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Vatican responds to Georgetown petition by ‘Exorcist’ author William Peter Blatty Vatican responds to Georgetown petition by ‘Exorcist’ author William Peter Blatty
(about 7 hours later)
The author of the thriller “The Exorcist” says he has new hope he has put the fear of God in Georgetown University. The author of the thriller “The Exorcist” has new hope he has put the fear of God in Georgetown University.
William Peter Blatty, a Georgetown graduate, submitted to the Vatican last fall a petition with some 2,000 signatures calling for the school to be stripped of the labels Catholic and Jesuit. The petition said neither the faculty nor the student body were sufficiently Catholic, and Blatty complained that the school had invited to speak then-Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a supporter of abortion rights. William Peter Blatty, a Georgetown graduate, submitted to the Vatican last fall a petition with some 2,000 signatures calling for the school to be stripped of the labels Catholic and Jesuit. The petition said neither the faculty nor the student body was sufficiently Catholic, and Blatty complained about “scandals,” including that the school had invited then-Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a supporter of abortion rights, to speak.
The Vatican’s response has apparently given Blatty hope. The Vatican’s response has apparently given Blatty hope — even though it denied his request for specific official interventions, including a visit by Vatican investigators.
On Monday, the National Catholic Register reported that the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education responded to Blatty. “The matters to which you referred . . . cannot be considered grounds for a hierarchical recourse,” said the letter dated April 4 from Archbishop Angelo Zani, secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education. The brief letter said this was because Blatty himself had not “suffered an objective change” at the hands of Georgetown.
“Your communications to this Dicastery in the matter of Georgetown University . . . constitute a well-founded complaint,” wrote Archbishop Angelo Zani, according to the Register. “Our Congregation is taking the issue seriously, and is cooperating with the Society of Jesus in this regard.” However, the letter, first reported by the National Catholic Register, also said this: “Your communications to this Dicastery in the matter of Georgetown University . . . constitute a well-founded complaint,” Zani wrote. “Our Congregation is taking the issue seriously, and is cooperating with the Society of Jesus in this regard.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what Zani’s comments might mean, and a request to Georgetown for comment wasn’t immediately responded to Tuesday morning. It was not clear where Zani’s congregation might take the case, but Georgetown spokeswoman Stacy Kerr said the school has never received anything from the Vatican or the Archdiocese of Washington, to which Blatty had also complained. Georgetown officials have disputed Blatty’s assertion that the university has lost its Catholic identity.
Blatty’s petition represents the ongoing frustration by some conservative Catholics who want to see Catholic institutions more orthodox and uniform. Chieko Noguchi, an archdiocese spokeswoman, declined comment, saying Archbishop Donald Wuerl “has not been involved in the preparation of the petition nor the process undertaken to challenge the Catholic identity of Georgetown University.”
In addition to writing the novel, Blatty produced and wrote the screenplay for the movie, which is one of the top-grossing R-rated films in history. It is about the demonic possession of a girl, a troubled Georgetown University priest who is assigned to her case and the Prospect Street NW home where the nightmare unfolds. The effort was brought by Blatty and a group connected with the Cardinal Newman Society. The campaign represents the ongoing frustration of some conservative Catholics who want to see Catholic institutions more orthodox and uniform. They rally around Ex Corde Ecclesiae, a 1990 document by Pope John Paul II that gives instructions to colleges and universities about how to keep their Catholic identities.
Top church officials regularly appear at Georgetown — including Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Washington’s archbishop, last week for a concert. Catholics have debated since 1990 what it means to satisfy Ex Corde and its guidelines on, for example, what percent of faculty members should be Catholic and what kind of credentials theologians at Catholic schools should have.
When Blatty filed the petition last fall, spokeswoman Rachel Pugh rejected assertions that the university had moved away from its Catholic roots. “Pope John Paul II was trying to say, ‘Here are common characteristics of what would be good to have at a Catholic college or university.’ Some people take that document and turn it into a checklist,” said Michael Galligan-Stierle, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. “It falls to the bishop at the end of the day to read that document” and consider all the specifics of a school, its setting, its work, he said.
“Catholic and Jesuit identity on campus has never been stronger,” she said. Asked how a Catholic school could satisfy Ex Corde if it hosts people and conversations supporting abortion rights, for example, Galligan-Stierle said: “It’s very important our colleges prepare students to engage culture in a substantive way. . . . That’s different than advancing a certain method.”
In addition to writing the novel “The Exorcist,” Blatty produced and wrote the screenplay for the movie, which is one of the top-grossing R-rated films in history. It is about the demonic possession of a girl, a troubled Georgetown University priest who is assigned to her case and the Prospect Street NW home where the nightmare unfolds.