Catholic university students petition to ban Christian group from campus

Students at DePaul University in Chicago, a Catholic institution, are petitioning to ban a group from meeting on campus for its traditionally Christian views on human sexuality.

Vessel, the student group being targetted, meets on campus but is not officially recognized by the university. 

The petition in question, “Eliminate Vessel: A DePaul Group Who Openly Opposes The LGBT+ Community,” has garnered over 730 signatures as of Mar. 15.

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After allegedly “promoting discrimination against members of the LGBTQIA+ community,” DePaul University student Brigid O’Brien launched the petition to combat the “homophobic” group.

According to the school’s student-run newspaper The DePaulia, Vessel posted a message on its now-deleted Instagram account about their thoughts on lifestyles associated with the LGBTQ community. 

“We are non-affirming. This means we do not agree that the LGBTQIA+ lifestyle is supported by biblical text. Below are verses which support this,” the post reportedly read. 

Vessel, relays The DePaulia, then cited 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, which reads, “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves … will inherit the kingdom of God.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church similarly states, “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law.”

Contrasting with these statements, O’Brien declares in her petition that “[t]here’s nothing ‘sinful’ about people who identify as LGBTQIA+. As a student who identifies as bisexual myself, it makes me sad to see hatred spread around campus like this.”

”There’s no reason that in 2023 you should still be homophobic,” she states.

In response to the petition, Vessel told The DePaulia that it did not “intend to harm, or seem to ostracize or reject the LGBTQIA+ community at DePaul.”

“Disagreement is not harassment, but we apologize for any hurt we may have caused in how we have communicated things,” Vessel’s statement reads in part. 

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Vessel was reportedly started in October 2022, when students left another ministry group to start their own. 

DePaul University student Alexandra Murphy told The DePaulia, “[T]hese members started this new group because of their non-affirming beliefs, a point of contention as many members of InterVarsity do not see those who identify as LGBTQIA+ the same way that most Vessel’s founding members do.”

Vessel could not be reached for comment; O’Brien and Murphy declined to comment. 

Campus Reform reached out to every individual and institution mentioned and will update accordingly. 

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