catholic church
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A Catholic university in Minnesota canceled an annual women's conference because the qualified women chosen blindly to speak at the touted event ended up being too white, and thus not reflecting the proper "diversity" values of the school.

St. Catherine University's Leadership Imperative Conference was set to be held on January 19, with some 30 prominent women ready to speak at the event. The speakers, picked through a blind call, were chosen "solely based on their fit" with the themes of the conference, indicates an email from the school's associate provost.

The conference was hyped by the university as "the event of the year for professional women in the Twin Cities."

"You won't want to miss out," the university site boasted of the conference. "Space is limited! Last year, the event sold out quickly."

But when the speakers submitted their photos and bios, everything changed. The group of qualified women chosen for the event were too white for St. Catherine. So the conference was canceled in December, the Star Tribune reported last week.

The "diversity" cancellation did not go unnoticed.

Center of the American Experiment president John Hinderaker blasted the racially-motivated move. "This is the kind of absurdity you get when you prioritize skin color over merit," he said.

Speakers, too, were confused and unhappy.

"I was disappointed that it was canceled because I was excited to be a part of it," said chosen speaker Karen Pavlicin-Fragnito. "When I submit something to a conference as a speaker, I have the understanding that they're going to choose me on what I'm going to present and the value of that to their audience. I'm not expecting that they're going to choose me on the basis of the color of my skin."

Former St. Catherine University associate dean and chosen presenter Jeanne Bailey said she was "very surprised and disappointed" over the cancellation. "I'm still puzzled by it," she added.

After receiving adequate backlash over the cancellation, the university issued a statement last week.

"We did not feel the list [of speakers] adequately represented the St. Kate's community or fulfilled the objective of lifting up the voices of all women," said the statement. "While this was a tough decision, we believe it was an important one."