The Gadfly “To persuade and reproach” - Socrates, The Apology
Vol. XV, Iss. I September 12, 2011
What Not to Talk about at Franciscan University – A Welcome Note One Franny to Another, I write this note of welcome to all of you new and returning students. Perhaps many of you do not know the gist about what goes on here at FUS, and some of you, may not remember. Once in a while, a generous and kind man, like me, decides to point a fellow Franny in the right direction about things, and right now, I think I will lay down a few topics about what not to talk about here at Franciscan. This is a very important issue, because, well, you want to be liked right? Certainly, you want people to think you are part of the Franciscan family 100%, lest be-
coming a heretic. So you want to make sure, you either a) do not say the wrong things or, b) do not decide to take the wrong stance on certain issues or lastly, c) do not criticize/ question various people or ideas. Going to Franciscan, can be related to perhaps, taking someone out on a date for the first time in the secular world. You have to be very delicate, and must at times pretend to be someone you are not. Let’s get started… Politics, broadly speaking, is something that you may not want to bring up at Franciscan University if you do not want to
be disliked, nor be labeled as someone who does not love your country, nor be deemed a schismatic. Politics is a sensitive issue here. Some questions you may want to ask yourself when thinking about bringing up politics are: 1) Do you love the poor? 2) Do all people deserve an opportunity to support their family through hard work? 3) Are you okay with giving up some of your excess in order to “help a brother out?” 4) Do you find wars that are not justifiable with the Just War doctrine that our Church has as not okay? 5) Is the environment something we should take care of? 6) Is the death penalty, in the fashion Continued on page 5
An Appeal to the Dear Men of Franciscan University: Over the summer, I traveled to Italy and Madrid, Spain, for World Youth Day. It was my first time overseas in Europe and while there, I was overwhelmed with beauty. By nature, I seek truth and tend to be a little suspicious of beauty; glitter is often deceptive, hiding falsehood under an attractive veil. I knew intellectually that beauty is also able to reveal and express truth—I simply haven’t experienced much truthful beauty.
In Europe, however, I encountered Beauty everywhere—the landscapes, the languages, the food, the drink, the churches, the artwork—they all played their part in the symphony. Yet I experienced beauty in a place I did not expect. To put it bluntly, there are a lot of good-looking men over there. I gave up counting at the airport. The total, after one hour of ogling, was 36 handsome men. By the way, it wasn’t just
me who noticed these men. In Assisi, I was visiting with a group of girls around the dinner table. We were just getting to know each other and asking the typical questions about school, interests, etc. I turned to one of the girls and asked causally, “So what’s your favorite thing about Assisi?” She gestured over to our waiter and declared enthusiastically, “He is!” Another time, we were all getting into Continued on page 4