Georgetown University Canon Lawyer Questions Holy See’s Authority in Blatty Petition

The Rev. Ladislas Orsy, S.J., a visiting professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, was quoted in The Hoya dismissing the canon law petition brought against the Jesuit university by William Peter Blatty and other alumni by shockingly stating, “the official title of Georgetown is ‘Georgetown University,’ not ‘Georgetown Catholic University.’

Fr.Orsy, purportedly a canon law expert, told The Hoya that there’s nothing anyone can do about Georgetown calling itself Catholic. “If a group decides to call itself Catholic, that term is not a copyright,” he said. “The bishop can say, ‘In my judgment, I do not think that this organization represents Catholic views,’ but that does not affect whether the organization can call itself Catholic.”

He likens it to the president of the United States attempting to declare that someone is not an American because they’re not behaving like an American. “This is outside the purview of the Church,” declared Fr. Orsy.  (more...)

Georgetown University Canon Lawyer Questions Holy See’s Authority in Blatty Petition

Background...

Blatty’s Canon Law Case to Reform Georgetown Goes to Vatican