Excerpts from Linda Romey column:
While many issues constantly vie for attention, there is one in Erie today where we can make a real difference by taking a public stand for what is right. That is the issue of public space at Blasco Memorial Library being rented to a private, religious institution, Gannon University, for a rate far below market value.
There are many angles to this issue, you can read them in the archives of this newspaper and online therefore I won't repeat them here.
I believe that at its core, this is a moral issue which is why I must speak out. Many of us have signed our names to the petition to halt this deal, to rescind the lease so that Gannon University can move its Project NePTWNE to another site, one that is not taking public space for private use.
I see this as a moral issue on several levels:
- It is one more example of transferring wealth from public resources, sometimes the only resources available to those on the lower end of our economic spectrum, into the hands of private entities who already hold more than their fair share of wealth.
2. It amplifies the disintegration of democratic structures that rely on transparency and collective creativity to represent the common good as well as private enterprise.
3. By all appearances it is not reflective of Catholic social teaching or the Gospels, which should be the base from which Catholic institutions like Gannon University should operate.
The economic, political, and religious structures in our county have failed all of us in this situation. We desperately need moral leadership if we are to encourage citizens to question decisions that create further inequality and reject practices that fracture society rather than create paths to liberation and wholeness for all of us.
A lease can be broken. An architect can adapt to a change in location. But the failure of sticking with an immoral deal will, in the long run, do more damage to the character of those who uphold it than to those who suffer from it. There is still time to teach something far greater to our county and especially to our youth in the response to this issue.
Linda Romey is the coordinator of communications and development for the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. These comments are her personal reflections.
IF YOU KNOW OTHERS WHO LIVE IN ERIE COUNTY OR ARE GANNON ALUMNI ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ASK THEM TO SIGN OUR PETITION TO KEEP THE BLASCO LIBRARY PUBLIC!
You can read the entire column here: https://www.goerie.com/story/opinion/columns/2024/03/22/gannon-blasco-lease-economic-political-rescind-immoral-catholic-social-teaching-transparency-davis/73033176007/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=gh-erietimesnews-main
Linda Romey is the coordinator of communications and development for the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. These comments are her personal reflections.