Canon Lawsuit Planned Against Georgetown University Over Deviations From Doctrine

CNA yesterday reported on the petition posted online at the website  of the newly formed Father King Society to Make Georgetown Honest, Catholic and Better. Founded by Georgetown alumnus William T. Blatty, author of the best-selling book The Exorcist, the organization is seeking to file a canon law lawsuit seeking a declaration that Georgetown University is no longer entitled to call itself Catholic or Jesuit, or alternatively seeking a Visitation to correct what is described as the University's:

twenty-one year refusal to comply fully with the law of the Church through the implementation of the general norms of Ex corde Ecclesiae and its eleven year non-compliance with certain particular norms adopted for the United States, which has led directly and indirectly to the tolerance and promotion of deviations from authentic doctrinal and moral teachings by Georgetown University authorities and a long series of Scandals to the faithful through actions inconsistent with a Catholic identity.

The organization's website details more specifically Blatty's concerns. The planned canon lawsuit was announced on the same day the HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius-- a controversial figure among Catholic institutions-- spoke at an awards ceremony during Georgetown's commencement weekend.