Dr. Maguire’s letter is a response to this: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Marquette on hot seat for rescinding job offer to lesbian”

I received the letter via Facebook Marquette: Do Not Discriminate Against Jodi O’Brien

May 8, 2010

To: Robert Wild, S.J., President, Marquette University
John Pauly, Provost, Marquette University

When I came to Marquette 40 years ago I was told Marquette supported academic freedom. I believe that and acted on that assurance and was tenured and promoted to the highest rank. That is the Marquette I know. That is the Marquette I respect, and that is the Marquette I have just seen demeaned and betrayed.

The decision by a handful of administrators to break the oral contract with Dr. O’Brien a decision that broke all the canons of collegiality, was the worst decision made at Marquette in decades. In one act you managed to insult Dr. O’Brien, the Marquette faculty and student body, and the Jesuit Seattle University. You based your decision on an interpretation of what was or what was not compatible with Catholic teaching. However, you did not consult the faculty experts on Catholic moral teaching on this campus. The Theology Department is one of the major theologates in North America, just a few yards away from your offices. You ignored them as you also ignored teachers of ethics in the Philosophy department and professors in Sociology, Dr. O’Brien’s field..

Much of the damage you caused is beyond repair and will hover over this university for years….. but not all of it. Confession of sins and reparation are central to Catholic spirituality.

A Lesson from History

A similar breach of contract occurred in 1999 when Fr. Charles Curran was invited to give the annual Pere Marquette Lecture. When the then chair of the Theology Department learned that the invitation had been made and accepted, he contacted Dr. Curran and withdrew the invitation because of Fr. Curran’s liberal views. The Theology Department, led by Michael Fahey, S.J., protested vigorously and Fr. Curran was re-invited. He was gracious enough to accept.

Solution

As to the disastrous disinvitation of Dr. O’Brien: all blame may not reside with the president of Marquette, but the “buck stops” on your desk, Fr. Wild.. You should shoulder all the blame and make your already given notice of resignation effective immediately. Your pro tem successor should then re-invite Dr. Jodi O’Brien to be Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

If she accepts, and it would be a supreme act of generosity for her to do so, I can guarantee this: Dr. Jodi O’Brien will be the most warmly received dean in the history of this great university.

Professor Daniel C. Maguire
Theology Department

For entertainment value, I will leave some biographical context of Dr. Maguire to a wingnut in 2005: Marquette and the Heretical Dan Maguire

Every so often, somebody writes to Marquette’s President, Fr. Robert Wild, to complain about Theology Professor Dan Maguire, the strongly pro-abortion, pro-“gay rights” and pro-euthanasia darling of the secular left. The implicit (and sometimes explicit) demand is that Maguire should be fired…..