Bishop Protests Honor for O’neill
Roman Catholic Bishop James C. Timlin says he won’t attend a ceremony May 26 when a local Catholic university presents an honorary degree to House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’neill Jr. (D-Mass.) because he hasn’t backed anti-abortion legislation.
But the Jesuit-run University of Scranton plans to go ahead with the award. The university president, Father J.A. Panuska, said he and the bishop have “agreed to disagree” about the matter.
Panuska said he considers abortion “among the worst evils of our time,” but the university could not withdraw in “isolating negativism,” nor could it ignore the complexities” of public life in choosing those deserving honor.
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