However, the Harvard Catholic Center and a Christian alumni association took issue with some reporting of Epstein’s new role. The Harvard Catholic Center clarified to CNA this week that Epstein’s role as chaplain facilitator is administrative, and has no effect on its ministry at Harvard.
“There really is no influence in the role other than the fact that he has the title as the president as the Harvard Chaplains and that he’s the liaison between that group and the president of Harvard,” said Nico Quesada, marketing and media director at the Harvard Catholic Center, to CNA on Monday.
Epstein will also convene all the university chaplains when they have matters to discuss, he said, and thus will be “representing the entire group but he’s not representing his own opinions if that makes sense.”
The Harvard Catholic Center is the chaplaincy to the university’s Catholic students, based at nearby St. Paul’s parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is staffed by three priests serving as part of the university’s chaplains’ association.
Barron on Tuesday urged Harvard religious chaplains who elected an atheist to lead their association to “[s]how a little self-respect. Being a chaplain has something to do with the worship of God — and you shouldn’t be ashamed to say it.”
“My point is,” Barron said, “that the relativizing of doctrine has led, by steady steps through two centuries, to the situation at Harvard today: Even that most elemental of doctrines — belief in God — doesn’t matter. One can still, evidently, be perfectly ‘religious’ without it”
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