As if you needed any more reasons not to send your children (or money) to Marquette University, this past week should have put the last nail in the coffin. Hopefully you have followed the story of Professor John McAdams, who stood up for a student who was wrongfully silenced for being pro-marriage (as in man + woman) and, as a result, was wrongfully persecuted by Marquette President Lovell. This persecution includes potentially losing his decades-long tenured position if he refuses to submit his acknowledgment of guilt. As a man of principle, McAdams is refusing to fold.

McAdams’ letter today rejects President Lovell’s demands. It states that McAdams believes his actions have always been consistent with Marquette’s values – in fact, he was protecting them by standing up for the undergraduate’s right to free academic discourse. It expresses regret that Abbate received such hateful emails, but denies that he was reckless or somehow responsible for others’ actions – academic freedom means nothing if a professor can be punished for the actions of third parties. It also highlights that the Faculty Hearing Committee concluded that Marquette violated the Faculty Statutes when it summarily suspended him and banned him from campus. Finally, the letter points out that Lovell’s demand that McAdams pen a mea culpa or be fired is itself a violation of the Faculty Statutes.

Read Professor John McAdams’ letter here.

Well Professor McAdams, Sir, we stand with you and will pray for you as you deal with this injustice. What Cream City Catholic wants to know is, what has happened to Marquette’s proud Jesuit tradition?