Oregon's Catholic university approves its "first-ever sexuality club"

From yesterday's edition of The Beacon, the student newspaper for the University of Portland (Oregon), this story:

The UP administration officially recognized the university's first-ever sexuality club, the Gay Straight Partnership, at a meeting last Monday, signaling the end of the administration's 14-year-long span of denying sexuality clubs on campus.

"I'm just excited it's a real club," said senior Bridget Domeier, a founding member. "We were trying to be hush hush, saying 'don't get too excited, don't get too excited,' but it was accepted."

The GSP's mission, according to the club's constitution, is "to build a community that is open and welcoming to all students" and "to help all students grow in friendship, knowledge, faith and service."

Apart from community building, the GSP also will strive to educate students on issues surrounding sexuality without advancing any kind of agenda, according to the club's mission, and to serve the extended community through volunteering and education.

Maybe it's just me, but the descriptive "sex club" doesn't sound too, um, good. There is this, however:

The officers also suggested that the group strengthen the wording of its mission to ensure that "the group will provide balanced programming and education and will offer a clear, faithful presentation of the Catholic Church's teaching about human sexuality and sexual orientation," according to the memo.

One can only hope and pray that is what will happen when the kids go clubbing. In related news, last November the newspaper ran a piece about how the university's "sex policies" were generating controversy.

Comments

[Jackson]

Pathetic.

[Mark Brumley]

Institutions such as U of P are moribund. The future lies elsewhere.

[Jackson]

Yes, at these places, for instance:

Joyfully Catholic

Christendom College
Front Royal, Virginia

The College of Saint Thomas More
Fort Worth, Texas

Franciscan University of Steubenville
Steubenville, Ohio

Magdalen College
Warner, New Hampshire

Thomas Aquinas College
Santa Paula, California

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Merrimack, New Hampshire

University of Dallas
Irving, Texas

University of St. Thomas
Houston, Texas

Born from the Crisis

Ave Maria University
Ave Maria, Florida

Holy Apostles College & Seminary
Cromwell, Connecticut

John Paul the Great Catholic University
San Diego, California

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy
Barry's Bay, Ontario, Canada

Southern Catholic College
Dawsonville, Georgia

Wyoming Catholic College
Lander, Wyoming

Fighting the Tide

Aquinas College
Nashville, Tennessee

Belmont Abbey College
Belmont, North Carolina

Benedictine College
Atchison, Kansas

DeSales University
Center Valley, Pennsylvania

Mount St. Mary's University
Emmitsburg, Maryland

St. Gregory's University
Shawnee, Oklahoma

From:

http://thenewmanguide.com/TableofContents/tabid/352/Default.aspx

[Tulipa]

So the "Catholic" University of Portland Student Health Services will direct a student to an abortuary if that is what she requests. Evil, pure and simple.

[rd]

score one less for the great pacific northwest. are there any left out here? maybe gonzaga?

[Cristina A. Montes]

Huh? Some students feel they need a "sexuality club"?

[Tom]

Bingo, Cristina. I thought those were identical with freshman dorms.

RD: better look elsewhere than Gonzaga. Maybe up in British Columbia at Redeemer Pacific College in the heart of Trinity Western University.

[Jackson]

Catholic Schools Key in Midst of "Educational Crisis" -
Pope Laments "Fragile Generations" Created by Modern Society

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 21, 2008 (Zenit.org).- In the midst of what Benedict XVI calls an "educational crisis," it is important for Catholic schools to maintain their identity.

The Pope affirmed this today when he received in audience participants in the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

The ecclesiastical disciplines," the Holy Father said, "especially theology, are today subjected to new interrogations in a world tempted, on the one hand, by a rationalism which follows a false idea of freedom unfettered by any religious references and, on the other, by various forms of fundamentalism which, with their incitement to violence and fanaticism, falsify the true essence of religion."

Faced with the educational crisis, Benedict XVI continued, "schools must ask themselves about the mission they are called to undertake in the modern social environment."

Catholic schools, he said, "though open to everyone and respecting the identity of each, cannot but present their own educational, human and Christian perspective."

The Pope contended that schools face a new challenge, that of "the coming together of religions and cultures in the joint search for truth." This means, he said, on the one hand, "not excluding anyone in the name of their cultural or religious background," and on the other "not stopping at the mere recognition" of this cultural or religious difference.

Seminaries

Benedict XVI went on to refer to another theme being examined by the plenary assembly, that of reforming the document "Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis" for seminaries, issued in 1970 and updated in 1985.

Any reform, he said, "will have to highlight the importance of the proper correlation between the various dimensions of priestly formation in the perspective of Church-communion, following the indications of Vatican Council II. [...] The formation of future priests must, furthermore, offer them guidance and help to enter into dialogue with contemporary culture.

"Human and cultural formation must, then, be significantly reinforced and sustained also with the help of modern sciences, because certain destabilising social factors that exist in the world today -- such as the situation of separated families, the educational crisis, widespread violence, etc. -- render new generations fragile."

The Pope concluded by highlighting the need for "adequate formation in the spiritual life so as to make Christian communities, particularly in parishes, ever more aware of their vocation, and capable of providing adequate responses to questions of spirituality, especially as posed by the young. For this to happen, the Church must not lack qualified and responsible apostles and evangelizers."

[Justin]

"Franciscan"...

"What?!"

"Through your hands up!"...

Francis...can...un...i....ver...si...tyyy...yyy....

(repeat while dancing and waving handes)

--

On a different note, I am actually thinking of finishing my degrees at UofP because I still have to work and it is the only school in the area.

jn

[james mary evans]

..."Faced with the educational crisis, Benedict XVI continued, "schools must ask themselves about the mission they are called to undertake in the modern social environment..."

Oregon places 50th in the nation--dead last--in matters of life; shoudn't UoP reconsider its decision in granting a "Sex Club" on campus considering "this" modern social environment?

Pathetic is right.

[Ken Hallenius]

I think that many here are missing the point about the Gay-Straight Partnership club at UP. It's not a "sex club", but rather a social group that promotes respect of the individual person, inasmuch as they possess human dignity - the very basis of Catholic Social Teaching (cf. CCC 1929-1933). The group, which has as its advisors a member of the Campus Ministry staff and a Holy Cross priest, will promote the truth about human sexuality (cf., the directives given to the group in approving its charter). This is not a club that is organized to "go clubbing".

I believe that Mr. Olson's selective commentary on the article as presented here is uncharitable and misleading. What is even more unfortunate is that other blogs are picking up on this interpretation and running with it, rather than seeking out the original article and its fuller explanation. This serves to harm the Body of Christ, not build it up. We ought to expect better from Ignatius Press.

[Ken Hallenius]

I would like also to point out this important paragraph that Mr. Olson left out of his article:

'The GSP's mission, according to the club's constitution, is "to build a community that is open and welcoming to all students" and "to help all students grow in friendship, knowledge, faith and service."'

It's so important that people read the original articles when they are quoted in blogs, rather than play "telephone" and spin things completely out of their rooting in reality. You're dealing with people's lives here, not some anonymous "they".

[Justin]

Ken,

I appreciated your comments. Good post(s)!

jn

[Gerard]

Why didn't the university simply invite Courage to come to campus (http://www.couragerc.net/)? One of their stated goals is to "foster a spirit of fellowship in which all may share thoughts and experiences, and so ensure that no one will have to face the problems of homosexuality alone." This seems to be keeping with Ken's observations and Catholic teaching on human dignity.

[John]

It's been since the early 90's when I was a student on the U.P. campus. As with many other Catholics attending college, it wasn't exactly a time of spiritual growth for me. I did continue to attend Mass on Sundays on campus and participated in the "Simple Meal" program during Lent where you give up eating in the cafeteria one night a week and eat soup and bread instead. One of my theology classes was taught by a Presbyterian, and one of the priests at the time left the priesthood to pursue a homosexual relationship, but I believe that many of the priests there strive to be holy.

My gut feeling from this story, especially from the group's initial desire to network with other gay-straight-alliance groups on other campuses and the stated mission to provide "balanced programming and education" which "offers" the Catholic teaching on the subject (it should be unbalanced with Catholic teaching favored and promoted rather than just offered as another point of view), is that the students starting up the group had and still have Catholic teaching on sexuality as a low priority. It is just the required extra baggage that they are willing to carry in order to have a means of promoting points of view that are against Catholic teaching (after all, that's all part of the balance isn't it?)

It will be interesting to see what if any clashes occur between the group and its advisers and just what "balanced programming and education" means.

[God's will]

Ok its respect and thats all. For some people who are either very religious, straight, or ignorance people would not understand anything about sexuality. If you know someone who is gay or friend withe them then you will know why this club matter. Other wise yeah straight religious or close minded people need to go learn a few lesson about psychology with science before saying what is right a wrong. God didnt say anything about homosexual, only sodomy. He never mentioned anything about sodomy in a loving relationship. He only wants peace. Either way God only wants LOVE AND PEACE. If someone do something then they will accept consequences. its none of your business to judge, all you can do is love instead of discriminate! lol Peace out and please go pray for the world instead of complaining about gay people. A good heart belongs to caring, not to someone who discriminate. hate, discriminate, and racist are purely satan itself :).