The following is a letter to the editor and reflects the author’s views alone. For information on how to submit a piece to the Opinion section, click here.
I appreciate Asa Santos’s recent Opinion piece, “When this election is over, let’s keep fighting for our rights,” and its call for civic engagement. I realize that the reference to the Aquinas Institute — within the category of a group involved in “conservative-focused organizing” — is secondary to the article’s main point. However, since the article mentions Aquinas, allow me to make a brief clarification as a chaplain.
The Aquinas Institute has a religious aim, and I don’t think it should be placed under the category of conservative or liberal. While certainly some of the students involved in it participate in groups which people would call conservative — Santos mentions the Anscombe society — there are also many ways Catholic principles can lead students in Aquinas to engage in activities that people would consider to be liberal. Consider, for example, the historical connection of Catholics with the union movement. On any issue I can think of, persons involved in Aquinas have different opinions among themselves.
I’m certainly not trying to say that all of these views are right or that Catholics don’t have specific convictions, just that Aquinas tries to be a community which welcomes everyone.
Fr. Joe Thomas ’99 is an assistant chaplain at the Aquinas Institute.
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