Senators denounce Amazon’s removal of transgender-critical book

The exterior of Georgetown University’s School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. / Shutterstock

Denver, Colo., Jul 10, 2023 / 08:44 am (CNA).

The U.S. bishops have reaffirmed the importance of education access for marginalized racial groups after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in higher education.

“Education is a gift, an opportunity, and an important aspect of our democracy that is not always within the reach of all, especially racial and ethnic groups who find themselves on the margins,” Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry of Chicago, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, said in a July 7 statement. “It is our hope that our Catholic institutions of higher learning will continue to find ways to make education possible and affordable for everyone, regardless of their background.”

Perry cited St. Katharine Drexel, a pioneer of Catholic education: “If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor as well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy which invites us. Press forward and fear nothing,” Drexel said.

Perry noted Drexel was quoted in the title of the U.S. bishops’ 2018 pastoral letter “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love.”

The June 29 U.S. Supreme Court decision Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard concerned the affirmative action programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.

However, the decision will impact all universities across the country, including Catholic institutions.

In the 6-3 decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the nation’s highest court effectively struck down public and private universities’ ability to include race-based affirmative action in their admissions decisions.

For decades, many universities have used affirmative action in their admissions programs to increase minority representation on their campuses. However, some have argued that affirmative action promotes the admission of certain ethnic minorities at the expense of others, often negatively impacting Asian students.

In the ruling, Roberts wrote that “Harvard’s consideration of race has led to an 11.1% decrease in the number of Asian-Americans admitted to Harvard.”

Leaders of numerous individual Catholic universities strongly criticized the decision, as did the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU). The association, founded in 1899, has dozens of Catholic institutions as members and describes itself as the “voice of Catholic higher education.”

In a June 29 statement, the ACCU said the decision ignores “the more-than-apparent effects of continued racism in our society.” It objected that the decision undermines higher education’s voluntary efforts to solve the “social evil” of racism “in a society that provides too few solutions.”

The statement added that the ACCU would seek to act within the boundaries of the Supreme Court decision and continue to be guided by Catholic social teaching “to create paths by which those in society who do not have opportunity find it at our institutions.” 

Georgetown University, a Jesuit school in the District of Columbia, led a coalition of Catholic universities and colleges that filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of affirmative action in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case. The brief was joined by The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and 55 other Catholic universities and colleges from across the country.

The brief argued for the “allowance of the use of race as one factor among others in college and university admissions policies.” It suggested affirmative action was part of religious freedom, saying “the free exercise of religion provides additional constitutional weight to the compelling interest in racial diversity in admissions for the Catholic institutions of higher learning.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited the brief in her dissenting opinion.

Georgetown University President John DeGioia issued a June 29 statement decrying the court’s decision. He vowed that the university would “remain committed” to “recruit, enroll, and support students from all backgrounds to ensure an enriching educational experience.”

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CNA Staff, Mar 1, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The U.S. bishops announced a new initiative last week designed to “bring clarity and compassion” to issues surrounding love, marriage, and sexuality by addr… […]

Denver Newsroom, Jul 21, 2020 / 03:01 am (CNA).- The Calix Society serves as a way for Catholics undergoing a 12 Step program to integrate their faith into their recovery, staying sober and sharing in a community where they can identify Christ as their higher power.

While it is not a replacement for other recovery programs, the Calix Society is a supplemental course for people struggling with addiction to embrace their Catholic faith.

The gatherings, which are held monthly, fortnightly, or weekly, are composed of two parts – spiritual practice and discussion. The meeting will begin with a spiritual exercise, such as Mass or the rosary. Then the group will either read from books like the Twelve Steps, have speakers share their faith, or watch faith-filled videos.

Ken Johnston, who is almost 29 years sober and is the program’s treasurer, told CNA that pursuing spirituality is helpful to the recovery process, and Calix allows recovering addicts to participate in a community that expresses a desire for the Catholic faith.

“Most people that eventually find us … say that this is exactly what they’ve been looking for. They’re looking for people that are in recovery that understand their situation and want to be able to share their Catholic faith,” he said.

Beginning in 1947, Calix was developed in Wisconsin after Bill Montroy and several other AA members started to attend daily Mass with Father Pat – a priest in the Twin Cities who also struggled with alcoholism.

As the program grew, Mass was moved to Saturday mornings. Afterward, they would get breakfast at a nearby restaurant, and then they would gather to discuss and read on spiritual topics.

“The five of them would get together each morning for Mass at five o’clock. Father Pat stayed sober and the five men grew in their Catholic faith. They knew that they were on to something here,” said Johnston.

“It was like a combination of the 12 step program plus their Catholic faith that was giving them a spiritual experience that neither one could give them by itself.”

During the 1970s, the program had a couple hundred Calix units throughout the United States. He said numbers have dwindled to about 30 units, with a couple of groups in the United Kingdom.

Last summer, said Johnston, the program opened up its meeting to all recovering groups, including Sexaholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Al-Anon – a support group for family members of recovering addicts. He said the changes to Calix’ program coincides with the national opioid crisis.

“In light of the opioid addiction or the opioid crisis that’s going on, [we] basically expanded our scope to include all 12 step programs,” he said.

“The thing that everybody has in common is the 12 step program. Then Calix fulfills the need of the higher power in order to achieve sobriety.”

Calix is not a substitute for rehab or an anonymous meeting, he said, noting that all members are required to have some recovery time under their belt before they are allowed to join. He said it is instead an additional tool for Catholics to discover more about their faith while being involved with outside recovery efforts.

Johnston quoted the founder, Montroy, saying: “A.A. restores your health and saves you from an early grave. Calix restores your soul and puts you on the road to heaven.”

He said Alcoholics Anonymous was developed as a Christian organization in 1935. However, as AA progressed, it pushed for a relationship with a “higher power” as it is understood by the attendee. He said Calix allows people to identify their higher power with Christ and express that among a Catholic community.

“They came up with a generic higher power and basically drove Jesus Christ out of the rooms. That’s where Calix came in. So people want to be able to say it in a group setting, ‘my higher power is Jesus Christ, and I want to get to know him better.’”

He said these people are able to share their similar struggles and receive support from a like-minded community. On the road to recovery, he said, these people will still have to face difficult situations, like losing a spouse or a child, but they are able to embrace the faith rather than negative addictions.

“We still face a lot of the same issues. Some people experience even more horrific situations in sobriety than they encountered when they were active in or drinking or drug use … The beauty of having that spiritual connection is that now you can deal with it without having to drink or use a drug or something else.”

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