As a Catholic university, Franciscan fosters an environment through education and activities that proclaims the sanctity of life, most notably through its Human Life Studies program and Institute of Bioethics. Franciscan University students take pro-life issues to heart, fighting for the end of abortion through sidewalk counseling at abortion clinics, participation in the March for Life in Washington, D.C., countless hours of prayer, and many other activities.Cafardi supports Obama despite the senator’s stance on the abortion issue, but the university still seemed to think it prudent to remind everyone of its pro-life credentials. Would the university have issued such a statement if Cafardi had endorsed John McCain?
Of Reputations and Resignations
My alma mater, Franciscan University of Steubenville, has a solid reputation for a passionate orthodoxy and social conservatism, so it came as little surprise to read that a member of the university board had voluntarily resigned following his endorsement of Barack Obama and the controversy at the university that followed. Dr. Nicholas P. Cafardi’s endorsement prompted the university’s Office of Public Relations to issue a statement distancing itself from its board member’s advocacy of Obama. The statement concludes: