GRAND RAPIDS — After Aquinas College canceled a presentation by philosopher and gay-rights advocate John Corvino, a group of students now is looking for an independent venue to host the speaker.

Corvino's presentation "What's Morally Wrong with Homosexuality?" was scheduled last week at the college, but administrators postponed it until April 22 after receiving complaints.

Aquinas President Ed Balog canceled the event Thursday, saying the Catholic school cannot endorse a program that directly opposes church teachings.

"I'm not trying to keep people from seeing him. I'm trying to prevent the college from sponsoring an event that displays an attack on Catholic teaching values," Balog said.

The cancellation came a week before Pope Benedict XVI's scheduled meeting with more than 200 Catholic school officials from across the country. The gathering Thursday, at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., is being called a lecture, but Vatican watchers predict it will be an admonishment that teaching and activities at U.S. Catholic colleges and universities more closely adhere to church orthodoxy.

Video excerpts from John Corvino's speech "What's Morally Wrong with Homosexuality?"

Church officials won't give details about the content of the speech, but conservative Catholics are predicting, and hoping for, shock waves from Benedict, who before becoming pope was associated with public reprimands of Catholic theologians and blocked appointments of university faculty members he thought were too liberal.

"One thing the pope will emphasize is the importance for all (Catholic) schools to realize that they aren't independent contractors, they are part of the church," said the Rev. David O'Connell, Catholic University's president.

He said the Vatican is concerned about the lack of Catholic faculty at Catholic universities and about rampant "moral relativism" -- the belief that there is no objective right or wrong -- on campuses.

According to Corvino's Web site, the Wayne State University philosophy professor "challenges all sides of the debate to rethink easy assumptions about homosexuality."

He has been speaking out on gay rights for 15 years, and has spoken on other Catholic campuses.

Some Aquinas students said they are upset about the way administrators handled the issue. It has sparked an online debate in some parts of the community.

Tree Top Productions, an Aquinas student programming group, set up Corvino's visit and said it was approved by an adviser.

"The programming board had been actively advertising since January and they canceled the morning of the event. It was very disrespectful to Corvino, and to the students that wanted to hear him speak," said junior Bev Pels, 21.

"I think they're not bringing him because there's so much outside pressure. It's not that the administration is homophobic, but the policy appears to be that way and it's alienating to students."

She said organizers are hoping to find a new, off-campus venue that can seat up to 70 people. Corvino has offered to speak for free.

Rebecca Kirk, 19, of Sturgis, was upset by the college's decision because, she said, Aquinas is known for being more open-minded than some private schools.

"We want to bring him ... so people can hear what he has to say," Kirk said. "The best way to get someone interested in hearing someone is by censoring him."

Sophomore Anna Thiakos, 20, agreed.

"It's important that free speech isn't censored and that we address the problem of homophobia in our community, whether it's from a secular or religious point of view."

Balog said he wasn't familiar with Corvino's work until the day before the event. The school initially had hoped to provide a follow-up speaker to present the church's point of view on the issue.

But after reviewing some of Corvino's presentation, in which he talks about a "sexual act" condemned by the church, they decided against that.

"We want to explore the issue from an academic perspective, not from the perspective of an antagonistic attack to core Catholic values," Balog said.

Asked whether he was pressured by Bishop Walter Hurley to cancel the event, he said, "No. He was one of the many people that wanted to ask for clarification."

Other U.S. bishops have slammed various events at colleges in their dioceses as violating Catholic doctrine: a rally by abortion rights supporter and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton at St. Mary's University in San Antonio; a Georgetown University theologian's questioning whether Jesus offers the only road to salvation; and a performance of "The Vagina Monologues" at the University of Notre Dame.

-- The Washington Post contributed to this report.