Brooklyn Queens Bishop on Notre Dame scandal

Bishop DiMarzio on Notre Dame Scandal

www.thetablet.org

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

The invitation by Father John Jenkins, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame University, to President Barack Obama to be this year’s commencement speaker and to receive an honorary degree from the unniversity has caused an uproar and a division within the Catholic community. In 2004, the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops in a document, Catholics in Political Life, taught, “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

Politicians, like all men and women, are bound by the natural law which allows all persons of good will to discern good from evil. When asked last August by Reverend Rick Warren, in an interview at the Saddleback Church, the then-candidate Obama answered, “I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.” Father Jenkins made a serious error in inviting President Obama to be the commencement speaker at Notre Dame, and even more so in conferring upon him an honorary degree. Father Jenkins speaking to the rationale behind the invitation has said that it should not be interpreted as “condoning or endorsing his (President Obama’s) positions on specific issues regarding the protection of human life, including abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Yet, we see his visit as a basis for further positive engagement.”

Unfortunately, his disclaimer has not been accepted by the bishop of his diocese, and many other bishops, as well as a host of the laity and alumni of the University of Notre Dame. Our engagement is always meant to influence the person for the good, to explain perhaps how they may be in error and always to respect the dignity of the person even if they may be wrong. I will write to Father Jenkins and explain my opinion, sending a copy of this article.

Mary Ann Glendon, a professor of law at Harvard University and former United States Ambassador to the Vatican and member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, was to receive the Laetare Medal this year at the Notre Dame commencement. Ambassador Glendon declined the honor reminding Notre Dame of our responsibility “not to honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.” Interestingly, she was President Obama’s constitutional law professor at Harvard.

This controversy, unfortunately, cannot be resolved since the invitation to President Obama cannot be rescinded. Whatever scandal has occurred cannot be eliminated. However, it is a lesson for the Catholic community regarding interaction with politicians. Catholics in political life must come to understand their unique responsibility as lay Catholics involved in the public forum. There is a considerable misunderstanding on the part of our elected officials regarding their Catholic faith and their functioning as political figures. They are not irresolvable, nor are they mutually exclusionary.

Catholic politicians and Catholic voters may never directly support anything which is intrinsically evil. Our best example is abortion. Support for abortion, or camouflaging it as a matter of choice, can never be an acceptable position for a Catholic. There are many times when Catholic politicians may not be able to directly influence the cessation of abortion, but at the same time they must do whatever they can do to limit and eventually eliminate the need for abortion. Some politicians have used this as an excuse, saying that they are in the business of limiting and not excluding the possibility of abortion. While not everything can be done at once, the ultimate intention must be the clear elimination of intrinsically evil acts such as abortion.

We are facing difficult times as we try to explain to our own Catholics and the general populous why we take such positions. The Church’s moral teaching is not merely a matter of faith, but rather it comes from a long tradition of moral reasoning and judgments that have little to do with modern day personalistic philosophies that disregard ageless traditions and principles.

We are putting out into the deep waters of political and religious interaction. This interaction has never been easy and has become more difficult in the present time. Without forcing ourselves to understand better our moral positions, we might take the easier path and follow the crowd in our society which gives little thought to reason and the common good.

Undercover Catholics - Notre Dame & Georgetown

The Tablet

The Catholic newspaper of the diocese of Brooklyn & Queens

www.thetablet.org

At a time when the buzzword of X number of liberationists is to “come out of the closet,” some Catholic universities seem to be headed back in for cover. Are they afraid of themselves? Since when is it decided that in order to be admitted into the public square a university must hide its core identity? Or are they unsure of what – or Whom – informs that identity?

At the outset, we need to be clear. Although President Obama’s invitation to Notre Dame and to Georgetown is a catalyst of the recent controversy, his identity is under neither camouflage nor compromise. But the universities seem to be struggling with their own. In a Catholic university – or any public forum for that matter – absolutely nothing should prevent a president from advocating what he believes in, even if it be at odds with Catholic teaching. But why must the host university also cover up its own core identity or cringe from challenging positions blatantly repugnant to it?

In Georgetown, for example, at the request of the Obama White House, the very name of Jesus himself – represented by the IHS symbol to be precise – had to be hidden from public view as a “distraction” from American flags. By that logic, “In God We Trust” should be removed from all court houses as an impediment to the administration of justice and from our currency for interference with commerce. While to some this might seem trivial, it goes deeper. How is it possible even to enter into honest dialogue where one partner’s core identity must be suppressed?

And since when have the rules for public discourse or the understanding of a university changed? Well-respected theologian, Robert Barron, argues in the Chicago Daily Observer (“A Cover Up at Georgetown, April 22, 2009), that “what a Catholic university should never do is to surrender its own identity or to make apologies for its own deepest commitments.” The reason hinges first of all on our understanding of Jesus Christ as not just one of many religious figures but the incarnate Logos, the origin of reason and all creative activity. It also has to do with what a Catholic university actually is. Precisely as the incarnate Logos, Jesus belongs at the table of intellectual conversation. He is, recalls Barron, “related to every truth discovered by science or philosophy, every design apparent in nature, every instance of artistic beauty, every arrangement of justice . . .” Any university, Catholic or not, that has the pursuit of truth as its core mission cannot tolerate a repression of the name – or its symbol – that defines its mission, as in the Georgetown cover up. Or is the name of Jesus a distraction?

The Notre Dame controversy, the other case, is not distinguished by its invitation to a president with certain views contrary to Catholic teaching, not even if reputedly the most radically pro-abortion in history. It is, rather, the uncritical conferral of an award (an honorary degree in law, of all things) which appears to minimize (or marginalize) the fundamental tension between his views and the foundations of morality itself. The prohibition of the direct killing of innocent human life is so fundamental that to vitiate it is to undermine the very moorings of moral discourse, indeed, of civilized society. The same selective valuation of the dignity of different human subjects is the moral relativism that underlay the atrocities of the era of Hitler and Stalin, and indeed the reign of slavery in America.

Twenty-five years ago, Notre Dame extended to New York Governor Mario Cuomo an invitation to deliver an address that would touch on controversial moral issues (“Religious Belief and Public Morality,” Sept. 13, 1984). Unlike the current subject of controversy, it was not to showcase his celebrity, but the persuasiveness of his reasoning, which remained free for discussion and dispute. A commencement address – in which the speaker himself is also singled out for honor – spotlights not only to his celebrity, but also what he stands for. And the “elephant in the living room” here is the president’s blind spot – to be kind – about the value and inviolability of all innocent human life.

Imagine the outcry were a university to so honor an otherwise distinguished personage whose advocacy of a single issue – say, colonialism, apartheid or the subordination of women to men (even if proffered on a questionable reading of the Scriptures) was his or her only heresy. Is it so inconsistent with academic freedom for a Catholic university to withhold a platform from an otherwise admirable public figure, whose advocacy for the expendability of some human lives compromises all human lives?

More Bishops Protest Notre Dame Scandal

More Bishops Protest Notre Dame Scandal - Including Bishop Murphy of Rockville Center

Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia and USCCB Pro-Life Committee Chairman, and eight other archbishops and bishops are the latest prelates in the United States to publicly address the decision of the University of Notre Dame to honor President Barack Obama at commencement on May 17, 2009. “The Catholic Church in America is blessed to have so many holy shepherds speaking out in defense of authentic Catholic identity. They are a treasure and we owe them our prayers and gratitude,” said Patrick Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society.

Thus far, there have been 55 bishops who have spoken out about the Notre Dame scandal. Most of the bishops have expressed strong opposition and have cited the 2004 USCCB document “Catholics in Political Life” as foundational to their criticism of Notre Dame’s decision to honor President Obama. The document states that Catholic institutions should neither honor nor give platform to those who oppose fundamental Catholic moral principles.

The petition at NotreDameScandal.com grew to a staggering 347,000 supporters on Thursday morning. The first 300,000 signatures from the petition were delivered yesterday to Notre Dame’s president and board members in time for a pre-scheduled meeting. Copies were also sent to USCCB and Vatican officials.

In an interview with Life Site News, Cardinal Rigali said of the tremendous response from the bishops and other lay faithful over the Notre Dame scandal, “something very positive is going on in our country along with all the negative things - that there is a greater and evolving understanding of the value of human life in many, many people… The backlash is due to a great extent the reaction of people who through their intuition, through their common sense, they know that this is just not an acceptable way to take a position on something that is so important.” Cardinal Rigali said that, through this issue with Notre Dame, “the whole world has to see that it [the value of life] is such an important issue: that, yes, it is a sign of contradiction... it is a division between life and death, and we cannot treat it as one issue among many.”

Other bishops who have spoken out recently on the Notre Dame scandal include Archbishop Charles Chaput of the Denver Archdiocese; Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Kansas City Archdiocese; Archbishop Donald Wuerl of the Washington Archdiocese; Bishop Peter Jugis of the Charlotte Diocese; Bishop William Murphy of the Rockville Center Diocese; Bishop Glen Provost of the Lake Charles Diocese; Bishop Joseph Galante of the Camden Diocese; and Bishop John McCormack of the Manchester Diocese.

Archbishop Chaput, in an e-mail statement relayed to Life Site News, said, “Notre Dame didn't need to do this to show its openness to 'dialogue.’ And candidly, very few Notre Dame faculty members would accept from their students the kind of creative reasoning now being used to defend the invitation.”

Archbishop Naumann made the poignant remark that, “In reality, Notre Dame’s invitation signals to President Obama that there is no need to dialogue. Why should the president feel a need to dialogue when he is honored by our nation’s most prestigious Catholic university no matter how extreme his policies and actions supporting legalized abortion?”

On April 24, The Washington Post reported that, when asked about the controversy at Notre Dame, Archbishop Wuerl said “the school should not have honored Obama but that he was not in favor of rescinding the invite.”

According to Life Site News, Bishop Jugis wrote, “Public outcry over Notre Dame's decision must be accompanied by ongoing catechesis in our parishes, public witness by the entire Catholic Church and involvement in the political process in order to promote a culture that protects the sanctity of unborn human life.”

Catholic blogger Thomas Peters, reported Tuesday that during a men’s conference attended by 800 on April 25, Bishop Murphy added his voice to the U.S. bishops speaking out on the Notre Dame scandal.

Bishop Provost said of the scandal, “I share the consternation of my brother bishops and of many Notre Dame alumni who have already voiced their objections. I am in complete agreement with them. Appeals to ‘academic freedom’ or engagement should not prompt an indifference to what our actions imply.”

Bishop Joseph Galante also spoke out, echoing the USCCB statement “Catholics in Political Life.” He said, “[I]t would appear to me to be inappropriate specifically to honor an individual, particularly a prominent public official, who intentionally holds and deliberately advocates positions contrary to fundamental moral principles.”

On the Diocese of Manchester’s website the initial statement by Notre Dame’s Bishop John D’Arcy is published. Above the text is a statement that reads, “Bishop McCormack has expressed his support for Bishop John M. D’Arcy in connection with his position on the decision by the University of Notre Dame to honor President Barack Obama.”

Fmr U.S. Amb. declines Notre Dame award

BREAKING NEWS

Mary Ann Glendon, Former US Ambassador to the Vatican, Refuses to Receive Prestigious Award or Speak at Notre Dame

A woman of principle! An example to us all!

330,000 plus sign Notre Dame petition - More bishops protest

Have you signed?

Nine more bishops say no to Obama at Notre Dame
Has your bishop spoken out?

Click below for updates and list of bishops, forty two in all, who have protested

"Fr. Jenkins will probably lose his job"

http://www.thefoxnation.com/culture/2009/04/21/nine-more-bishops-say-no-bama


Replace Father Jenkins
http://www.replacejenkins.com/

Stop The Notre Dame Scandal!

http://www.notredamescandal.com/

Replace Father Jenkins

www.replacejenkins.com

President Barack Obama invited to be Commencement Speaker & Degree Recipient at the University of Notre Dame on May 17, 2009

Help Stop the Scandal at Our Lady's University!

Sign the Petition!

Take Action Now

Join The Cardinal Newman Society & Catholic Vote.com in the petition to Notre Dame's President Father John Jenkins, C.S.C. along with more than quarter of a million other signatories

“The invitation should be withdrawn. It implies no personal animosity to suggest that Fr. Jenkins and the other Fellows and Trustees responsible for this fiasco should resign or be removed.” Charles Rice – University of Notre Dame The Observer

A 'Fighting Irishman', Charles Rice is the Professor of Law at Notre Dame University

“I cannot think of a single act—one so simple, so innocent, so effective—that serves to do exactly what he [Obama] needs to have done, namely, plunge an arrow into the heart of Catholicism’s opposition to him, what there is of it… From now on, all he has to say is: ‘But, my dear fellow, I was invited to Notre Dame.’” Father James Schall, S.J. – Georgetown University

"As National President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, I must strongly urge you to rescind your invitation to President Obama to give the commencement address at Notre Dame this summer. Coming from the most prominent Catholic University in the country, and possibly the world, what message will this invitation send . . .
The AOH is the largest Irish American Catholic organization in the United States. We contribute to the education of young people who attend Notre Dame . . . I am shocked that this invitation was even considered." - Seamus Boyle, National President AOH

. . . our nation's President has embraced abortion as a tool of social engineering like no other President has dared. His votes and his policies as a Senator and as a President show him to be not just a 'rights' activist but a persecutor of the most defenseless amongst us. He has promised again and again to sign the most extreme bill supporting unlimited abortion, removal of conscience clauses for medical professionals, punishment of Catholic hospitals, mandates for abortion training and insurance companies abortion coverage etc.
He has accepted an invitation to speak at Notre Dame's commencement. The invitation is a consumate disgrace and the President's eager acceptance of it is proof positive he wants to use this as a cover.

I wholeheartedly endorse (the) proposal that we discontinue and sever all ties to the University unless and until it comes to its senses. If they never got another dime from us they have been well served by the AOH and this is the thanks we get?? All colleges are big businesses and ND is no exception. However it uses this "Catholic heritage" phrase when fund raising. What a wonderful example the AOH could set for the Irish people, for the nation and for the defense of Church to announce they will no longer give a dime to ND. Who knows what may follow? We might start a trickle and then an avalanche. - AOH leader, New York

We have done our saber rattling, which I totally agree with, regarding the President giving the commencement speech and receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame. Notre Dame has rendered their decision not to retract their invitation. Now the time has come "to fish or cut bait". I believe that since we have, to our everlasting credit, taken this very strong position in defense of our Catholic faith and the culture of life, we are left with no other choice but to sever relations with Notre Dame. - AOH leader, Massachussetts

What the Bishops' are saying!

Has your Bishop spoken out?

Are your parish priests educating the laity from the pulpit on this scandal and urging protest?

Are your Catholic grammar and high school teachers educating your children and urging protest?

This is a defining moment for the Catholic Church in the United States!

2004 USCCB Statement
"The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." Catholics in Political Life United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Individual Bishops' Response

“Indeed, as a Catholic University, Notre Dame must ask itself, if by this decision it has chosen prestige over truth… Let us ask Our Lady to intercede for the university named in her honor, that it may recommit itself to the primacy of truth over prestige.” Most Rev. John D’Arcy – Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend

“So whatever else is clear, it is clear that Notre Dame didn't understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation, and didn't anticipate the kind of uproar that would be consequent to the decision, at least not to the extent that it has happened.” Most Rev. Francis Cardinal George – Archbishop of Chicago and USCCB President

“I find the invitation very disappointing. . . Particularly troubling is the Honorary Law Degree since it recognizes that the person is a ‘Teacher,’ in this case of the Law. I think that this decision requires charitable but vigorous critique.” Most Rev. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo – Archbishop of Galveston - Houston

“They made a big mistake.” Most Rev. Timothy Dolan – Archbishop of Milwaukee & incoming Archbishop of New York

"It is a travesty that the University of Notre Dame, considered by many to be a Catholic University, should give its public support to such an anti-Catholic politician. I hope that you [Fr. Jenkins] are able to reconsider this decision. If not, please do not expect me to support your University in the future.” Most Rev. John Nienstedt – Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

“President Obama, by word and action, has approved of abortion and other atrocities against human life. Therefore he deserves no recognition at a Catholic institution.” Most Rev. Eusebius Beltran – Archbishop of Oklahoma City

“It pained me to hear that one of the symbols of Catholic education in our nation, Notre Dame University, had extended an invitation to President Obama to speak at its commencement.” Most Rev. John Myers – Archbishop of Newark

“The University of Notre Dame used to be the flagship Catholic university of the United States. I regret that we are not experiencing that leadership and integrity.” Most Rev. Alfred Hughes – Archbishop of New Orleans

“Given her Catholic identity, the University of Notre Dame’s receiving the President as the 2009 commencement speaker and her bestowing on him an honorary doctorate are truly shameful, a scandal to the Church and a major blow to hundreds of thousands who have sacrificed to bring forth a culture of life in our midst.” Most Rev. Joseph Martino and Most Rev. John Dougherty – Bishop and Aux. Bishop of Scranton

“I would ask that you rescind this unfortunate decision and so avoid dishonoring the practicing Catholics of the United States, including those of this Diocese. Failing that, please have the decency to change the name of the University to something like, ‘The Fighting Irish College’ or ‘Northwestern Indiana Humanist University.’” Most Rev. Thomas Doran – Bishop of Rockford

“It is a public act of disobedience to the Bishops of the United States.” Most Rev. Thomas Olmsted – Bishop of Phoenix

“In my opinion, it is very clear that in this case the University of Notre Dame does not live up to its Catholic identity in giving this award and their leadership needs our prayerful support.” Most Rev. Gregory Aymond – Bishop of Austin

“It is a very prestigious platform to offer a President who is leading the battle for an expansion of abortion rights which may ultimately end up being unparalleled in recent history.” Most Rev. Robert Lynch – Bishop of St. Petersburg

“For President Obama to be honored by Notre Dame is more than a disappointment, it is a scandal – especially to young adults. His being honored by Notre Dame will make it easier for a woman who contemplates abortion to actually submit herself to this cruel and deadly procedure.” Most Rev. Edward Slattery – Bishop of Tulsa

“Catholic institutions of higher learning must always be places where the Catholic values we hold so dearly will always be supported and promoted – not where the culture of death is allowed to be honored or valued.” Most Rev. R. Walker Nickless – Bishop of Sioux City

“It is disheartening and distressing when an institution that is regarded as Catholic, such as Notre Dame, fails to follow the guidelines set forth by the Bishops of the Catholic Church, especially in these vital moral matters.” Dr. Paul Schenck on behalf of Most Rev. Kevin Rhoades – Bishop of Harrisburg

“Notre Dame extended this invitation unilaterally, seemingly without regard for the consequences for the mission of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is contrary to the efforts of bishops, parish priests, and laity to resist the anti-life decisions, policies, and legislation promoted by the Obama administration.” Most Rev. William Lori – Bishop of Bridgeport

Three More Bishops Oppose Notre Dame Invite

USCCB President, Three More Bishops Oppose ND Honor for Obama

At a conference last Saturday, March 28, Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), labeled the University of Notre Dame’s decision to honor and host President Obama at the May 17 commencement an “extreme embarrassment” to Catholics, according to a report by LifeSiteNews.com. George is a leading voice in a rapidly growing list of bishops, now also including Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City, and Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Harrisburg, criticizing Notre Dame’s recent scandalous invitation. “It is a true blessing that so many Church leaders are addressing the Notre Dame scandal in such a direct and unambiguous way,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society.

In his talk over last weekend, Cardinal George alluded to President Obama’s pro-abortion positions, noting that, “the problem is in that you have a Catholic university - the flagship Catholic university - do something that brought extreme embarrassment to many, many people who are Catholic. . . So whatever else is clear,” the Cardinal continued, “it is clear that Notre Dame didn't understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation, and didn't anticipate the kind of uproar that would be consequent to the decision, at least not to the extent that it has happened.”

Cardinal George urged concerned Catholics to continue calling, e-mailing and writing letters to Notre Dame expressing “the embarrassment, the difficulties.” The Cardinal Newman Society’s (CNS) petition at NotreDameScandal.com calling on Notre Dame to rescind the honors for President Obama has grown to more than 225,000 names in a week and a half. In addition to Cardinal George’s statements, three more bishops have addressed the scandal:

In a letter dated March 31 to Notre Dame President Father John Jenkins, Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa wrote: “For President Obama to be honored by Notre Dame is more than a disappointment, it is a scandal – especially to young adults. His being honored by Notre Dame will make it easier for a woman who contemplates abortion to actually submit herself to this cruel and deadly procedure.”

Bishop Walker Nickless of Sioux City wrote in the diocesan news outlet The Catholic Globe that: “This is truly a sad day for the famous university dedicated to our Blessed Mother. I encourage those who care to write to Father Jenkins and express their displeasure with this invitation. May Father Jenkins have the courage to rescind this invitation and not be afraid of the possible embarrassment by admitting that he has made a bad decision. Catholic institutions of higher learning must always be places where the Catholic values we hold so dearly will always be supported and promoted – not where the culture of death is allowed to be honored or valued.”

Excerpts from a letter by Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Harrisburg to Fr. Jenkins are due to be publicly released today; however, some of the content was made public via a letter from the Harrisburg Director of the Respect Life Activities office. In the letter, the director Paul Schenck writes on behalf of the bishop: “Bishop Rhoades also supports those who exercise their freedom of conscience and speech to express their opposition to the university’s decision to have President Obama as commencement speaker and honoree.” He continues: “It is disheartening and distressing when an institution that is regarded as Catholic, such as Notre Dame, fails to follow the guidelines set forth by the Bishops of the Catholic Church, especially in these vital moral matters. It is not political nor partisan to stand for the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the human person. President Obama clearly does not stand for or advance the cause of the defenseless unborn and their mothers and families. This is the tragic reality we must come to terms with as Catholics living in an increasingly secular environment.”

The complete list of responses from bishops to the Notre Dame scandal is posted in the Resources section at NotreDameScandal.com.

The Cardinal Newman Society is encouraging Catholics to join their prayers to those of the students at NDResponse.com on Sunday, April 5, at 2:40 p.m. as they pray the Holy Rosary for an end to the scandal at the University of Notre Dame.

Written By: CNSwebDate Posted: 4/1/2009Number of Views: 689

Is Notre Dame Still Catholic?

Is Notre Dame Still Catholic?
by Patrick J. Buchanan
03/31/200



By inviting Barack Obama to deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree at Notre Dame, the Rev. John Jenkins has polarized the Catholic community nationwide -- and raised a question. What does it mean to be a Catholic university in post-Christian America?

Are there truths about faith and morality that are closed to debate at Notre Dame? Or is Notre Dame like London's Hyde Park, where all ideas and all advocates get a hearing?
To Catholics, abortion is the killing of an unborn child, a premeditated breach of God's Commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill." The case is closed for all time. Any who participate in an abortion are excommunicated. Catholic politicians from Nancy Pelosi to Joe Biden who support a "woman's right to choose" have been denounced from pulpits and denied Communion. Obama, however, is the most pro-abortion president ever. On his third day in office, by executive order, he repealed the Bush prohibition against using tax dollars to fund agencies abroad that perform abortions.

He supports partial-birth abortion, where a baby's soft skull is sliced open with scissors in the birth canal and its brains sucked out to ease its passage, a procedure Sen. Pat Moynihan said "comes as close to infanticide as anything I have seen in our judiciary." In the Illinois legislature, Obama helped block the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, a bill to save the lives of infant survivors of abortion. He voted to allow doctors and nurses to let these tiny babies die of neglect and be tossed out with the medical waste. Barack is committed to signing the Freedom of Choice Act, which would repeal every federal and state restriction on abortion. He has smoothed the path for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Notre Dame, a university that teaches that all innocent human life is sacred, will thus honor a leader determined to ensure that a woman's right to destroy her unborn child in the womb remains unrestricted.There is thus a direct clash between what Notre Dame professes to stand for and what Notre Dame is doing. Says Ralph McInerny, a philosophy professor since 1955: "By inviting Barack Obama to be the 2009 commencement speaker, Notre Dame has forfeited its right to call itself a Catholic University.... (T)his is a deliberate thumbing of the collective nose at the Roman Catholic Church to which Notre Dame purports to be faithful.

"Faithful? Tell it to Julian the Apostate."

McInerny calls Father Jenkins' invitation to Obama worse than the "usual effort of the university to get into warm contact with the power figures of the day. It is an unequivocal abandonment of any pretense at being a Catholic university." An honorary degree, writes Catholic author George Weigel, is a statement that here is a man we should admire and emulate. But how can a Catholic university say that about a man who means to appoint Supreme Court justices who will keep constitutional and legal the systematic slaughter of the unborn that has taken 50 million lives in 35 years? Can Father Jenkins not see the contradiction here that renders Notre Dame a morally incoherent institution?

Diocesan Bishop John D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend has told Father Jenkins he will not be attending commencement because of Obama's support of embryonic stem cell research.
Said the bishop, "While claiming to separate policies from science, (Obama) has in fact separated science from ethics and has brought the American government, for the first time in history, into supporting direct destruction of innocent human life."

Pope Benedict has yet to be heard from. But on his visit to the United States, he declared that any appeal to academic freedom "to justify positions that contradict the faith and teaching of the church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission."
Does not honoring the most visible pro-abortion advocate in America "betray the identity and mission" of Notre Dame? Father Jenkins says the invitation "should not be taken as condoning or endorsing his positions on specific issues regarding the protection of human life."
But what Notre Dame is saying with this invitation is that Obama's 100 percent support for policies and programs that bring death to more than a million unborn children every year is no disqualification to being honored by a university dedicated to Our Lady who carried to term the Son of God.

Chris Carrington, a political science major, regards the opposition to Obama's appearance as un-Catholic: "To not allow someone here because of their beliefs would seem a little hypocritical and contradictory to what the mission of the university and church should be." The obtuse Carrington has stumbled on the relevant question: Is Notre Dame still a repository, teacher and exemplar of eternal truths about God and Man, right and wrong, whose mission is to convey and defend those truths in a hostile world? Or has Notre Dame joined the secularists in their endless scavenger hunt to seek and find truth in the marketplace of ideas?

Courtesy of disillusioned former altar boy

Bishop Blasts Notre Dame President

Bishop Olmsted Blasts ND President Fr. Jenkins, Cites USCCB Policy Conflict

Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix wrote by e-mail to Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. yesterday, March 25, to express his disapproval of the “grave mistake” of inviting pro-abortion President Barack Obama to commencement. This news comes as the national petition protesting Notre Dame’s decision to honor Obama, at NotreDameScandal.com, surpasses 167,000 supporters. “The message is unequivocal and unrelenting: there is no way for Notre Dame to justify honoring President Obama given his clear record on issues that stand in direct opposition to fundamental Catholic teachings,” said Patrick Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society.

Bishop Olmsted’s opposition joins that of Notre Dame’s Bishop John D’Arcy, who on Tuesday, March 24, announced his public boycott of the May 17 commencement ceremonies because of the honor provided President Obama. Both bishops cited the USCCB June 2004 Statement, “Catholics in Political Life,” as support for their opposition. That statement says, “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” Also yesterday, nearly a dozen student groups from Notre Dame launched the website www.NDResponse.com, outlining their protest and opposition to the selection of President Obama as commencement speaker.

In his e-mail to Father Jenkins, Bishop Olmsted called the selection of Obama “a public act of disobedience to the Bishops of the United States,” and a “grave mistake.” Mike Phelan, Director of Marriage and Respect Life for the Diocese of Phoenix, gave the following introduction to Bishop Olmsted’s letter to Father Jenkins. "Due to the fact that the invitation by Notre Dame’s president, Fr. John Jenkins, to President Barack Obama to give the commencement speech at Notre Dame’s May graduation is a public act causing widespread public scandal due to the U.S. President’s clear support of policies which fail to protect and even attack innocent human life, Bishop Olmsted has given permission to release the attached email text publicly."

Bishop Thomas Olmsted

Letter From Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, Diocese of Phoenix to Fr. Jenkins, President of Notre Dame

To enlarge letter, click on it.

Is Obama worth a Mass?

The Catholic Thing
Sunday, 22 March 2009

Is Obama Worth a Mass?
Print this article
Email this article

By Ralph McInerny
Now that the abortion president will be honored and feted and listened to at Notre Dame’s commencement, the question becomes, who will say the commencement Mass?

The University of Notre Dame has officially and with much self-satisfaction invited President Barack Obama to address its 2009 graduates and to receive an honorary law degree. Not to put too fine a point on it, this is a deliberate thumbing of the collective nose at the Roman Catholic Church to which Notre Dame purports to be faithful. Faithful? Tell it to Julian the Apostate.

That someone who procures or advocates abortion thereby excludes himself from communion with the Church has been clear doctrine all along, and increasingly bishops have found the courage to tell those Catholic politicians who are the great enablers of abortion legislation that they cannot receive Holy Communion. Is it any worse to celebrate such a politician as Barack Obama? So where does that put ND President Father Jenkins? He can hardly say Mass without receiving the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, so doubtless he will recuse himself and have someone else say the Mass. But to whom will he go? All his cohorts must come under the same cloud as he. Perhaps the pastor of the president’s erstwhile church in Chicago will be invited to harangue the assembled graduates and parents and faculty – those who can bring themselves to attend commencement this year. Why not?

Perhaps because, having been reminded of the sermons he heard over the years, Barack Obama distanced himself, as they say, from the fiery orator at whose feet he sat for decades. In this, whatever his motives, he has perhaps pointed a way for the Notre Dame administrators to redeem themselves. Perhaps they are unaware of Obama’s record on abortion. Perhaps they have not been paying attention to what he has already done as president. On being reminded of all this, and mindful of the parlous position this puts them into vis-a-vis the Church if they thus celebrate the president, perhaps they will as publicly rescind their invitation as they have issued it? Don’t count on it.

Continue reading, click below:

http://www.thecatholicthing.org/content/view/1346/

Protest Impending Notre Dame Scandal

The Fighting Irish Say No to Obama at Notre Dame!

Tens of Thousands have signed to stop this travesty!

Stay updated at: www.notredamescandal.com

President Barack Obama - Commencement Speaker at Notre Dame

Help Stop the Scandal at Our Lady's University!

Take Action Now

Join the petition opposing Notre Dame's decision to host and honor President Barack Obama at commencement.

The Cardinal Newman Society, CatholicVote.org & tens of thousands of petitioner say NO!!!!

For insightful commentary: National Review and The Catholic Thing. Plus continuing coverage: American Papist

1. Add your name to the petition to Fr. John Jenkins, President of Notre Dame by clicking here.

2. Invite your friends to sign the petition by clicking here.

3. Contact Fr. Jenkins: Call him at 574.631.5000, fax him at 574.631.2770, write a personal email president@nd.edu, or mail your letter to 317 Main Building, Notre Dame, IN 465564. Pray for Our Lady's intercession that Notre Dame, which is named after our Lady, will stay true to its Catholic heritage and identity.

PETITION to Father Jenkins, President of the University of Notre Dame

Dear Father Jenkins:

It has come to our attention that the University of Notre Dame will honor President Barack Obama as its commencement speaker on May 17. It is an outrage and a scandal that “Our Lady’s University,” one of the premier Catholic universities in the United States, would bestow such an honor on President Obama given his clear support for policies and laws that directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage.

This nation has many thousands of accomplished leaders in the Catholic Church, in business, in law, in education, in politics, in medicine, in social services, and in many other fields who would be far more appropriate choices to receive such an honor from the University of Notre Dame. Instead Notre Dame has chosen prestige over principles, popularity over morality. Whatever may be President Obama’s admirable qualities, this honor comes on the heels of some of the most anti-life actions of any American president, including expanding federal funding for abortions and inviting taxpayer-funded research on stem cells from human embryos. The honor also comes amid great concern among Catholics nationwide about President Obama’s future impact on American society, the family, and the Catholic Church on issues such as traditional marriage, conscience protections for Catholic doctors and nurses, and expansion of abortion “rights.”

This honor is clearly a direct violation of the U.S. bishops’ 2004 mandate in “Catholics in Political Life”: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

We prayerfully implore you to halt this travesty immediately. We do so with the hope that Catholics nationwide will likewise call on you to uphold the sacred mission of your Catholic university. May God grant you the courage and wisdom to do what is right.
Sincerely,
Click Here to Add Your Name