Saint Vincent College has teaching opportunity

George W. Bush will deliver the commencement address May 11th at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. School president, James Towey led the White House's office of faith-based and community initiatives from 2002 until last April.

St. Vincent is a coed Roman Catholic liberal arts college about 35 miles east of Pittsburgh. The school was founded in 1846.

Archabbot Nowicki, the College's chancellor, believes that Bush's address would help to burnish the schools reputation as one of the finest liberal arts schools in the country. We are thinking "tarnish" may be a better term here.

The Schools Web Site states it "seeks to provide an understanding of the positive contributions which the Catholic Church has made, and continues to make, to human progress, and to emphasize the application of Catholic social teaching to the problems of the world, particularly with respect to the poor, lonely, and marginalized."

We wonder then if the Archabbot and Towey are taking the opportunity to teach Bush about these very Catholic ideals. Ones that he and his administration have totally disregarded over the last 6 years, despite Bush's pandering to Catholics and their votes.

Bush’s War in Iraq is deeply at odds with Catholic teaching.

The Bush has seen government grow larger and more likely to intervene in the economy. The Bush doctrine means preferential option for the rich, not the poor. Their policies on wages, working conditions, unions, antipoverty assistance and Social Security all conflict with Catholic principles. His support for faith-based organizations in delivering social assistance has been token and narrow in focus.

Bush has made no real attempt to address the moral outrage of over 40 million Americans who lack health insurance. Instead policy is aimed to inflate drug company profits.

Issues that affect racial and ethnic minorities like wages, housing, public transportation, and health care and so on are at odds with Catholic social teaching. Bush has done little to change stingy refugee and asylum policies.

Bush has done nothing to address global warming and resource depletion. He has eroded existing standards in clear air, clean water and conservation. Instead policy is aimed at short-term interests of his corporate allies in oil, coal, timber and agribusiness.

All this is at odds with Catholic Teaching.

Bush's foreign policy is marked by an aggressive use of military power without regard for traditional just war principles. His administration has disregarded international treaties and institutions that the United States has worked for a half-century to build. They govern by the assertion that American interests trump those of any other country. Catholic teaching in this area emphasizes nonviolence, economic justice and the importance of multilateral treaties and institutions.

Bush does oppose abortion. He signed partial-birth abortion ban, but thinks the country isn’t ready to outlaw most abortions. He has supported some federal funding for stem cell research. He Opposes cloning and physician-assisted suicide, but neither was much of a priority in his first term. Bush is an enthusiastic supporter of the death penalty.

So with such a dismal record regarding issues important to Catholics - we do indeed look forward to the lesson plan that Towey and the Archabbot have in mind.