A Saint Michael’s College student was told she couldn’t get academic credit for an internship at Planned Parenthood, and now she’s pushing the Catholic institution to establish clear guidelines about which organizations it chooses to sanction.
Erin Irons, a senior from Fair Haven, Vt., is double-majoring in history and political science, with a minor in gender studies. She applied for a public affairs internship at Burlington-based Planned Parenthood of Northern New England over the summer — and got it.
But Planned Parenthood staff warned Irons that a previous St. Mike’s student had been denied academic credit for an internship in 2011, prompting her to contact the college dean, Jeff Ayres. (Because the internship wouldn’t commence until spring, Irons had not yet submitted an application for credit.)
One week later, according to Irons, the dean told her that the administration’s position hadn’t changed: Granting academic credit for an internship at Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions as well as other health services, would conflict with the school’s Catholic mission.
The administration’s response, first reported in the student newspaper, the Defender, has sparked a debate about the tension between religious values and academic pursuits at a Catholic school with a reputation for open-mindedness. Roughly half the students are Catholic.
Karen Talentino, vice president for academic affairs, summarized the administration’s stance: “One of [the Catholic church’s] most fundamental convictions is that abortion is sin and is murder of a living person, so given that we are a Catholic college, I think it makes sense that we would not form a formal relationship with an organization that not only performs abortions but is an advocate for continuing to perform abortions.”
She also emphasized that the school supports and encourages internships.
Irons had planned to spend the spring semester as a public affairs intern, tracking environmental health-related legislation for Planned Parenthood in Montpelier. She said she reluctantly turned down the internship, because in her final semester of college, she needs to accrue the credits necessary to graduate. “If anything was to prepare me for the quote unquote real world, it would have been this internship,” she said.
“I understand that it’s a Catholic institution,” continued Irons, who was raised Catholic but no longer identifies as such. “But it’s also an educational institution.”
With backing from the executive board of the Student Association — the college’s student government — Irons is calling on the administration to establish a more transparent internship policy. She wants a list of organizations at which students wouldn’t qualify for academic credit. And she wants to know who makes decisions about whether an organization’s mission aligns with that of the Catholic Church, and what criteria they use.
These requests, outlined in a letter sent to the college president three weeks ago, have gone unanswered, Irons said.
Talentino said she plans to meet with Irons this week, and that the college is committed to finding her another internship. It’s unlikely, however, that the college will acquiesce to Irons’ requests.
Noting that it’s rare for a student to appeal a decision regarding academic credit, Talentino said it wouldn’t make sense for school officials to spend time vetting a large number of organizations. She pointed out that St. Michael’s already has people who guide students through the internship application process — including an internship coordinator, faculty mentor and a site supervisor — helping them determine whether a certain organization would be a good fit.
She also argued that students have a role to play when it comes to vetting internship options. “Students need to think first and foremost about what would be a good learning experience for them,” she said. But given the school’s mission, she continued, “they should also think about is there any reason why this might not be a good choice.”
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To say that the Pope wants to be accepting of abortion and contraception is like reading the story of Jesus and the Woman at the Well and saying it shows how accepting Jesus is of adultery.
Now, to “absolve the sin” simply means that Christ has forgiven you through the Act of Reconciliation, it does NOT mean that the sin is no longer a sin. Reconciliation is the Sacrament in which the sinner confesses his/her sins to a priest who then uses the Grace of God to absolve (be forgiven by Jesus) the repentant sinner of his/her sins. So if Pope Francis “decided to absolve the sin of abortion”, he’s simply doing what he and countless other ordained men have been doing for nearly two millenia: using the Grace of God to absolve sins (mortal and venial) on a daily basis.
Some links on what the Pope REALLY said about Abortion:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/21/us/pope-francis-issues-catholics.html?_r=0
http://www.catholicvote.org/news-alert-pope-francis-follows-jesus-on-abortion/
As a student at Saint Michael’s (1981), I was a practicing Catholic and thought I would be for life. But as I grew into an adult, my opinions became more expansive than the church allowed. While at St, Mike’s, I actually went to Planned Parenthood as a patient – along with my friends – because we certainly were not going to get the support we needed at the school infirmary to take care of our reproductive health in a way that was practical and necessary. I would venture that I and my group of 3 friends were not the only ones then or now who have done so. In view of the recent leadership of Pope Francis – shame on St. Michael’s for having such a narrow, black and white view of the world, and for once again seeing the needs of women for basic health care as disposable. No wonder I left the church. It is a shame that a college devoted to learning would not be ore supportive.
Everyone forgets that internship programs can have parameters placed on them as to which places are accepted by the institution and which ones are not. This can be considered similar to tuition reimbursement in the workplace. I have not approved some submissions because of the institution where the training is being requested from or the course is not relevant to the required duties and skills the person needs. The latter was a major issue because the employee wanted to become trained in skills that in no way pertain to the services we offer. The person felt entitled to whatever they wanted to take and we feel since we are paying for the training it has to be related to what they do for their job.
This alienates liberal Catholics. Many Catholics support PP and its overall mission even if they wouldn’t abort or would only abort if raped. Many Catholics do not consider the sinfulness of abortion to be one of the church’s most fundamental convictions.
If men got pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.
VT5439 raises a really important point. SMC has a formal relationship with UVM med center, which also performs abortions (and most other services offered by PP) on a regular basis. I’d urge Sluggerdo to check out the linked article that was published in The Defender which emphasizes this point and highlights the hypocrisy of the school administration. In light of Pope Francis’ recent decision to absolve the sin of abortion, I’d say it’s time the administration take a thorough look at what this means for the SMC community.
Only half of the students at St. Mikes are Catholic and they advertise to prospective students as being inclusive of all religions and beliefs. There are a lot of decisions that go into picking a college, like money and the strength of certain academic programs. I was given a full ride to St. Mikes and I’m not Catholic. They are an educational institution, and they give academic credit for internships at hospitals that perform abortions regularly. They can’t give credit for those and then deny Erin Irons credit just because Talentino said Planned Parenthood is politicized right now.
I agree with Sluggerdo, St Mikes is a Catholic College and since they are granting the credit they should have the right to make a final decision on where the credit can be earned as long as it is applied consistently.
The issue is not the Catholic church’s views on abortions, but simply that a student wants to have a internship pertaining to environmental policy at an organization that provides abortions (let me reiterate that of PP’s funds only 3% go to abortion related issues and of those funds those are privately funded- not by the government). Would it be different if a student wanted an internship at a hospital? (Where a large portion of hospitals also provide abortions) It would be absolutely different. PP has received plenty of negative media coverage as of recently, that is why schools like Saint Michael’s College are not supportive of these institutions- like Planned Parenthood. Abortion is not even part of the equation.
I know this is not going to be a popular response, but why go to St. Michael’s College if she didn’t agree to the Catholic mission? She certainly had plenty of choices of colleges that aren’t Catholic, and now she wants the college to change it’s mission by supporting her choice of an internship at Planned Parenthood? Get real. The Catholic Church is pretty firm about its stance on abortion and it is well documented. This is not just about her and her wants. My translation, a pretty selfish child who wants her way and wants it now.