CAMPUS

Debate over Crucifixes at Boston College

The Observer at Boston College recently broke a story about professors quietly protesting the introduction of crucifixes into the classrooms at Boston College over the Christmas break. Some professors have refused to teach in classrooms with either crucifixes or icons. Some professors have said that they feel betrayed by Boston College in that they were recruited to teach at a university where they were explicitly told by administrators that Catholicism would be downplayed. The breaking story has scored an outpouring of support for University President Father Leahy as parents and alumni have repeatedly made the case that a Catholic school should follow a Catholic Tradition.

The parents, alumni, and administration all make excellent points. A Catholic school cannot be solely concerned with education of the mind as if it was a mere math equation. Instead, such an institution has a higher purpose, namely that of moving its students close to eternal life. This is not necessarily my opinion, it is the opinion of the Catholic Church. Therefore, it certainly seems evident that the university is following Catholic policy in its move to bring religion into the classroom in a subtle, yet distinct, way.

The professors, however, also have a case if they were indeed told that Catholicism would be hidden in the closet as if it was some dirty secret that should never be spoken of again. Truthfully, professors never should have been told that they would “never notice” the Catholic influences on campus, no matter how small. Once Boston College makes that promise to its professors, there is no going back. If it is true that some administrators did make this case, then they were clearly in the wrong.