Marist's independence was emphasized in 2003, when Marist invited New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to deliver the commencement address for the graduating class, incurring protests aimed at the college for Spitzer's public support of abortion rights. In response to complaints, then president of Marist College, Dr. Dennis Murray, assured the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York that "Marist College is truly independent, and does not identify itself as a Catholic college in any way." Although Marist had become independent in 1969, under Pope John Paul II's decree "Ex Corde Ecclesiae", all colleges that claimed to be Catholic prior to 1991 were considered by the church to be Catholic until declared otherwise by a bishop. Subsequently, Cardinal Archbishop of New York Edward Egan stated that Marist "is no longer a Catholic institution" and therefore not under the Church's jurisdiction.