Sunday, October 5, 2008

Catholic University Takes Issue With Pro-Obama Trustee

Franciscan University of Steubenville issued a statement on Friday distancing itself from its Board of Trustees member Nicholas Cafardi, who has recently come out in support of Sen Barack Obama, despite the candidate’s abortion stance, the Catholic News Agency is reporting.

Cafardi, who is the dean of Duquesne University’s School of Law and serves as a trustee for Franciscan, explained his reasons for endorsing Obama in an editorial for the National Catholic Reporter on Tuesday. According to Cafardi, there are two reasons that he can support Senator Obama, who has professed his support for upholding Roe v Wade. First, he claims that the pro-life movement has "permanently" lost the struggle over abortion, and secondly, he asserts that Obama’s plans to strengthen the “social safety net” will decrease abortions.

“Every faithful Catholic agrees that abortion is an unspeakable evil that must be minimized, if not eliminated,” Cafardi wrote. “I can help to achieve that without endorsing Republicans' immoral baggage. Overturning Roe v Wade is not the only way to end abortion, and a vote for Obama is not somehow un-Catholic,” he asserted.

This line of reasoning did not fly with Franciscan University of Steubenville, where Dr Cafardi serves on the Board of Trustees. In a statement obtained by CNA, the university said that it “stands with the Catholic Church in its opposition to abortion as an intrinsic evil and violation of the sanctity of human life.” Contrary to Cafardi’s belief, the university said that it “does not believe the abortion battle is lost, but that the tide is decidedly turning in favour of life.”

Read it all here.

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