In an unusually sharp retort, Catholic University of America has issued a statement ripping the 50 priests, theologians and academics who published a letter protesting $1 million gift that CUA accepted from Charles Koch, who with his brother is a leader in funding libertarian policies that seem to directly contradict church teaching.
My story today includes a quote from the CUA response but here are some other excerpts:
…The letter spearheaded by the organization Faith in Public Life is an unfortunate effort to manufacture controversy and score political points at the expense of The Catholic University of America…
…The letter is presumptuous on two counts. First, its authors cast themselves as arbiters of political correctness regarding Charles Koch Foundation grants. They judge the Foundation’s support of the arts and culture to be “noble philanthropic work;” its underwriting of grants to universities elicits their “serious concerns.” Second they seek to instruct The Catholic University of America’s leaders about Catholic social teaching, and do so in a manner that redefines the Church’s teaching to suit their own political preferences…
…The aim of the Charles Koch Foundation grant — to support research into principled entrepreneurship — is fully consonant with Catholic social teaching…
…Among the 50 signatories to the Faith in Public Life letter are 15 individuals who list affiliations with colleges and universities that receive Charles Koch Foundation support (San Francisco, Loyola/New Orleans, Notre Dame, Dayton, Duquesne, Villanova, Holy Cross). So widespread and, on balance, non-controversial has been the Foundation’s support for higher education that we wonder whether the 15 signatories realized, before they endorsed the letter, that their institutions are “guilty” of the same association they chastise The Catholic University of America for. And if they were aware of this, we wonder why they apply a different standard to The Catholic University of America than they do to their own institutions…
The letter also raps the critics for not being able to produce more CUA signers; numerous CUA faculty have said privately they and others object to the Koch donation but are concerned about retribution.