Bill ClintonThe following comes from an April 21 article by Adam Cassandra from Catholic Education Daily, an online publication of The Cardinal Newman Society:

The rector of the Jesuit community at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, Calif., thinks LMU is justified in honoring the life of former President Bill Clinton as long as it’s clear that the University is ignoring all of the immoral and evil actions committed in the past, and present, by Clinton when bestowing that honor.

The student-run Los Angeles Loyolan recently reported that Father Allan Figueroa Deck, S.J., rector of the LMU Jesuit community, responded to protests and criticisms of LMU’s honoring of Clinton by expressing his full support of the decision.

“In conferring this honor LMU does not endorse all of Mr. Clinton’s past or current policies nor condone all his actions,” Fr. Deck stated. “Rather, the University recognizes the extraordinary service he has given to civil society and his lifetime connection to Catholic and Jesuit higher education as a Georgetown University alumnus.”

LMU President Dr. Timothy Snyder touted Clinton in the commencement speaker announcement as “one of the great statesmen of our time.”

The Cardinal Newman Society called the University’s choice to honor Clinton as its commencement speaker a betrayal of LMU’s Catholic mission.

“Former President Clinton is an extremely poor choice for honor and presents a very bad moral example to LMU’s students. … Clinton’s record is one of scandal, immorality and support for the destruction of innocent human life,” the Newman Society stated. “And his Clinton Foundation continues to partner with and fund some of the largest organizations around the world dedicated to snuffing out babies in the womb — such as Planned Parenthood.” Since leaving the White House, Clinton has also expressed strong support for same-sex marriage and worked to overturn marriage laws.

“The affront is all the greater, as Clinton is in the midst of an active presidential campaign to elect his wife Hillary, who is an even more vigorous proponent of abortion and same-sex marriage,” the statement continued. “In this context, there can be no separation of former President Clinton from his wife’s presidential race, and the University’s choice for commencement speaker will reasonably be perceived as a partisan, political act.”