Catholic group opposes honor for Senator Clinton

Apr 21, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Marymount Manhattan College has planned to honor Senator Hillary Clinton (D—N.Y.) with an honorary doctorate but a Catholic group is trying to convince the college to do otherwise. 

Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, said it would be a "scandal" for the college, which is associated to the Catholic Church, to confer the degree at the commencement exercises May 20, reported CNSNews.com. Clinton is also scheduled to deliver the commencement address to the school’s 430 graduates.

Reilly said Clinton should not be honored because she has supported legalized abortion, voted against a ban on partial-birth abortion, advocated for embryonic stem-cell research and declared contraception "basic health care for women."

In addition, the college's actions defy the "Catholics in Political Life" statement that was approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2004, which says Catholic institutions should not honor those who act against Church teaching, Reilly stated.

Reilly wrote to Marymount Manhattan College President Judson Shaver and New York Cardinal Edward Eagan seeking "immediate action to prevent scandal in the Archdiocese of New York."

The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Tarrytown, N.Y, founded the college. It received an independent charter in 1961, but it has maintained its ties with the Catholic Church and a number of Catholic organizations.