A "Double-Agent" Board Member

St. Bonaventure University in up-state New York has on its board of trustees a woman of, shall we say, a "diversity" of experience with various boards.  I speak of Dr. Ellen E. Grant, a highly-placed social worker who currently sits on the St Bonaventure Board of Trustees.  However, her past experience includes a stint on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of Western New York.  Such a chequered resume leads one to wonder how Bonaventure justified the bestowal of its highest award, the Gaudete Medal, upon her.

In making these statements, my focus of criticism is not so much on Dr. Grant as it is upon an institution that ostensibly has as its mission the impartation of Catholic truths and traditions.  One wonders how this can be.  A perusal of the website answers the question somewhat.  We see something called Spectrum, an on-campus organization that "not only seeks to promote the issues that affect the gay and lesbian community directly, but diversity issues as a whole, aiming for a greater all-around atmosphere of acceptance at St. Bonaventure University". (emphasis mine)  Moreover, it "looks to correct the large number of misconceptions people have about homosexuality and religion, and to raise awareness of how these misconceptions are formed."  I'm sure that one of those alledged "misconceptions" is the Church's teachings that homosexual inclinations are intrinically disordered, and that homosexual relations are sinful.  Well, misconception clearly exists, but not on the part of the Magisterium.  I'm pleased to see that there appears to be a pro-life group on campus.

Now here's the board of trustees.  Of the 32 members, I count 5 Franciscans; the rest are lay.  Do we see what happens when lay people take over an institution founded by religious?  The vision and charism of that institution often falls by the wayside - not to say that the religious in question are stellar paragons, but at least there's a better chance of adherence to that mission.  We saw that at Notre Dame, when a secular board invited the Messiah Most Miserable there last May to give a Performance Most Miserable.