I don’t think the issue of the OP is whether the site is or is not a reliable news source. The OP tried to draw our attention that a priest at a Catholic University allegedly made this statement.
Having worked with religious orders and in several dioceses I know from personal experience that it is very common for the chancery to avoid contacting press with such small circulation, because it only attracts the attention of the larger news agencies. That just makes matters worse.
Someone said that the priest and the bishop are both religious. The article does not mention that and there are no religious initials behind the priest’s name. The way it is printed would suggest that he is a secular priest.
If he is a secular priest there are two things that will probably happen. First the chancellor of the university will ask the university to look into the matter. Once he gets his information, then he can file a formal complaint with the priest’s bishop.
Any priest or religious assigned to a university is not automatically part of the diocese in which the university exists. No Catholic University is ever part of a diocese. There are three types of Catholic Universities: secular, religious and pontifical. The local bishop has not jurisdiction over a university in his diocese or over the priests and religioius stationed at the university. However, often the local bishop is the Chancellor of any Catholic University that is secular or pontifical.
My guess is that since the local bishop is the chancellor, the university is secular or pontifical. The inquiry has to go through those channels. The usual policy in the Church is that neither the university or the chancellor give out any information to the laity on their investigations and their actions.
If the allegations are true, the university has the right to file a complaint with the bishop of the priest. If the priest is a religious, he does not answer to any bishop. He answers to a religious superior. The complaint is filed there. It is up to the bishop or the religioius superior to determine if there are consequences and what they are.
University chancellors cannot fire or hire. Their function is to ensure that the university is consistent with its philosophy of education. The President of the university and the faculty senate can hire and fire, as long as the priest does not have tenure.
Since this priest is the vice-chancellor, he most likely has tenure. That creates another legal complication. He can be suspended from the university. The university can ask for his resignation. But he does not have to submmit it. You can only lose tenure if you break a law. Academic differences are not considered legal.
Given how complicated this gets, it is little wonder that the chancery does not want to call attention of the larger news agencies. This has to proceed through certain legal channels and investigations and this process can take months and can draw some very nasty attention to the Church and to Catholic education. This is why Church authorities and authorities of religious communities prefer to deal with these issues without telling anyone what they are doing.
Only when the news hits a large news services such as Reuters or AP do the Church authorities make a statement. By that time the cow is out of the barn and you have to say something.
To avoid a larger scandal, it is better for the local university and Church authorities not to say anything within hearing distance of the laity. They do not want the laity involved, because it makes matters worse. It is easier to quietly reprimand someone or give more serious consequences, if they are appropriate when you don’t have the masses at your door.
One thing that is important here is to determine if the priest was making an academic statement or a moral statement. Let us not forget what happened to Benedict XVI when he spoke academically and quoted an ancient emperror concerning Islam. It was taken out of context by the press and it offended the Muslims to no end.
It is best to let them deal with it quickly and quietly to the degree that it deserves attention.
Fraternally,
JR
as often as I can.