The Patriot is under the jurisdiction of Principal Madelyn Ball in her role as publisher. Ball has requested that she express her opinion on a recent article by columnist and Opinion Editor Scott Novak.

You can read the article here.

To say that I am disappointed and disgusted by this article is an understatement. I find the article to be insulting to my Catholic faith and totally against the teachings of the John Carroll School. While I believe our students have a right to express their opinions, I must insist that a balanced viewpoint always be given. By balanced I mean that the viewpoints of our Church must always be expressed and respected along with an opposing viewpoint.

We must never forget that we are a private, Catholic school. As such we operate under Contract Law, not Constitutional Law. The right to “free speech” is not a given right under Contract Law. If the Patriot Newspaper wants to continue having the freedom to publish articles that are blatantly against the views of our faith and the mission of our school, I caution all writers, especially Scott Novak, to be sure to include a recognition of and respect for the views of the Catholic faith prior to expressing opposing views. Where in this article is there any support for the mission of The John Carroll School?

Scott, I recommend that you do further research prior to expressing your opinions about abortion. Pregnancy is not “grueling,” and a woman’s body does return to its previous form – it is a part of God’s design of women. Personally I have two daughters, and the pain of childbirth was worth every minute for the multitudes of joy and blessings of helping them to grow and watching them to mature into fabulous women.

One of my daughters was born the night of one of my final exams in grad school. Surely the birth of my children did not deter me from my education and success in my profession. The most recent and greatest blessing in my life was to be present at the birth of my first grandchild. Abortion will never be a “necessity” as you expressed in your article, as long as there are caring people in the world. The Catholic Church will always welcome, respect, and care for women that have unwanted pregnancies.

Scott, I hope you have an opportunity to read your article again in about 15-20 years. Hopefully by then you will have a family of your own. After you reread your article, my guess is that you will say to yourself, “What was I thinking?”

Principal Madelyn Ball