Koch brothers’ donation to Catholic University stirs protests

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Dozens of Catholic leaders are protesting the decision by the Catholic University of America to accept a large donation from the foundation of Charles Koch, a billionaire industrialist who is an influential supporter of libertarian-style policies that critics say run counter to church teaching.
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Charles Koch and his brother, David, “fund organizations that advance public policies that directly contradict Catholic teaching on a range of moral issues from economic justice to environmental stewardship,” says a four-page letter to CUA President John Garvey, released Monday (Dec. 16).
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The letter was signed by 50 priests, social justice advocates, theologians and other academics, including several faculty at CUA in Washington.
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religionnews.com/2013/12/15/koch-brothers-donation-catholic-university-stirs-protests/
 
As long as there is absolutely no danger of quid pro quo, and by that, I mean not even a shadow of a hint of a notion, I don’t have a problem with them accepting donations from any big political donor (Soros, etc.) Take the money and put it to good use!
 
Orogeny said:
CUA has responded.

publicaffairs.cua.edu/releases/2013/koch-statement.cfm

Peace

Tim
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Thanks Tim!

From that letter:
The negative attention to the grant has all been externally driven by organizations with a political agenda. Nearly two weeks after the University publicly announced the grant, an organization called Faithful America launched a petition drive in opposition. Faithful America appears to be an affiliate of Faith in Public Life, the organizer of the letter. In recent weeks Faithful America has also launched three separate petition drives against one Catholic bishop and two Catholic cardinals. All have been characterized by harsh, simplistic, and one-sided rhetoric. As for Faith in Public Life, it is telling that after a two-week-long effort to recruit faculty support at Catholic University, it was able to muster the signatures of only three professors, less than one half of one percent of the University’s faculty.
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Interestingly, Faith in Public life is the Soros-funded group that tried to get the media to run negative stories about Fortnight of Freedom.
 
Havard said:
Interestingly, Faith in Public life is the Soros-funded group that tried to get the media to run negative stories about Fortnight of Freedom.
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How strange to find that people with an agenda will go public with it by driving public attention to what they believe is negative PR. I may be wrong but I think it happens on both sides of the divide.
 
Havard said:
Thanks Tim!

From that letter:

Interestingly, Faith in Public life is the Soros-funded group that tried to get the media to run negative stories about Fortnight of Freedom.
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Some of their other recent campaigns: call for Cardinal Dolan to resign, support openly “gay” ministers at Catholic parishes, support ministers who want to perform same-sex marriages in opposition to their church’s teaching (non-Catholic)…

And why should CUA listen to such an anti-Catholic group? :rolleyes:
 
Corki said:
Some of their other recent campaigns: call for Cardinal Dolan to resign, support openly “gay” ministers at Catholic parishes, support ministers who want to perform same-sex marriages in opposition to their church’s teaching (non-Catholic)…

And why should CUA listen to such an anti-Catholic group? :rolleyes:
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But… but… they’re yelling the loudest… that means they have to be the best choice… right?

I’ll never understand these types of people. The Church isn’t changing, it hasn’t given in to political pressures in it’s 2000+ years, and it’s not going to start now.
 
frobert said:
How strange to find that people with an agenda will go public with it by driving public attention to what they believe is negative PR. I may be wrong but I think it happens on both sides of the divide.
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I’m sure the Koch brothers give to more conservative-aligned “watchdog” groups, and said groups do generally look for examples of folks on the left slipping up, however one distinction is that I do not see nearly the same amount of underhanded Alinsky tactics used there.
 
It shows the hypocrisy of the leftist political activists who get their money from all kinds of millionaires and billionaires.
 
Havard said:
I’m sure the Koch brothers give to more conservative-aligned “watchdog” groups, and said groups do generally look for examples of folks on the left slipping up, however one distinction is that I do not see nearly the same amount of underhanded Alinsky tactics used there.
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I haven’t read the article but don’t fret I refuse to read articles from either other side. Something about my makeup that detests an obvious attempt to appeal to prejudices. I used the modifier “obvious” because like most people I may not be aware of my own prejudices.

I recall reading an article several months ago which discussed how corporations and some elites are donating to colleges and in some cases their donations are swaying the selection of the courses they offer which has the effect on limiting academic freedom on some departments such as economics. I will try to find a reference to it.

Edit: this isn’t the article that I was referring to above but it is the same concept.
Conditions placed on gifts from the BB&T Foundation range from the seemingly benign, funding for faculty and student research and a speaker series, to the sharply contentious, required reading of Ayn Rand.
Source: “Universities, the Major Battleground in the Fight for Reason and Capitalism”
 
Being a liberal Catholic, I am a bit weary of the Koch brothers, but if there are no strings attached, why not accept it. Catholic University could use the funds. :cool:
 
Unless the gift was restricted to funding something contrary to Catholic doctrine or the Church’s mission, the personal qualities of the giver shouldn’t matter in my opinion. Even the worst sinners should be allowed to support good causes.

In this case, it appears the gift is to support faculty for a program about entrepreneurship. Under Catholic social teaching, entrepreneurship is a good thing, since it increases the ownership of the means of production among more and more people and also increases the opportunites for meaningful, productive jobs as well. In addition, an economy that fosters entrepreneurship creates more economic opportunities for more people. It is the opposite of an “economy of exclusion.”
 
“We are concerned that by accepting such a donation you send a confusing message to Catholic students and other faithful Catholics that the Koch brothers’ anti-government, Tea Party ideology has the blessing of a university sanctioned by Catholic bishops,”

They may have a point if the purpose of the 3 visiting professors and curriculum are for the sole purpose of pushing a contentious economics’s agenda. It would be interested in hearing what the professors in their economics’s dept think.
 
frobert said:
“We are concerned that by accepting such a donation you send a confusing message to Catholic students and other faithful Catholics that the Koch brothers’ anti-government, Tea Party ideology has the blessing of a university sanctioned by Catholic bishops,”

They may have a point if the purpose of the 3 visiting professors and curriculum are for the sole purpose of pushing a contentious economics’s agenda. It would be interested in hearing what the professors in their economics’s dept think.
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Are you suggesting that there is something untoward about introducing diversity of thought into an economics department? The existing ideological cartel has a veto over this?
 
Bubba_Switzler said:
Are you suggesting that there is something untoward about introducing diversity of thought into an economics department? The existing ideological cartel has a veto over this?
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How do you know there is not a diversity of thought already in their economics department?
 
A better response to the Leftist protestors would be the words of Christ:
Get behind me, Satan!
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It should go without saying that those atheistic socialists on the Catholic University payroll should be dismissed, but that is for another day.
 
stinkcat_14 said:
How do you know there is not a diversity of thought already in their economics department?
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I have some familiarity with economics departments. Most lack diversity hewing to mainstream Keynsian economics; few have include representaties of free market ideas such as Chicagoans much less Austrians. But my statement does not rest on knowing this of the university in question, I was challenging the frobert simply on the idea that there is something wrong with funding professors who might disagree with the existing faculty. If they don’t, then what’s the problem? If they do then they are needed.
 
Bubba_Switzler said:
Are you suggesting that there is something untoward about introducing diversity of thought into an economics department? The existing ideological cartel has a veto over this?
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Please READ what I wrote and tell me what it how it is against diversity. Let me repeat: “I would be interested in hearing what the present professors in their (the college’s) economics’s department think.” I am not in a position to judge one way or another and if I did judge who would really care. I take that back you seem to care. Both opinions come from self interested parties and both are likely to be prejudiced.
 
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