American Life League president Judie Brown issued the following statement regarding a lecture Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) will deliver at 1:15 pm today at Canisius College in Buffalo. American Life League representatives will be present to peacefully demonstrate outside the event:
By allowing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton a platform at a Catholic institution, officials at Canisius College in Buffalo are clearly defying instructions the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued last June in Denver. The bishops stated unequivocally that 'Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.'
We pray that Bishop Edward Kmiec of Buffalo will step forward and clarify to the administration of Canisius College, a Jesuit institution, that hosting a pro-abortion speaker such as Sen. Clinton is simply not in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Sen. Clinton's entire career has been characterized by complete defiance toward the Church's stance on the sanctity of innocent human life. Her repeated statements that Roe v. Wade should remain the law of the land illustrate how fundamentally opposed she is to the Catholic Church on this most basic of civil rights.
The claim by college officials that they are complying with the bishops' norms is simply not true. Regardless of the topic of the senator's lecture, the fact is that a known abortion advocate is being given a public platform at a Catholic institution – a situation that is at best confusing and at worst scandalous. The invitation to Sen. Clinton should have never been issued; it's not too late to rescind that invitation and show Canisius students that the Catholic faith cannot be compromised.
Release issued: 31 Jan 05