Posted on 03/23/2009 4:32:01 PM PDT by Hawk720
The University of Notre Dame is sticking with its invitation to President Obama to speak at its May 17 commencement despite criticism from some Roman Catholics that his views on abortion and stem cell research run counter to Catholic teachings.
"I don't foresee a circumstance in which we would rescind the invitation," Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown told The Associated Press in an e-mail message Monday.
The Cardinal Newman Society, an advocacy group for greater orthodoxy on Catholic college and university campuses, has set up a protest Web page, notredamescandal.com, that includes the phone number, e-mail and mailing addresses of Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins.
The group calls Obama's upcoming commencement appearance "an outrage and a scandal."
Jenkins issued a statement Monday saying that the invitation did not mean that Notre Dame supported all of Obama's positions.
"The invitation to President Obama to be our Commencement speaker should not be taken as condoning or endorsing his positions on specific issues regarding the protection of human life, including abortion and embryonic stem cell research," Jenkins said. ... But the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Washington-based Jesuit, said Monday that the "controversy over commencement speakers at Catholic universities pops up every spring along with the tulips."
He called the uproar over the president's visit "absurd."
"If Cardinal Edward Egan of New York can invite Obama to speak at the Al Smith dinner in October of 2008 when he was only a presidential candidate, then there is certainly nothing wrong with Notre Dame having the President speak at a commencement," said Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Let’s see how long it is before they are awarded a Kennedy ‘Profile in Courage’ award for this.
Can someone tell me why Notre Dame college football is on TV every week during football season?
Rev. Thomas Reese, a Washington-based Jesuit
The key here is Washington based. I think the Rev. has been corrupted.
I'm not sure about the Jesuits but I left the Catholic Church about that time. Supporting the commies and their murder. Evil has overtaken the church especially in the USA. I will never go back.
Because as a non-conference team, they signed their own TV contract.
Notre Dame should be shunned by all believing Catholics. This is a despicable act by a President who has clearly abandoned the Faith but lacks the courage to leave the priesthood. A scandalous act.
Both Presidents Bush were invited.
No kidding.....very sad state of affairs.
That sound you heard was the simultaneous slam of countless alumni slamming their checkbooks shut. I know had I gone there, they could expect a very cold reception from me next time they came with their hands outstretched.
I guess they don’t “seek wise counsel” before inviting pro-abortion folks...
They have their own TV contract. Seriously...
Dear Rev. Jenkins,
In the not-too-distant future, when my children will have reached college age, I anticipated a trip to South Bend with them in the hope that they’d be persuaded to apply to Notre Dame.
Recent events at the university have, however, caused me the reconsider those plans.
I intend, instead, to encourage them to apply to a Catholic university.
OK thanks .... must be a tradition then to invite presidents ...
Hey, Father Reese, you used to be a magazine editor, didn’t you? Something happen to make you lose that job? Kinda sore about it, Padre?
Fr. Jenkins is one of the problems here. While he is the university's president, he doesn't seem to know how to lead. During Monk Malloy's tenure as president, he allowed the Vagina Monologues to be presented on campus. Although there was a tremendous uproar with the alums, Monk liked the idea of being a secular university and abandoned his religion in order to favor a group of professors in the faculty senate who flexed their muscles. Ugh....Jenkins is a bit of a theology nut, yet he has no guts. He has condemned the content of the Vagina Monologues in exchange for mollifying the faculty senate (otherwise why not just ban it?). So the decision to invite Obama is not a surprise. They are all enthralled with the Obama rock star personna and want to be part of the show. Ugh.
I gave up donating two years ago and yesterday spoke to a very heavy donor who is not going to donate and will be taking his money off the table. He is unhappy. Notre Dame understands money, they seem to have forgotten about their Catholicity along the way. Ugh.
Was listening to EWTN (Catholic Radio Network) today and on a call-in show, people were expressing their opinions about Obama being invited to Notre Dame. Some woman called in talking about how she supports Obama BECAUSE she is a good Catholic. Made the “womb to tomb” argument about human bio-ethics. That’s what Catholics who have fallen from their faith say when what they mean is “we’ll accept abortion as long as we get universal health care and end capital punishment ... “.
Looks to me like many American Catholics have no valid reason to knock Jews from America for abandoning Israel for the left.
I guess leftism and evil trump faith.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.