"Drag Show" Harms Catholic Identity of University of San Diego, Students Protest

The Catholic University of San Diego is hosting its second pro-homosexual “drag show” on April 25 at Shiley Theatre.  The offensive event is called A Celebration of Gender Expression: Supreme Drag Superstar.  Manila Luzon, an open homosexual drag queen, will be one of the featured "artists" at the drag show.

Click here to send your protest to the University of San Diego.
According to a statement signed by Carmen Vazquez, vice-president of student affairs, "students of USD PRIDE will once again highlight the principles of inclusion and diversity with their second annual 'edutainment' event..."

"The Celebration of Gender Expression," she claims, "supports the Church’s teaching on the dignity of the human person and does not promote either behavior or lifestyle that is contrary to the teachings of the Church."

However, multiple eye-witness accounts of last year's "drag show" tell a very different story.  This is how one student described it:

Some of the suggestions, which resulted were gender neutral bathrooms, an increase in DRAG related events, and gay pride parades. It became rather clear over the course of the two and a half hours, that the event was less about acceptance and more about an open rebellion against Catholic values. Make no mistake, this event fostered sinful behaviors and set the stage for more in the future.

For the administration of a Catholic University to take part in this scandal came across as a betrayal, not only a betrayal of the Church but also a betrayal of every devout Catholic student who attends USD.This year's drag show promises to be more of the same.

Full story: Catholic University of San Diego OKs Pro-Homosexual "Drag Show" Again

Contact information (please be firm and polite)

Dr. Mary Lyons, President
University of San Diego
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110-2492
president@sandiego.edu
Phone: (619) 260-4520
Fax: (619) 260-6833

Msgr.  Daniel Dillabough
USD Vice President, Mission & Ministry
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110-2492
Phone: (619) 260-2247
dillaboughd@sandiego.edu

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March for Life Video -- Amazing Turnout of 500,000

Despite the freezing conditions, an immense crowd could be seen in all directions, composed mostly of young people full of enthusiasm for the cause of the unborn and the future of the family.

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Hundreds of thousands from around the nation gathered for the 40th March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Friday, January 25.  The yearly event commemorates the anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion on demand.

Despite the freezing conditions and snow, an immense crowd could be seen in all directions, composed mostly of young people full of enthusiasm for the cause of the unborn and the future of the family.  A veritable sea of banners and signs from groups around the nation blanketed the National Mall as the opening rally began Friday afternoon.

Read more here

The End of Childhood? How the Sexual Revolution Wants to Transgender our Children

“We can do wonders if we get them early.”
-- Dr. Norman Spack, director of Gender Management Service at Boston Children’s Hospital

After decades of relentless activism, propaganda, and indoctrination, the general public associates homosexuality not with the lewd scenes of a 1970s drag march, but the Hollywood image of a mild-mannered, hardworking same-sex couple that simply wants “equality” and “tolerance.”

This politically correct myth obscures reality.  As the gears of the sexual revolution grind  on, the homosexual movement seeks nothing less than the complete rejection of Natural and Divine Moral Law, the elimination of the natural differences and complementarities between the sexes, and the reengineering of human nature itself. Nowhere are these goals more clearly revealed than in the so-called “transgender” movement, the “T” of “LGBT” (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender).

But most alarming is the movement’s latest goal: sex-changes for children and the promotion of homosexuality in schools.

Watch this MOST shocking footage


“Born in the wrong body”

“Transgender” or “transsexual” people are those who think that, because of some accident of nature, their biological sex is in conflict with what they feel to be their true sex. In other words, they claim that they were “born in the wrong body.” Psychologists call this condition “Gender Identity Disorder” (GID), which consists of “conflict between a person's physical gender and the gender he or she identifies as.”

Until recently, doctors treated GID with psychiatric therapy to address its causes and helped people accept their true sex. A person with GID may sincerely have a confused, conflicted, and mentally disturbed perception of his or her true sex, but personal feelings must give way to biological reality.

The causes of GID are varied and complex. Some are physical, such as pre-natal hormone disorders. Others are social. Children of divorced or emotionally distant or abusive parents are particularly vulnerable to developing feelings of disgust or rejection of their own biological sex, of identifying as a member of the opposite sex, and of developing GID or homosexual feelings. "Gender identity disorder in children regularly leads to same-sex attraction in adolescence," writes Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons, a Pennsylvania psychiatrist and principal contributor to the Catholic Medical Association's study Homosexuality and Hope.

Should Emotion Trump Science?

Like the sexual revolution in general, the transgender movement bases itself on several errors about human nature and society. Although there are multiple, contradictory opinions among the various LGBT schools of thought (a subset of so-called “Gender Studies”), proponents of transgenderism mostly agree on certain key concepts that are fundamentally at odds with human nature.

Their very idea of human sexuality and the vocabulary they use to describe it conflicts with traditional biology. For example, the distinction between gender and sex is fundamental to transgenderism. First introduced by sexologist John Money in the 1950s and popularized by the feminist movement in the 1970s, they claim that the traditional, external manifestations of maleness and femaleness, such as the traditional “gender roles,” ways of dressing, speaking, acting, thinking (i.e. one’s gender) are imposed social constructs, unconnected to biology (i.e. one’s sex).

Stephanie Brill, author of The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals, explains:

For many people, the terms “gender” and “sex” are interchangeable. This idea has become so common, particularly in western societies, that it is rarely questioned. Yet biological sex and gender are different; gender is not inherently connected to one’s physical anatomy. 

Sex is biological and includes physical attributes such as sex chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, internal reproductive structures, and external genitalia. At birth, it is used to identify individuals as male or female.  Gender on the other hand is far more complicated. Along with one’s physical traits, it is the complex interrelationship between those traits and one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviors related to that perception."

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Pro-abortion author Amy Tan to visit Catholic Santa Clara U campus - students protest

SIGN YOUR PROTEST HERE

On January 17, Santa Clara University will welcome Amy Tan, a novelist who has made no secret of her support for abortion “rights,” as well as the unfettered use of contraceptives. Ms. Tan has used her novels as a means to promulgate erroneous opinions, with abortion featuring prominently in one of her books, The Joy Luck Club.

Additionally, Ms. Tan has not shied away from announcing her anti-Catholic position. In a public Facebook post sprinkled with obscenities, she harangued pro-life politicians, accusing them of “wanting to pervert the lives of women.”  (Warning: foul language)

However, Santa Clara University -- a Catholic institution -- has invited Amy Tan for a lecture and book signing on campus.  "Tan’s work speaks to millions," claims a university statement, "with its universal themes of family relationships, generational change, and personal history.” It is unclear how abortion and misguided feminist theories could possibly qualify as a legitimate "family relationship."



In light of the author’s avowed opposition to Church teaching, combined with her attack on the right to life, is she the type of role model the university wants to present to its students?  Should abortion advocates like Ms. Tan be given a platform on any Catholic campus?

On this issue, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is clear:  "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Santa Clara University's decision to feature an outspoken opponent of Church teaching in its Presidential Speaker Series throws a dark shadow over its Catholic identity.  Ironically, the theme of the 2012-2013 speaker series is "Enlivening the Whole Person: Head, Heart and Body."

"Abortion destroys the whole person," said TFP Student Action Director John Ritchie. 

"Abortion deliberately destroy heads, hearts and bodies.  It destroys God's plan for children.  It shatters motherhood, fatherhood, and families.  That's why I'm hoping that Santa Clara University will reconsider its invitation to pro-abortion supporter Amy Tan and replace her with a better speaker, a true role model, someone Catholic students can look up to and imitate, someone who respects the right to life," he said.  "I can't fathom why a Catholic university would give Amy Tan a platform."

According to its web site, Santa Clara University is "committed to faith-inspired values and educating leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion who will help fashion a more just, humane, and sustainable world."  Surely, in pursuance of those “faith-inspired values,” the University ought to maintain an environment in which Church teaching is respected, upheld and defended.

Join the protest

In the spirit of charity, for the sake of the Santa Clara's Catholic identity, and for the unborn, please join TFP Student Action in calling for the cancellation of Amy Tan's scheduled appearance on January 17.

Politely voice your peaceful protest with a phone call to:  408-554-4100

Santa Clara University
Fr. Michael E. Engh, S.J.
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Phone: 408-554-4100
E-mail: mengh@scu.edu

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