> attempts to justify the war.
> 
>          The military occupation of Iraq has brought
> with it a variety of 
> other illegal and immoral practices, including the
> abuse and torture of 
> prisoners by U.S. forces and the inordinate killing
> of innocent civilians 
> in Iraq.
> 
>          Many members of the faculty and student
> body of Boston College 
> have voiced their objection to the invitation,
> pointing out that Dr. Rice's 
> actions as Secretary of State are inconsistent with
> the broader humanistic 
> values of the university and the Catholic and Jesuit
> traditions from which 
> those values derive. We join with those professors
> and students in 
> protesting vigorously against the decision to honor
> Dr. Rice.
> 
>          We know that many other Jesuits share our
> criticism of this 
> unfortunate decision. With just two days remaining
> before the commencement, 
> we cannot contact all those Jesuits to request their
> signatures. Thus, we 
> are a small but representative group of members of
> the Society of Jesus.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Donald Bahlinger, SJ
> Our Lady of Guadalupe
> San Antonio, TX 78207
> 
> Dean Brackley, S.J.
> Professor of Theology
> Central American University (UCA)
> San Salvador, El Salvador
> 
> J Peter Carey, SJ
> Cincinnati, OH  45229
> 
> Paul E. Carrier, sj
> University Chaplain
> Fairfield University
> Fairfield, CT.
> 
> Gerald F. Cavanagh, S.J.
> Charles T. Fisher III Chair of Business Ethics
> College of Business Administration
> University of Detroit Mercy
>    Ph: (313) 993-1195   FAX: (313) 993-1653
> 
> Rob Currie, S.J.
> Arenal, Nicaragua
> 
> Rev. John Dear, SJ
> Box 882, Cerrillos, NM 87010
> 
> Thomas W. Florek, S.J.
> Director, ICLM
> 206 Brownson Hall
> Notre Dame, IN 46556
> (574) 631-2633
> 
> Al Fritsch, SJ
> 
> Rev. Mark J. George SJ
> Associate Pastor
> Gesu Church
> 2470 Miramar Blvd.
> University Heights, OH 44118
> 
> Ben Jimenez, S.J.
> St. Ignatius High School Jesuit Community
> Cleveland, OH
> 
> Stephen M. Kelly, S.J.
> 
> Michael E. Kennedy, S.J.
> Los Angeles, CA
> 
> Stephen T. Krupa, S.J.
> Department of Religious Studies
> John Carroll Uinversity
> Cleveland, Ohio 44118
> 
> Rev. John A. Lucal S.J.
> Associate Director
> Institute of Peace Studies and International
> Relatons
> Hekima College
> Nairobi, Kenya
> 
> Thomas Massaro, S.J.
> Professor of Social Ethics
> Weston Jesuit School of Theology
> Cambridge, MA
> (617) 876-1233 or 1463, x 12
> TMassaro at wjst.edu
> 
> John J. Mawhinney, sj. PhD
> Society of Jesus
> Maryland Province
> 
> Donald J. Moore, sj
> Pontifical Biblical Institute
> Jerusalem
> 
> Ismael Moreno,sj
> El Progreso, Honduras
> 
> Joseph E. Mulligan, S.J.
> Christian Base Communities
> Managua, Nicaragua
> 
> Joseph V. Owens SJ
> Professor of Philosophy
> Universidad Centroamericana
> Managua, Nicaragua
> 
> Father Cletus Pfab, S.J.
> Miguel Pro Jesuit Community
> Milwaukee WI
> 
> Jerome Pryor SJ,
> Artist in Residence
> Colombiere Center
> Clarkston, MI
> 
>
************************************************************************
> 


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