The story de jure: Condoleezza Rice at Boston College - Text of the Letters

Update: The Condi Controversy, Day Two.

This story seems to be getting all the buzz today. Some faculty and students are opposing Condoleezza Rice's upcoming commencement address at Boston College:

"Two leading theologians at Boston College have written a stinging letter objecting to the college's decision to invite Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to speak at graduation and to give her an honorary degree.

Nearly 100 faculty members have signed the letter, according to the theology department, which declined to release their names.

The letter, which will be delivered to the president and board of trustees, has set off a fiery debate."

Read more from the Boston Globe.

Here is the text of the student/alumni letter (update: the faculty letter has been posted below):

An Open Letter to Father Leahy and the Boston College Administration,

It has recently been announced that Condoleezza Rice will be speaking at this year's commencement ceremony and receiving an honorary degree from Boston College. Although there are some individuals on campus who support this decision, there is a growing movement among students, faculty, and staff who are opposed to the BC administration's invitation to Dr. Rice and insulted by the extension of an honorary degree to a Secretary of State who supports morally reprehensible policies both at home in the United States and abroad. The BC administration's decision to award the Secretary of State with an honorary degree morally condones these unjust policies at best, and at worst endorses them. Consequently, we have come forward to voice our particular concerns as they relate to this problematic decision in an effort to raise awareness and initiate dialogue about an appropriate response.

On multiple occasions, the BC administration has cancelled events claiming that they ran contrary to Catholic and Jesuit values. As a Catholic, Jesuit, University, we have the moral imperative to uphold the ideals of peace and social justice. Yet despite the Vatican's vehement condemnation of the Iraq war, Boston College is honoring one of its chief architects. This is an example of how the BC administration has clearly been
inconsistent in its invocation of Catholic values. While we are not in favor of censorship on the basis of Jesuit ideals, we feel that the gift of an honorary degree extends beyond the limits or invocation of free speech and into the realm of acclamation and endorsement by Boston College. A commencement speaker in particular is meant to embody the spirit of our university in order to commemorate its graduates' final experience as BC students. We do not believe Condoleezza Rice fulfills this role, and we ask the university to rescind its invitation to Dr. Rice and the offered honorary degree.

Signed,

Boston College Students Opposed to Condoleezza Rice's Invitation

As some other commentators have already pointed out (Jeff and Dom), Condoleezza Rice is pro-choice, but that doesn't seem to be the root of BC's opposition, instead it is the Iraq War. Now, about the "Vatican's vehement condemnation of the Iraq war" ... well, if by the Vatican you mean this guy, then yes that is true.

We'll see how this plays out.

Update 1: A poll on BC's newspaper website says that 23% of readers oppose Condoleezza's invitation because she "conflicts with Jesuit ideals." 3% more oppose her being invited because she is "too controversial."

Update 2: Here is the full text of the faculty letter mentioned in the Boston Globe report:

Condoleezza Rice Does Not Deserve a Boston College Honorary Degree

We, the undersigned members of the faculty at Boston College, strongly disagree with the decision of the university’s leadership to grant Condoleezza Rice an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and to invite her to address the 2006 commencement. On the levels of both moral principle and practical moral judgment, Secretary Rice’s approach to international affairs is in fundamental conflict with Boston College’s commitment to the values of the Catholic and Jesuit traditions and is inconsistent with the humanistic values that inspire the university’s work.

As a matter of moral principle, Rice maintains that U.S. foreign policy should be based on U.S. national interest and not on what she calls the interests of an “illusory international community.” This stands in disturbing contrast with the Catholic and humanistic conviction that all people are linked together in a single human family and that all nations in our interdependent world have a duty to protect “the common good of the entire human family.”

On the level of practical judgment, Rice has helped develop and implement the strategic policies that have guided the United States in the tragic war in Iraq. Pope John Paul II and the United States Catholic bishops opposed initiating this war on ethical grounds. We also believe the policies that have shaped the war’s ongoing conduct cannot be justified in light of the moral values of the Catholic tradition or the norms of international law.

For these reasons, we object to Boston College honoring Condoleezza Rice at its 2006 commencement. Doing so contradicts the university’s Catholic, Jesuit, and humanistic identity.

[References are to Condoleezza Rice, “Promoting the National Interest,” Foreign Affairs 79 (Jan./Feb. 2000), and to Pope John XXIII, Peace on Earth, no. 98.]

[Tags: Condoleezza, Rice, Boston, College, Letter, Iraq War, Catholic]