I am responding to several illogical arguments and conclusions I found in your “The Talk” editorial of the Feb. 27 edition of The Maroon.

While I commend your voice in trying to bring a greater awareness to the devastating reality of sexual assault in our community, the article made several uninformed statements about what Loyola is currently doing to address this important issue.

Also, in references to Popes Benedict XVI and Francis, as well as to Catholic teaching and belief, the opinions in the article displayed a very shallow and misleading knowledge of the faith tradition of Loyola as a Catholic, Jesuit institution.

If, indeed, The Maroon is to be “the mirror and lamp of the Loyola community,” then one element of the light it shines from this lamp should be the light of faith.  While you are correct in stating that the Catholic Church teaches that God has bestowed on each of us the gift of sexuality, you limit this great gift to a mere expression of genital physicality and call for the administration to provide condoms and STD testing for individuals “to understand the full logistics of healthy, consensual sex.”

This is an extremely short-sighted and embarrassing understanding of the Church’s full teaching on sexuality. Precisely because it is such a great gift, the Church looks at all elements that make up one’s sexuality: relational, emotional, psychological, spiritual and physical.  A ban on providing condoms on campus does not make sense when only examining the physical aspect of sexuality.

However, when our sexuality is understood and appreciated from the totality of our being, we more appropriately relate to one another as God intended — with respect, true love and mutual fidelity.

Sexual assault is the very opposite of this.  In fact, it is usually not about sex at all, but about power and control. Thus, to seemingly suggest in your editorial that sexual assaults can be prevented by providing condoms and STD testing is quite a stretch of logical argumentation.

Another glaring omission from the article, besides a lack of understanding of basic Catholic teaching, was a call to personal responsibility.  So much of the article focused on what the administration should be doing.  The “mirror” that the Maroon holds forth should call the entire Loyola community — staff, faculty and students — to reflect on its choices when addressing sexual assault and healthy relationships.

Again to the condom debate: The assumption is often made that if you are a college student, you are going to drink and have sex.

Despite the fact that the university does not provide alcohol, students seem to have the knowledge and resources to procure it.  Some enjoy it responsibly and some do not. If a student decides to have sex, it is that individual who is responsible for making the decision to do so safely.

Are condoms not readily available to anyone in the city of New Orleans — even in the immediate Uptown area? The university is not responsible for providing the means for students to make poor decisions more safely.

Again, to do so would contradict the Church’s call to a higher value and full appreciation for the gift of sexuality.

And what of The Maroon’s responsibility?  On the front page of the same Feb. 27 edition, a lengthy article highlights Professor Marcus Kondkar’s study on sexual assault.  Many studies have shown a high correlation between sexual assault and the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Yet on the same page as “The Talk” editorial demanding action from the administration, a “howl” goes out “to whiskey sours at Snake and Jakes.”  This seems to me a very callous editorial oversight which contradicts the call to responsibility from the editorial board.

The familiar Jesuit term, “magis” meaning “for the better,” is particularly appropriate for the discussion of healthy sexuality and respect on campus.  Though there is already much being done to address the issue of sexual assault and making good decisions from several different areas of campus, Loyola can always do better.

I welcome any opportunity to constructively critique where we are now and how we can be a healthier, supportive community of faith in the future.  It is everyone’s responsibility.

Finally, I would be remiss not to recognize and applaud the many people on campus, especially our students, who strive each day to make positive decisions and live with integrity and faith.  These too make mistakes, as we all do.

However, we are lucky to have such courageous role models in our uch courageous role models in our community who show us a better way.

Kurt Bindewald

Director of University Ministry and Associate Director of Mission & Ministry