I read Adam DeMuro’s letter [Heights, Jan. 30] with a combination of surprise and disappointment. Surprise, because I taught Adam many years ago, and had no idea he was still following the latest campus news and controversies. But, as I said, I also read the letter with some disappointment. I admired Adam during his undergraduate years for his sharp intelligence, his wit, and his impressive desire to do good, to help those less fortunate than himself. And his letter demonstrates those qualities. Some of his barbs, especially those directed at the way Jack Dunn has publicly expressed himself concerning the future of the Campus School, seem (to me, anyway) to have found their target with devastating accuracy. But I also know Fr. Bill Leahy. We’ve lived in the same community for almost 20 years. And I know him as a decent man, a man who does believe in the Jesuit ideal of men and women for others, of living the faith that does justice. So, when his spokesman speaks crassly or misleadingly, I know that this does not reflect the man. And when his representatives say that no decision has yet been reached regarding the Campus School, I simply have to believe them. Fr. Leahy himself told me that he wants to do what is best for the children of the Campus School. To borrow Adam’s use of caps: Fr. Leahy is NOT the sort of person who would lie about something like that.
So I say to Adam, if you read this: Brother, do NOT give up hope. This is NOT the time to point any fingers of shame at Boston College. There really has been greater understanding reached between those of us who love the School, who want it to continue here, and the administration in whose hands the decision finally rests. If you still pray, Adam, then please pray for the Campus School and the children it serves.
And I say to Fr. Leahy, if you read this: My brother, please take a close and steady look at the beautiful, vibrant Jesuit Mission that for the past 43 years, day in and day out, in our very midst, has been doing the Truth in love-the Truth that you believe in, that calls us to be men and women for others. Please let the Campus School continue.
Rev. Ronald K. Tacelli, S.J.
Associate Professor of Philosophy
