Catholic university cancels appearance by Geraldo Rivera, son of a “lay deacon”

From Politico:

Geraldo Rivera has been uninvited to speak at Duquesne University after posting a revealing picture of himself on Twitter, according to a report, in a manner the radio and television personality called “incredibly rude” to POLITICO.

Rivera had been scheduled to appear in October on a panel at the school in Pittsburgh on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

In a statement to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the university said Rivera’s actions — he recently tweeted a so-called selfie that showed him standing in front of a mirror with a low-hanging towel around his waist — were not consistent with the Catholic school’s values.

“The administration felt that Mr. Rivera’s decision to post a nearly naked picture of himself on social media was inappropriate and inconsistent with who we are as a Catholic university and therefore asked the Wecht Institute to withdraw the invitation,” Duquesne spokeswoman Bridget Fare told the paper. “We warn our students not to put anything inappropriate on social media because of potential consequences — you could consider this teaching by example.”

Rivera told POLITICO in a statement on Monday that he was informed of the decision by “a stranger” in a hotel bar who told him he was also on the panel and that it was too bad about the cancellation.

Rivera said he was asked to speak at the university, unpaid, because of his history investigating the events of Kennedy’s assassination. He also brought up his dad, a lay deacon in the Catholic Church, whose faithfulness to the church was only tested with child sex abuse scandals.

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