I am writing in response to Kevin Mayer's letter to the editor in the Nov. 2 issue of the Phoenix, regarding the paper's coverage of College Advocates for Reproductive Education (CARE). I would like to begin by addressing the article "Student Group Advocates Safe Sex" from the Oct. 26 issue of the Phoenix and thanking the staff and writer for doing exactly what the field of journalism does and should do - cover a newsworthy event.
That said, I would like to express the falsity of the issue that the Mayer brings up in regards to the passing out of condoms and advocating for education and prevention as a violation of Loyola's mission statement and of Church teachings. I am, in fact, Catholic. I was baptized Catholic, raised in the Catholic tradition, and plan on remaining a faithful Catholic for the rest of my life. In addition, I am pro-choice; I believe contraception is a basic and essential element to the health and well being of any woman, her right to control her own destiny, and her advancement in life. The reason I bring this up is because these beliefs are strongly tied to my religious conviction, and a result of being brought up in the Catholic faith, and I am far from alone.
Individual conscience in matters of moral decision-making is at the very core of Catholicism. The respect for the conscience of individuals as moral agents, as well as respect for the freedom and beliefs of other faith groups, is at the essence of what it means to be a Catholic. But don't just take my word for it: according to Catholics for chioce, 96 percent of American Catholic women who have ever had sex have used modern methods of contraception and Catholic women are just as likely as women of other religions to use contraceptive methods and to engage in pre-marital intercourse. A total of 72 percent of Catholics believe that one can be a good Catholic without obeying the Church hierarchy's teaching on birth control, the 2000 Survey of Family Growth reports.
This is an obvious and overwhelming majority of the American Catholic Church. The way in which Loyola handles, or refuses to handle, the issue of contraceptives seems to be nowhere close to consistent with the message of the members of the Catholic Church in supporting the morality and consciousness of the individual. Instead, this outdated and unrealistic view on contraception and pre-marital sex has been enforced mainly by religious hierarchical powers, ignoring the spirituality and beliefs of their lay members. Good teaching incorporates the experience, wisdom and individual moral conscience of the Church members as well as the hierarchy. The immediate classification of the work of groups such as CARE as an abomination, however, has shown that this incorporation is not being allowed and a silencing of the beliefs of the majority of the Catholic Church results. This view of CARE as against the Church is not representative of the majority of the opinion of Catholic Church, but CARE's mission is.
With having failed to convince the Catholic community not to use contraception, Bishops and other powerful religious leaders are now working to make these resources out of reach to Catholics, and to all, as shown by Loyola's Wellness Center's refusal to pass out condoms or provide any other method of birth control to its Catholic and non-Catholic student body. This is the reason for CARE's much needed and long overdue presence on campus.
I am in agreement with Mayer's call for an open, moral conversation about the topic in order for students to gain a better understanding of their own personal beliefs and convictions. But he ignored how difficult this will be if CARE is not recognized as an official student group. This brings us to a part of Loyola's mission statement that the author chose to ignore, that "We embrace freedom of inquiry, even in the face of controversy or unpopularity, in the conviction that the truth will emerge," as Loyola's president slightly touched on in response to CARE's advocacy work. Therefore, without the acknowledgement of CARE as an official student group Loyola would, in fact, be violating its mission statement as a university.
The bottom line is this: Loyola student have sex. Catholic students have sex. Non-Catholic students have sex. The majority of Catholics, myself included, oppose the efforts of powerful religious leaders to teach against the use of contraception because it limits the free exercise of conscience and responsibility by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. This opposition is rooted in medicine, ethics, and the core of Catholic theology.
Katie Kramer, sophomore, political science and womens studies, CARE president
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