Last fall we reported on a developing situation at Georgetown University, where current and former students on both sides of the gay marriage debate were forming alliances and agendas in the battle for the soul of the Roman Catholic institution.
Georgetown alumnus, William Peter Blatty (the author of The Exorcist) led in gathering 2,000 signatures on a petition designed to move the administration of Georgetown maintain the official teaching of the church on these touchstone issues.
I wrote:
Blatty is calling on Georgetown to either get in line with official church doctrine and practice, or to stop identifying itself as Roman Catholic. As the moniker for his “Father King Society” states, he wants to make Georgetown “honest, Catholic and better.”
The Washington Post reported today that the Vatican has given an initial response to Blatty — and the response gives one reason to hope that Blatty’s concerns might bring forth corrective action.
On Monday, the National Catholic Register reported that the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education responded to Blatty. “Your communications to this Dicastery in the matter of Georgetown University . . . constitute a well-founded complaint,” wrote Archbishop Angelo Zani, according to the Register. “Our Congregation is taking the issue seriously, and is cooperating with the Society of Jesus in this regard.”
In response, Blatty said he hopes he put the fear of God in the administrators.
We’ll keep tracking this ongoing story.
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A dozen years ago when my son graduated from Georgetown, Rudy Giuliani was the commencement speaker. After the ceremony I chatted with former Democratic congressman and law school professor; Father Robert Drinan. He was of Watergate fame. Fr. Drinan noted that Giuliani was an admitted adulterer and Georgetown is a Catholic institution.
So it cuts both ways.