The College Fix

University with history of taking stances at odds with the Catholic Church blames ‘vendor’ for problem

Catholic Villanova University scrubbed a handful of gender options from its residence life website following media coverage. However the university, which has a long history of bucking the Catholic Church on doctrinal issues, left “non-binary” as an option.

“Students can choose from options agender, bigender, gender neutral, gender queer, gender fluid, man, gender non-binary, gender non-conforming, woman, trans, two spirit, etc,” Daily Signal reporter Mary Olohan tweeted on April 23.

Housing application for incoming freshmen at @VillanovaU. Students can choose from options agender, bigender, gender neutral, gender queer, gender fluid, man, gender non-binary, gender non-conforming, woman, trans, two spirit, etc. pic.twitter.com/HLfUeSJTnN

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) April 23, 2023

The university then scrubbed the options and blamed it on a vendor.

“The latest version of the housing application included a more comprehensive list of gender identity options than Villanova typically uses; this default list was provided by an outside vendor and has since been updated,” the school told The Daily Caller.

The university continued:

The Office of Residence Life is committed to ensuring every student feels comfortable and welcome in their on-campus housing situation. As part of our Augustinian values of Veritas, Unitas, Caritas—Truth, Unity and Love—Villanova seeks to be a welcoming and inclusive community that respects members of all backgrounds, identities and faiths.

Villanova has a history of pushing pro-LGBT content, in contradiction to its affiliation with the Catholic Church, which holds to the biological truth that there are only two genders, male and female.

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A “gender inclusive” guide at the university “introduces Villanova faculty and staff to best practices for being gender inclusive in our work spaces, laboratories, and classrooms—especially for those who identify within transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and/or gender questioning communities,” as previously reported by The College Fix.

The guide stated that “gender inclusivity is fundamental to Villanova’s mission,” citing it as part of its diversity mission.

The guide encouraged professors to incorporate discussions of gender in the classroom through gender-focused readings. “If gender is relevant to what you’re teaching, then be explicit about these connections and, if possible, teach the research and scholarship of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people,” the guide suggested, as reported by The Fix in August 2022.

Duquesne University theological doctoral student John Monaco previously criticized the university for pushing gender ideology.

“Note, there is no actual or explicit reference to God, Jesus Christ, or any magisterial/spiritual authorities. The Church encourages sensitivity, compassion, and respect, but never at the sake of suppressing the truth,” Monaco, who is also a Catholic commentator, told The Fix. “Unfortunately, this is just another episode of a Catholic university nodding along to the zeitgeist.”

The university also threatened to yank a student’s scholarship after she criticized it for promoting “Pride Month,” an annual celebration of homosexuality and transgenderism.

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IMAGE: VU Pride/Instagram

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