NEW ORLEANS
The archbishop of New Orleans will boycott commencement ceremonies at Xavier University, a predominantly Black, Catholic institution, because the university is honoring Democratic Party strategist Donna Brazile, who supports abortion rights.
Brazile is to speak and receive an honorary degree at the May 9 ceremony.
Archbishop Alfred Hughes said in a letter to Xavier President Norman Francis that he will not participate in the ceremony in light of the invitation to Brazile.
It’s similar to a controversy playing out nationally: Many Catholic leaders are critical of the University of Notre Dame for inviting President Barack Obama, a supporter of abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research, to speak at next month’s commencement.
Brazile, a New Orleans native, is a political consultant and longtime Democratic strategist who managed former Vice President Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign.
“I recognize that Ms. Brazile is a Catholic Louisiana native who has worked effectively in service to the poor and African-Americans in particular,” Hughes says in a letter dated April 22. “However, her public statements on the abortion issue are not in keeping with Catholic moral teaching.”
