Archbishop Dolan not told Fordham would honor pro-abortion mayor

New York City, N.Y., May 21, 2009 / 01:02 am

Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan has said that Fordham University did not inform him that pro-abortion rights Mayor Michael Bloomberg would speak at the Catholic school’s commencement and receive an honorary degree.

Fordham University President Fr. Joseph McShane, SJ, in his address to Fordham graduates, singled out Mayor Bloomberg and television commentator Tom Brokaw for “special mention,” acknowledging the mayor first.

“Last week I heard the Mayor speak at a Jesuit fund-raising event in Manhattan,” Fr. McShane said. “In the course of his typically gracious remarks, he noted wistfully that he had not had the benefit of a Jesuit education. Mr. Bloomberg, this is your lucky day: you are now a Fordham graduate and thus a member of the Jesuit family!”

Pro-abortion rights Sen. Charles Schumer also spoke at Fordham Law’s graduation on Sunday, also unbeknownst to the archbishop, the New York Post reports.

Archbishop Dolan had criticized the University of Notre Dame for inviting President Barack Obama to be commencement speaker and to receive an honorary degree.

According to the New York Post, the archbishop’s spokesman Joseph Zwilling wrote in an e-mail that Archbishop Dolan was unaware that Mayor Bloomberg was speaking or getting a degree at Fordham.

Zwilling also did not know about Sen. Schumer.

Last fall, the now-retired Edward Cardinal Egan had criticized Fordham for giving the pro-abortion rights Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer an ethics award.

Fordham said its hosting of speakers from “across the political spectrum” points to “a vibrant culture of engagement with the real world, rather than an insufficiency of Catholic teaching.”

“The quality of a Catholic education at the university can't be measured by trying to parse the positions of speakers or honorees in relation to church teachings,” Fordham added.