Sunday, August 03, 2008

Kudos to Georgetown University

As an alum of Georgetown University, I regularly receive the Georgetown Magazine. The most recent issue features a story on Georgetown University's serious initiative to address the needs and concerns of the LGBTQ community. This feature story includes personal testimony from a wide range of alumni who are members of the LGBTQ community. Their personal stories are powerful and convincing, and confirm that what Georgetown University is doing in this regard is consistent both with the best angels of our nature as compassionate and empathetic human beings and with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

As a Catholic (and Jesuit) institution, its initiative has been criticized by the usual suspects who think that any initiative that seeks to advance the dignity of the human being irrespective of sexual orientation is a direct violation of Church teachings on the subject.

However, Georgetown University's decision to listen to and to reach out to the LGBTQ community is in no way a commentary upon the morality of same-sex orientation or homosexual activity. All the initiative does is identify a need faced by members of the Georgetown Community and creates an outreach program and an LGBTQ Resource Center intended to meet that need. It's no different, essentially, than reaching out to any person in need regardless of that person's race, creed, political ideology, nationality, or even religious faith. The Catholic Church does this all the time.

Read the whole piece.

For my part, I couldn't be prouder of Georgetown University for this effort, both as an alumnus myself and as a member of the Catholic Church.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What the heck is LGBTQ? Why did it Georgetown so long to recognize that there was a need to cater to these special interests?

Eric said...

Just the LGBTQ's?

How insensitive of them to leave out the pansexuals!

Huck said...

Oh, I'm sure the pansexuals, the heterosexuals, the unisexuals, and even the metrosexuals are welcome to take advantage of the Resource Center, too. I mean, really, once Georgetown started opening its doors to non-Catholics, and hired a Protestant minister for outreach to the non-Papists on campus, it had no choice but to end up where it is now. :-)

Anonymous said...

What does LGBTQ mean?

Huck said...

Sorry, J_G, I thought you knew what the letters stood for and were needling me and being sarcastic with your earlier question. They stand for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual, Questioning/Queer.