Duquesne Catholic University President Stops Planned Parenthood Ads

Dr. Charles J. Dougherty, president of Duquesne University, has directed campus-based radio station WDUQ to stop running advertisements for Planned Parenthood. He based his decision on the hostility to Catholic Church teachings by Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading advocate for abortion.

Planned Parenthood has launched a public relations effort to put pressure on the university to reverse the president's move.

Cardinal Newman Society executive vice president Tom Mead said, "We applaud Dr. Dougherty's principled position. Planned Parenthood continues to probe Catholic colleges wherever it can, and thankfully in this instance Dr. Dougherty moved quickly to uphold Catholic teachings on life issues."

WDUQ is a nonprofit public station that is housed on the Duquesne University campus and, according to its website, receives about six percent of its funding from the university.

This incident is the latest in a series of recent events in which Planned Parenthood and its allies have been working to infiltrate Catholic college campuses. Last month, Georgetown University Law School said it would pay a stipend to students who take unpaid internships at Planned Parenthood.

But perhaps the most controversial episode has been the ongoing drama on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. President Michael McFarland, S.J., has allowed a conference to be held on campus on October 24 that includes Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts.

Despite Father McFarland's stubborn support for the event, Bishop Robert J. McManus of the Diocese of Worcester, has issued a stinging rebuke to the college.

In a lengthy statement, Bishop McManus said, "It is my fervent wish that the administration of the College of the Holy Cross will unequivocally disassociate itself from the upcoming conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy so that the college can continue to be recognized as a Catholic institution committed to promoting the moral teaching of the Roman Catholic Church."

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