Posted on 04/22/2009 4:20:41 PM PDT by wagglebee
SOUTH BEND, Indiana, April 22, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews.com has obtained an email written by Fr. Peter Jarrett of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, in response to a concerned Catholic regarding the school's decision to invite President Obama to give the commencement speech and receive an honorary degree May 17. Fr. Jarrett is the religious superior of University of Notre Dame President and Holy Cross priest Fr. John Jenkins.
In the email, Fr. Jarrett emphasizes the event as an opportunity to "engage and possibly dialogue" with Obama on life issues. Jarrett also criticizes pro-life Catholics' negative reaction, saying that aiming "anger, hate, and vitriol" at the "wildly popular" president would only damage the pro-life movement.
Following is the full text of the email:
Dear ________,
I hope that you had a blessed Easter. I just wanted to write to say that I received your letter regarding the invitation of President Obama to speak at Commencement. While I am not personally part of the decision making process for Commencement, I know that this decision has caused pain for many people.
My prayer is that the President's visit here will in the end result in some positive engagement on the issues surrounding the sanctity of life. While Commencement itself may not provide much of an opportunity, I hope that a positive experience at Notre Dame will allow us to be heard in the future on this vital issue. I do not think that President Obama was raised in a pro-life tradition, so the opportunity to engage and possibly dialogue with him on these issues in the years to come could be a positive outcome of this event.
If I may say on a personal level, independent of the decision to invite the President - he is the president of the United States, and a majority of people - Catholics included - voted for him. So to use phrases like "a modern day Hitler" ends up insulting a lot of people, and in my opinion, does harm to the pro-life movement. It is hard for many to see a reasonable argument in saying a duly elected president who is wildly popular is worse than Hitler - most people will simply turn you off. I do not think he is out to get Catholics, nor do I think he is an evil man daring the Church to stop him. He doesn't believe life begins at conception - the issue isn't as important to him as it is to us. The question we struggle with is, how do we educate him and try and convince him of the truth? Anger, hate and vitriol won't work I do not think. We are not a sectarian religion - history has shown we do best when we engage the world - science, culture, politics, economics - all of it. That is why most bishops refrain from not giving communion to Catholic politicians. It is also why Catholic universities play such an important role - they are often the crossroads where all this can come together. Certainly mistakes can be made, but they are often done in good faith to try and engage the world. Notre Dame strongly opposed the President's view on abortion, and wants to help change it.
Regarding Notre Dame, you can be assured that it remains a very Catholic place. If you could have seen the thousand-plus people waiting in line for each of the Triduum services here on campus, or the wonderful faith of our students and the work they and the University does daily for the poor, the unborn, the intellectual life of the Church. There is a lot more to Notre Dame and its vibrant Catholicism than who is invited to commencement.
In any event, my point in writing was not one of debate but the desire to acknowledge your e-mail and to thank you for taking the time to write. Please know of my prayers for a blessed remainder of the Easter Season.
Fr. Pete
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Notre Dame's Bishop Rebukes Jenkins' Defense of Obama Honor
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042205.html
Exclusive Interview: Head of Holy Cross Order on Sanctions against Notre Dame Pres., "That's Rather Extreme"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040206.html
ND President's Religious Superior Says Jenkins "Fulfilling Responsibilities" of President
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032708.html
Hey moron, the majority of the people also voted for Hitler. Clear-cut moral issues ARE NOT determined by majority opinion.
Pro-Life Ping
Ping for your lists.
“Regarding Notre Dame, you can be assured that it remains a very Catholic place.”
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I guess that means that I’m not a Catholic.
Oh, and the Pope isn’t either.
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This may seem petty, but I have noticed this for years: priests who call themselves “Fr. Pete” instead of “Fr. Barrett” are usually buffoons (at best). This guy is a good example.
Father Pete needs to be fired and ex-communicated.
Boy, no wonder we have problems. Beyond the totally non-Catholic bent of this missive, it is about as poorly written as a letter could be. That someone this illiterate could rise to the leadership of the Congregation of the Holy Cross is pathetic.
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I agree. I am comfortable using first names IN PRIVATE with clergymen (Catholic and Protestant) who I am friends with personally; however, in a public setting I think that their title (Father, Reverend, Doctor, etc.) should be used with their LAST NAME.
Obama will never change his mind because he's proven over and over again to be a radical on abortion. This letter is naive.
And welcoming him with open arms and praise helps the movement how?
The question of when life begins IS important to the culture of death, just as it is to the culture of life. Apparently, it IS NOT important to these apostate apologists for the culture of death.
Wonder if a gay marriage supporter were to speak at a Catholic College if the same ire of the Bishops would be aroused. Somehow gay marriage is making its ways through the various states without much public outcry from the Bishops.
There is no dialogue . . . Obama believes it’s ok to kill a newborn by exposure or suffocation in a medical waste bin if the baby’s so-called mother want it dead. There’s not much dialogue with that kind of monster. He’s a puke. The ND Religious Superior should be stripped of his job and excommunicated. Nothing short of that. How the hell did he get that job???????
Inviting O to ND to “engage and debate” is one thing, but to have O give the commencement speech AND receive an honorary degree is quite another level of bum-kissing.
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