Nashville, Tenn., Mar 28, 2012 / 23:07 pm
A Catholic student group says it will leave the Vanderbilt University campus at the end of the year over a controversial school policy which bars the group from requiring its leaders to be Catholic.
“The discriminatory non-discrimination policy at Vanderbilt University has forced our hand,” Vanderbilt Catholic chaplain Father John Sims Baker said in a March 26 statement.
“Our purpose has always been to share the Gospel and proudly to proclaim our Catholic faith. What other reason could there be for a Catholic organization at Vanderbilt?” he asked. “How can we say it is not important that a Catholic lead a Catholic organization?”
Student groups cannot require their leaders to have specific religious beliefs under the university’s non-discrimination policy, The Nashville Tennesean reported. Groups must be open to all students and must allow every student member to run for office.