Message From Elizabeth Brown: "The Cardinal Newman Society’s List of Errors"

My colleague, Elizabeth Brown, has asked that I post her message below concerning the list of previous commencement speakers and award recipients at Boston College in the Cardinal Newman Society report. By passing along this message, I should not be understood as necessarily endorsing these as vital corrections or saying that they denote underlying error in each instance. Still, I did quote John Adams in my prior post as saying that facts are stubborn things. Accordingly, when asked, I surely ought to facilitate the fleshing out of that factual record more fully, allowing each reader to make his or her own judgment as to significance and implications. Any further comments I may have will be reserved for a later posting, allowing Elizabeth to speak here without further interruption.

Greg Sisk

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The Cardinal Newman Society’s List of Errors

In light of the current protest over Secretary Rice as the commencement speaker for Boston College, a list of past Boston College awards recipients and commencement speakers taken from the Cardinal Newman Society’s website was posted to MoJ. As previously noted, Bishop John Vlazny, the retiring chairman of the Bishops and Presidents Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, stated that the Bishops and Presidents Committee often found the Cardinal Newman Society to be “inaccurate”. The list from CNS on MoJ contains numerous errors and omissions and gives the misleading impression that Boston College was honoring these individuals for work that was contrary to Catholic Social Teachings.

Below is the list as it was posted to MoJ followed in brackets by a list of each of the errors and omissions made by the Cardinal Newman Society:

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Honorary Degree, Chairwoman of the John D. &
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (May 2002). The MacArthur Foundation's
Population and Reproductive Health grant program is a leading contributor to
organizations advocating abortion, contraception and population control.

[Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot did not become the Chairwoman for the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation until June 2002. At the time that she received the award from Boston College, she had no ability to shape or influence the policies of the MacArthur Foundation. She was, however, only the second African-American woman to receive tenure at Harvard and was a noted scholar in the area of sociology. In giving her the award, Boston College voiced “profound respect and gratitude for her lavish enrichment of the academy and her heritage as teacher and scholar”.]

Paul Cellucci, Ambassador to Canada and former Massachusetts Governor (May
2002). While governor, Cellucci was a strong advocate of abortion rights.

[Paul Cellucci was not a speaker at the commencement ceremony for the entire university, but only for the Law School. Celluci was a graduate of Boston College Law School. BC Law Dean John H. Garvey praised Cellucci’s outstanding legal career and service to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. “The Law School takes great pride in the dedication and quality of its alumni,” Garvey said. “He served with great distinction during his years as governor. And he has served the people of the United States well as our ambassador to Canada.” See Boston College, News, 2002-Archive. Objections were raised about Cellucci, not only because of his stand on abortion, but over his support for the death penalty. According to the Boston Globe, Cardinal Bernard Law publicly objected to Cellucci’s support for the death penalty. "The teachings of the church are very clear," Law said. "For a well-informed Catholic to support capital punishment, it would be morally wrong. And if one knowingly rejects the teachings of the church it is wrong, morally evil, and a sin."]

Walter Dellinger, commencement speaker, May 24, 2004. Dellinger was closely
associated with NARAL Pro-Choice America and chaired NARAL's 1992 commission
to defend Roe v. Wade.

[Walter Dellinger was not the commencement speaker for the entire university on May 24, 2004. Tim Russert was the university’s commencement speaker. Dellinger was the commencement speaker for the Law School. Dellinger is the Douglas B. Maggs Professor of Law at Duke University and also is the head of appellate practice at O’Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C. Dellinger served as acting Solicitor General for the 1996-97 Term of the Supreme Court. During his tenure, he argued nine cases before the Court, the most by any Solicitor General in more than 20 years. His arguments included cases dealing with physician-assisted suicide, the line item veto, the cable television act, the Brady Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the constitutionality of remedial services for parochial school children. Regarding the choice of Dellinger as a speaker, BC Law Dean John H. Garvey commented: “Walter Dellinger has had a remarkable career. He has argued some of the most important cases before the Supreme Court in the last decade. He’s a very influential figure in the profession. I am very pleased that our graduating class will have the chance to hear what he has to say.” See Boston College, News, 2004-Archive.]

Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, author of Stenberg v.
Carhart, commencement address, May 23, 2003.

[Justice Stephen Breyer was not the commencement speaker for the entire university. He was the commencement speaker for the Law School. "We are honored to have Justice Breyer address the graduates this year," said BC Law Dean John H. Garvey. "He is one of the most important figures in contemporary American law -- a man of extraordinary intellect, great integrity, and a lifelong commitment to serving the public interest. I am happy for the members of the class of 2003 that he will be joining them at this important point in their careers." Justice Breyer also received the BC Law School’s Founder’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed by BC Law School.]

Rev. Robert Drinan, received BC's first Distinguished Service Medal (October
2004). As congressman, opposed numerous efforts
to ban federal funding of abortions. In 1996, published articles in the
National Catholic Reporter and the New York Times supporting
President Bill Clinton's veto of a partial-birth abortion ban.

[Fr. Drinan received the Distinguished Service Medal from BC Law School, not the university. In making this award, BC Law Dean John Garvey commented: “Father Bob Drinan was one of the most influential deans in the history of the school. He was instrumental in expanding and improving the reputation of Boston College Law throughout the nation. I am constantly hearing stories from alumni who were inspired by him, who thank him for getting them into Law School and starting their careers. He has been a personal hero to me.” Drinan was Dean of BC Law School from 1956 to 1970.]

Only one of these individuals, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, was given an award by the university. All of the others were given awards by or were commencement speakers of BC Law School. Certainly, it might be considered a matter of prudential judgment whether a faculty member in the Theology Department has a moral obligation to object publicly to what the Law School does.

The fact of the matter is that no one knows for certain if Fr. Himes and Fr. Hollenbach raised any private or public objections to any of these speakers. Until someone provides evidence that they did not object to these speakers, perhaps we ought to give them the benefit of the doubt, and focus instead on the merits of the award recipient that they have publicly objected to, Secretary of State Rice, who is being honored with an honorary Doctor of Laws, according to Boston College’s press release regarding its commencement, because she is “one of the chief architects of U.S. foreign policy in the new millennium.”

Elizabeth F. Brown
Assistant Professor of Law
University of St. Thomas
School of Law