BUZZ
The ceremonies ‘raise serious concerns,’ Cardinal Newman Society says
Catholic colleges across the country are hosting pro-LGBT “Lavender Graduations” that promote lifestyles at odds with the Catholic Church, according to a new report.
The Cardinal Newman Society, which supports authentic Catholic education, identified 16 Catholic colleges hosting the ceremonies.
“At a Catholic institution, such ceremonies raise serious concerns,” the group reported.
These graduation activities “affirm students in an identity rooted in disordered sexual desires or confusion about the human person, rather than their deepest identity as sons and daughters of God.”
The current list from the Newman Society includes
- Georgetown University, Washington, DC
- Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
- University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
- Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
- Fordham University, Bronx, NY
- Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
- Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Seattle University, Seattle, WA
- Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO
- Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
- Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
- St. John’s University, Queens, NY
- College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
- Albertus Magnus College, New Haven, CT
- Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA
- Siena Heights University, Adrian, MI — which is closing down at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year
The Cardinal Newman Society provided some advice for upset parents and donors on how to push back:
Catholic families should demand that schools and colleges that profess the Catholic faith avoid scandalous practices that could endanger the eternal salvation of their students.
That demand could be in the form of public advocacy, alumni withholding donations, or choosing to spend their tuition dollars at schools and colleges known for their fidelity — such as those recommended in The Newman Guide.
The group noted that many faithful Catholic colleges are “flourishing,” in contrast to Siena Heights, which is closing down.
LGBT celebration par for the course at these colleges
Many of the colleges have a track record of contradicting the Catholic faith in other ways.
For example, Fordham University helps students kill their preborn babies or sterilize themselves, despite Catholic Church teaching which condemns both.
Several of the colleges, including Boston College and Xavier University, previously hosted pro-abortion or pro-LGBT speakers, a 2017 analysis by the Cardinal Newman Society found.
Gonzaga University is particularly notorious for opposing the Catholic faith. In addition to hosting an LGBT legal clinic, it also stopped Catholic male students from forming a Knights of Columbus council on campus. University leaders said they could not approve the group because it was only open to men – the Jesuits, which sponsor the university, are a male-only order for what it is worth.
In 2024, campus ministry refused to assist with a speech by pro-life Catholic Liz Wheeler, as The Fix previously reported.
