Jesuits Protest Boston College's "Scandalous" Honorary Doctorate to Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice

The following was released today by Concerned Jesuits
BOSTON - May 22 -

Fr. Joseph E. Mulligan, S.J.
Colegio Centro America
Apdo 2419
Managua, Nicaragua
Tel: (country code 505) 278-6965 ext. 111
Cell: " 635-6381
Email: mull@ibw.com.ni

Dear Friends,

As Jesuits, we are scandalized and outraged by Boston College's decision to award an honorary doctorate to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Dr. Rice is one of the principal architects and representatives of the Bush administration's illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The reasons given by Dr. Rice and others in the Bush administration for the invasion -- weapons of mass destruction, ties between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda -- have been demonstrated to be groundless. It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that Dr. Rice and others deliberately deceived the American people and Congress in their attempts to justify the war.

The military occupation of Iraq has brought with it a variety of other illegal and immoral practices, including the abuse and torture of prisoners by U.S. forces and the inordinate killing of innocent civilians in Iraq.

Many members of the faculty and student body of Boston College have voiced their objection to the invitation, pointing out that Dr. Rice's actions as Secretary of State are inconsistent with the broader humanistic values of the university and the Catholic and Jesuit traditions from which those values derive. We join with those professors and students in protesting vigorously against the decision to honor Dr. Rice.

We know that many other Jesuits share our criticism of this unfortunate decision. With just two days remaining before the commencement, we cannot contact all those Jesuits to request their signatures. Thus, we are a small but representative group of members of the Society of Jesus.

Sincerely,

Dean Brackley, S.J.
Professor of Theology
Central American University (UCA)
San Salvador, El Salvador

J Peter Carey, SJ
Cincinnati, OH 45229

Paul E. Carrier, sj
University Chaplain
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT.

Gerald F. Cavanagh, S.J.
Charles T. Fisher III Chair of Business Ethics
College of Business Administration
University of Detroit Mercy
Ph: (313) 993-1195 FAX: (313) 993-1653

Rob Currie, S.J.
Arenal, Nicaragua

Rev. John Dear, SJ
Box 882, Cerrillos, NM 87010

Al Fritsch, SJ

Stephen M. Kelly, S.J.

Stephen T. Krupa, S.J.

Department of Religious Studies
John Carroll Uinversity
Cleveland, Ohio 44118

Rev. John A. Lucal S.J.
Associate Director
Institute of Peace Studies and International Relatons
Hekima College
Nairobi, Kenya

Thomas Massaro, S.J.
Professor of Social Ethics
Weston Jesuit School of Theology
Cambridge, MA

John J. Mawhinney, sj. PhD
Society of Jesus
Maryland Province

Donald J. Moore, sj
Pontifical Biblical Institute
Jerusalem

Ismael Moreno,sj
El Progreso, Honduras

Joseph E. Mulligan, S.J.
Christian Base Communities
Managua, Nicaragua

Joseph V. Owens SJ
Professor of Philosophy
Universidad Centroamericana
Managua, Nicaragua

Father Cletus Pfab, S.J.
Miguel Pro Jesuit Community
Milwaukee WI

Jerome Pryor SJ,
Artist in Residence
Colombiere Center
Clarkston, MI

ref:http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0522-03.htm