Shippensburg University students had the chance to take political and religious action on Aug. 30, when members of The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) arrived on campus to gather signatures for a petition to Pope Francis.
TFP is a Catholic American organization that attempts to solve crises affecting American society and the Catholic Church. Four members dressed in suits, some wearing red sashes bearing the group’s insignia, came to SU in the hopes of gathering support for their interests.
The members were located on the walkway between the Dauphin Humanities Center and Shippen Hall. They stood in the blazing heat with clipboards and petition sheets to gather signatures for their most recent cause, which is focused on the stability of the traditional family and marriage.
“Good, they’ve been signing,” said Matthew Miller, a TFP member who was at SU. Miller said he was happy with the amount of signatures he was getting, especially compared to some other universities he went to.
According to Miller, approximately half-a-million people signed the petition, which is entitled “Filial Appeal to His Holiness Pope Francis on the Future of the Family.”
The group’s website states the goal is to reach 600,000 signatures so that it can be given to Pope Francis by the time he arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania later this month.
The appeal suggests that a “decades-long sexual revolution” caused by mass media and political forces are threatening American society by degrading the value of families.
"Our fears arise from witnessing a decades-long sexual revolution promoted by an alliance of powerful organizations, political forces and the mass media that consistently work against the very existence of the family as the basic unit of society," the petition states.
Other grievances include the Catholic Church's increasing acceptance of adultery, divorce and homosexual relationships.
Miller and others traveled to Pennsylvania State University, George Washington University, Gettysburg College and among other places to collect signatures.
“Many universities — more than I can count,” Miller said, referring to the number of locations he visited, which includes Australia.
Family is a theme of the petition and of the pope's visit to Philadelphia.
"Love is our mission: the family fully alive," is a slogan on the worldmeeting2015.org website, which is an information source for the pope's gathering, known as the World Meeting of Families.
The international meeting occurs every three years and was started in 1994, according to the website.
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