In a sad sign of the times, DePaul University — the nation’s largest Catholic university — told a group of pro-life students they could not hang posters reading “Unborn Lives Matter.” The reason given: Such posters might provoke the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a letter to the College Republicans, DePaul University President Fr. Dennis Holtschneider said the posters contained “bigotry” veiled “under the cover of free speech,” the Daily Wire reported.

The poster “provokes the Black Lives Matter movement,” said the administration.

A poster asserting the value of the life of the unborn is bigotry, somehow, in the eyes of a university that appears to be cowering before a transitory race-based movement.

“By our nature, we are committed to developing arguments and exploring important issues that can be steeped in controversy and, oftentimes, emotion,” Fr. Holtschneider said in the letter. “Yet there will be times when some forms of speech challenge our grounding in Catholic and Vincentian values. When that happens, you will see us refuse to allow members of our community be subjected to bigotry that occurs under the cover of free speech.”

It remains to be seen how protecting the unborn is of less Christian value than the manner in which it is expressed — provided it is a respectful expression, which the phrase “Unborn Lives Matter” arguably is.

Related: Masculinity in Peril on Gender-Bender Campuses

Citing the university’s Guiding Principles on Speech and Expression, Fr. Holtschneider said the poster “provokes the Black Lives Matter movement” and therefore needs to be “redesigned,” according to The Washington Times.

It is tragic that some of today’s Christian leaders — especially those who instruct students seeking a specifically Christian educational experience — do not heed the words of the Bible when considering today’s life-and-death issues concerning the most vulnerable in society. The angel Gabriel told Mary she would be “with child and give birth to a son” (Luke 1:31). Not “with fetus” — but “with child.” The value of life at conception is made clear.

Related: Why I Chose Not to Have an Abortion

The College Republicans issued a statement in response to the actions of their Chicago-based university: “We, the DePaul College Republicans, are appalled by the university’s decision to censor pro-life messaging and give the Black Lives Matter movement some sort of protected status. Our proposed poster was in no way meant to ‘mock’ BLM, although we feel that we should be able to criticize the movement if and when we find it necessary to do so.”

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