New Orleans, La., Apr 25, 2009 / 05:43 am
Archbishop of New Orleans Alfred Hughes, reiterating his “disappointment” with Xavier University of Louisiana, has said that he will not attend the school’s commencement exercises, saying pro-abortion rights strategist Donna Brazile’s appearance as its spring 2009 commencement speaker contradicts support for those “in their mother’s wombs.”
Archbishop Hughes expressed his objections in an April 22 letter to Dr. Norman C. Francis, President of Xavier University, writing:
“It is with regret that I make the decision not to participate in the Commencement Exercises this year at Xavier University in light of the university’s decision to invite Ms. Donna Brazile to be the Commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree. Ms. Brazile has a public record in support of keeping abortion legal.”
He cited the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) 2004 document “Catholics in Political Life,” which said Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.”