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Cardinal Newman Society Protests Ayers Lecture
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| (Brant Ward/The Chronicle) |
Joins Other Groups Objecting To Appearance
By Michael P. Tremoglie, The Bulletin
Co-founder of the Weather Underground terrorist group, Bill Ayers — an associate of President Barack Hussein Obama – was greeted by an angry and loud group of protesters during his Jan. 28 appearance at St. Mary’s Soda Center in Moraga, California, east of San Francisco.
Mr. Ayers, now a college professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, came to discuss social justice – although he did not mention his participation with the Weather Underground group bombed government buildings during the early 1970s in protest of the Vietnam War. The bombings resulted in at least four fatalities.
In 2001, the New York Times reported Mr. Ayers as having said, “I don’t regret setting bombs ... I feel we didn’t do enough.”
Mr. Ayers, and early Chicago supporter of Mr. Obama, indicated his pleasure at the president’s election.
Jim Pera, a retired San Francisco police officer who was an eyewitness to the killings perpetrated by the Weather Underground; activist Melanie Morgan, president of Move American Forward; and Larry Grathwohl who infiltrated the group during the 1970s, were among those who protested.
“It’s immoral, it’s indecent, and it’s wrong,” said Ms. Morgan, who headed a band of protesters chanting, “Terrorist go home,” and carrying signs that read, “Ayers lied, innocents died.”
Rosanne Maloney, a St. Mary’s alumna and 1985 class president told the San Francisco Chronicle, “They’re not getting my check again. I’m for free speech, but I’m not for a terrorist. The college is drifting from its values.”
Also protesting the lecture were members of the Cardinal Newman Society, which is dedicated to renewing and strengthening Catholic identity at America’s 224 Catholic colleges and universities. The society focuses its work on assisting students, alumni and school officials; urging fidelity to the Catholic Church’s teachings; and researching activities both on campus and in the classroom.
Saint Mary’s College is affiliated with the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Catholic order of brothers founded by St. John Baptist de la Salle. The college claims to embrace core Lasallian values including “faith in the presence of God” and “respect for all persons.”
“Bill Ayers’ honored presence at a Catholic college should offend not only Catholics, but all men and women of good will,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society. “It is an affront to basic human dignity and a scandal that a Catholic college should provide a platform for a man who reportedly takes pride in terrorist acts against the United States.”
The Cardinal Newman Society has not received a response to a letter faxed last Friday, Jan. 23, to Brother Ronald Gallagher, F.S.C., president of Saint Mary’s College, urging him to halt the lecture.
“The Catholic Church has clear teachings on authentic freedom, morality and ethics,” Mr. Reilly said. “Bill Ayers has no place lecturing at a sincerely Catholic college.”
Mr. Reilly noted that when Pope Benedict XVI addressed Catholic college presidents last April in Washington, D.C., he warned: “Only in faith can truth become incarnate and reason truly human, capable of directing the will along the path of freedom. In this way our [educational] institutions make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and truly serve society.”
Mr. Ayers was in California on a tour to promote a new book on race relations that he wrote with his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, who was a former FBI 10 Most Wanted and eventually convicted of aggravated battery and later served a prison sentence for refusing to testify in an armed robbery trial.
“No single event has ever generated the volume of e-mail that I have received in past days than the upcoming appearance of Professor William (Bill) Ayers,” said Provost Bethami Dobkin in a public letter. She added, “We are an academic institution, founded in the values and practices of the Christian Brothers and grounded in the liberal arts ... (and) the appearance of Mr. Ayers as a guest speaker is congruent with our mission and educational purposes.”
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
Mr. Ayers, now a college professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, came to discuss social justice – although he did not mention his participation with the Weather Underground group bombed government buildings during the early 1970s in protest of the Vietnam War. The bombings resulted in at least four fatalities.
In 2001, the New York Times reported Mr. Ayers as having said, “I don’t regret setting bombs ... I feel we didn’t do enough.”
Mr. Ayers, and early Chicago supporter of Mr. Obama, indicated his pleasure at the president’s election.
Jim Pera, a retired San Francisco police officer who was an eyewitness to the killings perpetrated by the Weather Underground; activist Melanie Morgan, president of Move American Forward; and Larry Grathwohl who infiltrated the group during the 1970s, were among those who protested.
“It’s immoral, it’s indecent, and it’s wrong,” said Ms. Morgan, who headed a band of protesters chanting, “Terrorist go home,” and carrying signs that read, “Ayers lied, innocents died.”
Rosanne Maloney, a St. Mary’s alumna and 1985 class president told the San Francisco Chronicle, “They’re not getting my check again. I’m for free speech, but I’m not for a terrorist. The college is drifting from its values.”
Also protesting the lecture were members of the Cardinal Newman Society, which is dedicated to renewing and strengthening Catholic identity at America’s 224 Catholic colleges and universities. The society focuses its work on assisting students, alumni and school officials; urging fidelity to the Catholic Church’s teachings; and researching activities both on campus and in the classroom.
Saint Mary’s College is affiliated with the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Catholic order of brothers founded by St. John Baptist de la Salle. The college claims to embrace core Lasallian values including “faith in the presence of God” and “respect for all persons.”
“Bill Ayers’ honored presence at a Catholic college should offend not only Catholics, but all men and women of good will,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society. “It is an affront to basic human dignity and a scandal that a Catholic college should provide a platform for a man who reportedly takes pride in terrorist acts against the United States.”
The Cardinal Newman Society has not received a response to a letter faxed last Friday, Jan. 23, to Brother Ronald Gallagher, F.S.C., president of Saint Mary’s College, urging him to halt the lecture.
“The Catholic Church has clear teachings on authentic freedom, morality and ethics,” Mr. Reilly said. “Bill Ayers has no place lecturing at a sincerely Catholic college.”
Mr. Reilly noted that when Pope Benedict XVI addressed Catholic college presidents last April in Washington, D.C., he warned: “Only in faith can truth become incarnate and reason truly human, capable of directing the will along the path of freedom. In this way our [educational] institutions make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and truly serve society.”
Mr. Ayers was in California on a tour to promote a new book on race relations that he wrote with his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, who was a former FBI 10 Most Wanted and eventually convicted of aggravated battery and later served a prison sentence for refusing to testify in an armed robbery trial.
“No single event has ever generated the volume of e-mail that I have received in past days than the upcoming appearance of Professor William (Bill) Ayers,” said Provost Bethami Dobkin in a public letter. She added, “We are an academic institution, founded in the values and practices of the Christian Brothers and grounded in the liberal arts ... (and) the appearance of Mr. Ayers as a guest speaker is congruent with our mission and educational purposes.”
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
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