Former Worker Says Chicago Catholic University . . . Makes Life Uncomfortable For Some So Others Feel Comforted
By DEXTER DUGGAN
The former chapel and ministry coordinator at a historic Catholic university in Chicago told The Wanderer that some traditional practices and viewpoints were restricted or forbidden by officials at the school, St. Xavier University, founded in 1846 by the Sisters of Mercy as the city’s first Catholic university.
Often the reason given for limiting or censoring, she said, was to avoid offending others.
Mary Rita Insley, formerly coordinator of the Mercy Ministry Center, said that among the restrictions, she was instructed to remove a photo of a U.S. flag that had a white cross shape showing through the blue field of stars. Also, she said, the distribution of pro-life information and of seminarian prayer cards was discriminated against.
“I was told to remove an American flag photo because it ‘may offend someone’,” Insley said in an initial email to this newspaper. “I was also told to remove all pro-life materials from the chapel and ministry center. I am a very devout Catholic and patriotic American and cannot believe this could occur.” She said later in a telephone interview that she resigned from her job in June.
Insley said she was told to remove a pro-life poster from the bulletin board in the ministry center’s foyer because it wasn’t formatted correctly, even though other posters that stayed up were “formatted exactly the same way. . . . It was picking on a pro-life club.”
The pro-life poster had four large words vertically, with a symbol to the right of each, and additional information in smaller type below. To the right of “Pro-Women” was the gender symbol for female. To the right of “Pro-Equality” was a heart with an equals sign inside it. To the right of “Pro-Justice” was a circle with the scales of justice. To the right of “Pro-Life” was a heart with two baby footprints inside it.
In a summary that she wrote, Insley also said, “A member of our daily Mass congregation brought a flier from the Thomas More Society regarding an upcoming vote against abortion. She placed these fliers in the chapel for other members of the congregation to take on their way out, as informational assistance.”
However, Insley said, “The executive director of mission saw the fliers and threw them in the garbage. I was then informed that we were not allowed to distribute or post these types of fliers regarding abortion.”
An email from a campus official repeatedly referred to prayer cards for seminarians as “seminarian baseball cards.” They were “splayed out on the baptismal font,” a November 12, 2019, email said from Jenny DeVivo, Ph.D., the school’s executive director of mission and heritage.
Insley replied by email to DeVivo on November 18, “My thoughts…is that any prayers for any other human beings should be welcomed and encouraged in this holy space — including prayers asked for by priests, for seminarians.” However, Insley said, in obedience to instructions, the cards “are removed, and any further solicitation for prayers will be referred to you.”
In an August 2 telephone interview, Insley told The Wanderer that she had had the U.S. flag photo up for four years at St. Xavier University, and previously for ten years at a high school job she held, but “I was told it might offend someone” at the university.
In a March 25, 2019, email to Insley, university Chief of Staff Maggie Eaheart said, in part, “The webinar I attended last Wednesday, coupled with other campus-wide conversations related to diversity and inclusion, heightened my awareness that the image of the American flag with the Cross emblazoned on it could make some of our campus community members feel excluded.”
Citing the university’s “rich Mercy heritage,” Eaheart justified the removal of the U.S. flag picture because “we need to be cognizant of others’ perspectives and demonstrate that we, indeed, live the Mercy mission. This means we all need to be self-aware in understanding that some people may find certain actions or images uncomfortable, and we should do everything we can not to be the source of distress.”
Pro-life students were told they couldn’t have literature promoting the pro-life movie Unplanned within the chapel or ministry center, Insley said, “so they were forced to stand outside to inform people of the movie as they were coming out of daily Mass.”
On Sunday afternoon, August 2, The Wanderer sent the university a request for comment by the evening of Monday, August 3, writing that we had heard of various complaints:
“We’ve been informed of some complaints about university officials making life difficult for pro-life students, such as removing their posters and leaflets, as well as difficulties for students generally, such as their not being allowed to hang out at the ministry center.
“We’ve also been told of incidents such as the chapel coordinator being told to remove a U.S. flag photo because it might offend someone, pro-abortion posters being allowed to be displayed, and small bells forbidden to be rung during Mass. We were told that a small group of nuns was forbidden to eat lunch at the ministry center.
“The chapel coordinator, Mary Rita Insley, told us she was informed that as a Republican Trump supporter she was unwelcome.”
When there was no response, The Wanderer sent a reminder the night of August 3 and received a statement from the school the following afternoon. It said:
“Saint Xavier University is proud to be a faith-based institution in the Catholic tradition and highly values our close relationship with the Sisters of Mercy. Due to that heritage, we value the racial, ethnic and religious diversity of our students, faculty and staff as well as freedom of expression.
“To enable our community members to express their views in a mutually tolerant way, we have provided space on campus where posters and other creative documents can be used to express ideas and opinions,” the statement continued. “We limit the use of posters on campus to this designated space where people have a choice whether to view them.”
Paul Tran, a Maryknoll seminarian, told The Wanderer in an August 3 email that seminarians weren’t allowed to display anything like a poster of seminarians for the Archdiocese of Chicago or prayer cards for seminarians in the chapel — but only what was related to the Sisters of Mercy.
“They used to have a poster of the seminarians . . . but not anymore,” Tran said.
A priest who came to the school chapel to say Mass one day said people there could take a prayer card if they wanted to and pray for a seminarian vocation, Tran said, but later a school ministry official “told us that it was not allowed to ask people to pray for vocation like that. I could not believe a Catholic chapel…does not allow people to ask for prayers for vocation to priesthoods or religious life.”
A review of information indicates “political correctness” at this campus despite its Catholic heritage and identity — certainly not unusual on Catholic campuses these days — that censors what many people honor or practice and instead gives the whip hand to others imposing their own will.
The university’s website, under the heading “SXU’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” says: “The university belongs to all in its community, regardless of race, color, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender, gender identity, abilities, age, sexual orientations, nationality, or immigration status.”
The notice continues, “Faculty, staff, and students are engaged in creating a climate of purposeful inclusion by cultivating equity literacy and providing opportunities for meaningful connections and service among diverse people, ideas, and perspectives, in search of truth and the common good.”
It concludes: “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the heart of Saint Xavier’s heritage and enrich and strengthen our academic programs and learning environment, which prepare students to work as responsible global citizens and live by Mercy values.”
A December 2019 letter to the administration by the five members of the executive board of St. Xavier Students for Life expressed concerns about the campus.
Some of the incidents of “discrimination” against campus pro-lifers, the board members wrote, were recurring vandalism when their posters and flyers went out, “students and faculty members harassing, defaming, and slandering the character of pro-life student leaders,” and “students screaming, swearing, and expressing highly negative emotions towards pro-life students at displays.”
Meanwhile, pro-abortion posters “were all over the school,” Insley told The Wanderer.
The pro-life leaders wrote that faculty members expressed “concern for the emotions of pro-choice students over the emotional safety of pro-life students.”
Their letter began by noting “the proposed new Registered Student Organization: Students for Choice,” and wondering how that would reflect the campus’s mission and Catholic identity.
Because “pro-choice” groups have speakers favoring abortion, set up for Planned Parenthood advocacy, “host Shout Your Abortion events” and promote “sexual irresponsibility,” the letter said, “These events would directly contradict Catholic teaching, and we thought it necessary to bring that conflict to your attention.”
The pro-life leaders said they “encourage all those who may be pro-choice to speak with us, and many often do so at our displays,” but to officially allow them as a student organization “would be a clear breach of the Catholic identity of this university.”
The afternoon of Friday, August 7, The Wanderer sent the university an additional inquiry, requesting a response by the evening of Monday, August 10. When no response was received by that time, this newspaper sent a reminder to two people, asking for the reply by noon on Tuesday, August 11. However, no reply came.
This inquiry to the university cited further remarks by Insley.
“I was called into a meeting with chief of staff, Maggie Eaheart, director of mission, Jenny DeVivo, myself and the director of human resources, Gerry Horan. I was told that by refusing to take down the very tasteful pro-life poster, that I was being insubordinate. As a result, the poster was removed,” she said, adding:
“If I didn’t remove it, I would face the consequences of insubordination. They did not spell out what that would be. My son asked me to please not get fired before he graduated, so I complied. But only for the benefit of my son.
“Also,” she said, “I have heard that some of the university stakeholders have been contacting the president. She is telling them that I misinterpreted them. How can you misinterpret something when you are brought up before Human Resources? And truthfully I have had three jobs in my life, all for Catholic schools and never have I ever been insubordinate! As a good Catholic I have always given 200 percent….
“I was also brought into a meeting with HR for booking a room for the pro-life students to use, which is on an open-booking site for all staff to use! Plus, that was my job, to book rooms, buses, the chapel for students and student groups,” Insley said.
The Wanderer also was told that the university president, Laurie Joyner, Ph.D., fired the ministry staff and moved herself and her administration into the ministry center because she wanted a new office. Insley wrote this in her summary of events:
“Students protested, conducted sit-ins, and held an open forum with over 200 in attendance. The president did not show up for the forum. Students were upset their prayer space, ministry space, decompression space, hang-out space was being taken over by the president and her staff.
“The students said the atmosphere of the ministry center will change and they will no longer be welcome. The students lost; she won. She moved in,” Insley wrote. “Myself and the lone nun on campus were the only remaining staff members from the previous ministry vice president. We paid a high price. We were harassed constantly until the little nun was run out. I was the lone survivor.”
St. Xavier University spokespersons did not reply to this information.
