Greg Scimeca ’26 

by Greg Scimeca ’26  on February 27, 2026

Dear Editors of The Cowl,  

This year’s Valentine’s publication featured a large page on the back side of the Portfolio Section of two gay men having an intimate moment. From what I am told, this was taken from the “largest pop culture reference to love,” which is from the show Heated Rivalry, a highly explicit homosexual TV show. I write this as someone who cherishes the Catholic Faith, and the values we hold at Providence College, namely truth and human dignity. First, I would like to speak to how strongly I believe in freedom of speech and of the press. For 250 years, our country has uniquely cherished freedom of speech. It is such a privilege to be able to use our voices to express counter-cultural media, content that is overlooked and even reviled by the majority. I also think that students should share their opinions, even if they happen to oppose Catholic teaching. Additionally, I would like to highlight PCs Catholic tradition. Rather than attempt to explain Catholic morality, I would like to simply say that the Church is not okay with same-sex relations. This is not to the exclusion of love. Instead, as St. Augustine teaches, we must love the person and hate the sin. Whether the editors intended to or not, this back cover page misrepresents the Catholic view of love. The article with the image was published on Valentine’s Day, a day that society perceives as a day to observe romantic love. At a Catholic school, this should be a day reserved for admiring the complementarity of the sexes as is discussed in Genesis and offering a perspective of virtue. 

Writing this on Feb. 24, I was struck by Christ’s teaching in the daily Gospel readings. He teaches to avoid praying like the pagans, saying, “Do not be like them.” This quote encapsulates what I would like to encourage by writing this letter. As a Catholic school, we should of course model Christ’s message in everything we do, from our speech, to our writing, and even to our policies. Thus, we should “not be like” modern society, which has become increasingly pagan. Hence, it would be an incorrect approach for our newspaper to portray simply whatever is popular at the time. Let me offer a few counterpoints. First, this article is not an Opinion piece. On the contrary, it takes up the entire center insert page of the Portfolio Section, as much as the five student articles on the opposite side. In my belief, this prominence of selection represents the student-body views as a whole. However, many students whom I have talked with feel as though this does not represent their deeply held Catholic beliefs, and has no business being published in a Catholic school’s newspaper. 

I want to offer a better, counter-cultural answer to this dilemma. Christ’s ministry, from its outset, was counter-cultural, fighting against the Pharisees, who set all the standards. He welcomed the outcasts, the scorned, and the unwanted. He rebuked sin of every kind, such as driving out the irreverent merchants in the temple. Most radically, he taught a harsh, violent world to turn the other cheek. By publishing this image, The Cowl, the student newspaper, becomes a spokesperson for the culture of sin which Christ came to annihilate.  

Here at Providence College, we should welcome everyone. But we should never welcome sin. 

Sincerely, 

Greg Scimeca ’26