Greed Wounds Gonzaga
In mid-April, I was honored to be among the nearly 700 delegated parishioners convened by the Most Rev. William Skylstad, bishop of the Spokane Catholic Diocese. The keynote address offered by the new president of Gonzaga University, Father Edward Glynn, was particularly well-received.
Glynn challenged us to consider our faith responses to the tensions, conflicts, ambiguities and risks that grow from our ever-blossoming diversities. From the richness of his learning, he helped us see the world that Christ has charged us to change. We welcomed him into our minds and hearts that Saturday, just three weeks prior to his forced exit from office.
Like so many who have come to know the man’s stature and vision, I am moved to cry out against the abortion of Father Edward Glynn’s mission among us.
Many who do well also try to do good. We celebrate the generous and the dedicated. Society relies heavily on their guidance and financial help. Surely, our institutions would be devastated without the efforts and sacrifices of high-minded, money-powered people.
But powerful people (like the rest of us) make mistakes. When they do we can all be made to pay an awful price. People who view themselves as selfless volunteers don’t appreciate being unappreciated. When such custodians of the greater good do something terribly wrong, who can call them on it? Contesting their judgment is taken as an insult to their pride.
Recent happenings at Gonzaga are a case in point. The Jesuits, lay faculty, administrators and staff have privately and publicly taken issue with the draconian action of the university’s Board of Trustees. Those who have given the better part of their lives to Gonzaga and who have deep knowledge of the situation believe that moneyed volunteers have made a monstrous error in firing the president of that institution. Must the president literally serve at their pleasure? Must everyone else be docile?
The small oligarchy who control the board have behaved as willful and misguided Philistines, tone deaf to the harmonics of academic integrity, hearing only the sound of money and brass. These corporate CEO operatives who are now calling the shots have grievously wounded Gonzaga and put a hole in the heart of our larger, regional community.
MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.