Alright, so we will give the archbishop the benefit of the doubt on one thing: we too picture Martin Luther as a fat, old, bald guy who wheezed for an hour after posting his “95 Theses” to the door of Castle Church in Wittenburg.  Therefore, we can understand his mistake in thinking that Rick Majerus, coach of the Saint Louis University basketball program, might be the next Martin Luther—doing his darnedest to destroy good ole Catholicism.  But come on… the Jesuit leadership of Saint Louis University should take “appropriate action” against Majerus because of his views on abortion?  Take a look here  for the complete article.

 First off, even assuming Majerus was a rapid baby killing supporter, if that is an important qualification not to have in a coach at a Jesuit school, shouldn’t the administration have included that question on the job application?  Second, his comments were quite mild.  When interviewed at a rally for Hillary Clinton, Majerus explained that he did not wish to answer questions about his views on abortion, likely due to his position at Saint Louis, but eventually responded that he was both a Catholic and pro-choice.  To the rational observer it appears that Majerus made pretty clear that this was his personal belief, not that of Saint Louis University.

Apparently though, St. Louis archbishop Raymond Burke is taking up the position of Jesse Jackson for Catholics.  Burke was previously known for a statement that he would deny Holy Communion to John Kerry because the Catholic Senator from the People’s Republic of Massachusetts was pro-choice.  A la “the Reverend Jesse Jackson,” Burke appears to take offense to statements and actions that are not only non-inflammatory, but generally benign and quite mild.  Also akin to “the Reverend,” this Reverend seems to think his job is to inflame anyone he can for no apparent reason.

To put it mildly, this is all ridiculous.  While John Kerry’s position in the afterlife might certainly be up for debate among the Catholic hierarchy, the position of Saint Louis University as to the mild comments made by its basketball coach, in a personal capacity, should be exactly what it has been to this point: a spokesman told the press that Majerus attended the rally for Hillary Clinton as an individual and not a representative of the school.  That should be all she wrote.  Really, what does the coach of the basketball program’s views on abortion have to do with his job?  If he does a good job coaching basketball then who cares?

Wait, you say a coach should also instill good moral values on his players!  We here agree, the majority of us being graduates and/or fans of schools with wonderful basketball programs with incredibly high graduation rates and little to no scandals.  However, should a college-aged young man be looking to his basketball coach for spiritual guidance as to his views on abortion?  Unlikely.  That’s a parents’ or priest’s job.  Basketball coaches are responsible for basketball, sportsmanship and, arguably, classroom performance.  Beyond that, find another scapegoat.

Archbishop Burke, we here can only hope that your complaining in this matter will also be “in vain.”