How do I get anti-Catholic materials out of my campus ministry center?

[rogerpodger]

My campus ministry center has on display a pro-abortion magazine from a pro-abortion Catholic group. I find it offensive and outrageous. I want to tell my campus minister that I will not support the ministry financially unless he removes this magazine from the campus ministry center, but I am not sure if this is prudent. My campus minister and I are friends and I don’t want to ruin our friendship. What is your advice for handling this situation?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Rather than deliver an ultimatum that may put your friend on the defensive, I recommend giving him information on why the group in question does not represent the views of the Catholic Church. Do some research on the group online and present your friend with the findings, always presuming until proven otherwise that your friend is a well-intentioned person who has made an uninformed decision in this situation.

If your friend dismisses your findings, then take the matter to his superior. Not knowing the university in question, I do not know whether his superior would be the ministry’s chaplain or the bishop of the diocese. Find the next rung in the command ladder and work your way up, always presuming that the next person you approach is a person of goodwill who wants to do the right thing.

Finally, if you have no luck at all, consider contacting the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights (if this is a non-Catholic or secular university) or the St. Joseph Foundation (if this is a Catholic university that is run by a diocese or religious order).

**Recommended reading:

God Help Me! These People Are Driving Me Nuts** by Gregory K. Popcak