Padre Pio Society, a Catholic group on campus, placed posters on campus displaying a pro-life message on Monday, Oct. 2. The posters were down a few days later by students on campus.
Some students expressed disapproval of the message as the posters are similar in imagery and style to the posters put up by RESILIENCE and MEChA in protest of President Trump’s immigration policies. The Padre Pio Society poster reads “Don’t abort my fellow humans #NoHumanBeingIsIllegal #AbortionIsAnImmigrationIssue” while the RESILIENCE poster reads “Don’t deport my friends #NoHumanBeingIsIllegal.”
“Yeah we’ve been scrambling to take [the posters] down, Chris Lorenzo did like three buildings,” according to a Facebook page appearing to belong to senior women and gender studies major Cass Vitacco, who commented on a post of the pro-life posters.
The RESILIENCE Facebook page posted a statement the following day stating that while they supported the expression of free speech, they had no part in making or posting the posters.
Delano Perera, a senior theology and philosophy major and president of Padre Pio Society, said the posters were posted to express the Catholic Church teachings that lives of the unborn are important, and that there was no malicious thought behind the posters.
“Everyday over 1,000 babies are put to death because of abortion, and we wanted to bring awareness to this evil,” said Perera. “I [...] and many of our group members come from migrant families. Some of them will be affected by DACA. We care for our migrant brothers and sisters as we care for our unborn brothers and sisters.”
Perera also said that posters with a similar message were posted last year, but were also taken down within two days.
“After engaging in conversation with other students, I have been deeply troubled by the general response to these posters,” said Shannon Hayes, a senior classics and archaeology and modern languages double major and a member of Padre Pio Society. “They were meant to draw parallels between two serious human rights issues; unfortunately, they were viewed as divisive.”
Hayes says, in the future, she hopes to work with other students and alumni to create original pro-life art to be displayed at LMU.
Some students, however, viewed the posters as a form of plagiarism and used the efforts of the RESILIENCE and MEChA students without communicating effectively first.
“I first saw the posters [...] and my immediate reaction was anger,” said Paige Prevost, a senior English and film and TV production double major. “It felt like capitalizing off a movement for one’s own gain. It didn’t feel like solidarity.”
Prevost later communicated with Hayes via Facebook, who explained the original intention behind the posters. However, Prevost, who identifies as pro-life and Catholic, still believes the use of RESILIENCE’s original design in the pro-life poster and hashtags co-opts the immigration movement in a divisive and alienating way.
Philosophy professor Dr. Christopher Kaczor criticized LMU’s lack of retribution for those who took down Padre Pio’s posters, and questions the University’s policy of free speech for ideas that some people may dislike.
“Rather than engage the argument that all human beings deserve basic rights, the critics of pro-life view attempt to stifle the free exchange of ideas,” said Kaczor. “If ‘pro-choice’ people are so confident in the truth of their view, why do they need to silence those who disagree?”
A faculty survey in 2014 revealed that “Conservative Catholics feel they are in an environment that is hostile to what they feel are true Catholic values.” According to the survey, of the 299 professors that who responded to the question of religious preference, 31 percent identified as Roman Catholic.
“Our group members have been called names and mocked for standing up for Church teaching,” Perera said. “Being a Catholic is not easy, but Jesus said we must pick up our crosses and follow him. If my cross is to be ridiculed by my peers and professors then that is what I must do to follow Christ.”
This story has been updated with the correct spelling of Paige Prevost's name.
(5) comments
This story was severely misreported, and it is time to set the record straight. I will have much more to say about this soon. Here is an example of a story being completely misrepresented and then being picked up by fringe media to confirm their biases. There was absolutely no confrontation or intention having anything to do with "pro-life" posters, there was an intentional aggression against undocumented students and their 2 year old campaign for support. The copycat posters were meant to provoke a reaction and misleading headlines which they did. It is time to tell the truth.
Regardless of the content of the fliers, it doesn't seem like they had the proper approval from SLD or housing staff to be put up in the first place. As far as I'm aware, any registered student organization (RSO) must have any media approved by SLD before being placed on campus, unless displayed in a housing area in which case it is the housing staff that would approve it. Such approval from SLD (to be placed in an academic area such as University Hall) would look like a small stamp in the corner of the flyer. The image doesn't display that.
I understand media getting approval, fine. It is just the laundry list of ironies about who is on the "outs" at a Catholic institution, and the school administration meeting with pride with the one cafeteria- style follower who should have been excommunicated a long time ago.
Vandals at the gate. My only surprise is that they did not create a large fire in the common area and force students in a show of unity to throw the leaflets in.
Any of this getting thru to you?
This seems very far-fetched. Ripping down a flyer is one thing, starting a fire is another.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.