Posted on 05/10/2009 11:32:33 AM PDT by wagglebee
SOUTH BEND — As soon as it was announced March 20 that President Barack Obama would be the University of Notre Dame's commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree, the reaction started.
Online petitions by some Catholic groups were launched that day, denouncing the decision by the Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, to honor Obama, who is pro-choice and who on March 9 had given approval for expanded fetal stem-cell research.
Pro-life activists have flooded into town, conducting rallies and petition drives, standing at Notre Dame's main gate holding large photos of aborted babies. Airplanes have been flying above the city towing banners, and trucks are being driven along city streets, showing graphic abortion photos and demanding Notre Dame cancel the president's visit to campus, where 85 percent of undergraduates and 53 percent of faculty identify themselves as Catholic.
The Most Rev. John M. D'Arcy, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, announced he will not attend commencement because of Obama's presence.
"Even as I continue to ponder in prayer these events, which many have found shocking, so must Notre Dame," D'Arcy said in a written statement a few days after the announcement of the president's visit. "Indeed, as a Catholic University, Notre Dame must ask itself, if by this decision it has chosen prestige over truth."
Some are demanding that Jenkins be fired for honoring a president who doesn't adhere to moral teachings of the Catholic Church.
Student opinions vary
Emily Toates, a Notre Dame senior from Dallas, won't attend commencement. A vice president of the campus Right to Life group, Toates instead will spend
Sunday afternoon at a rally and a prayer vigil for life.
She said she understands the flood of outside activism surrounding Obama's visit.
"Notre Dame is a symbol of Catholicism in America. I think a lot of Catholics out there when they see something going on at Notre Dame, it's something really personal to them, and they feel they have to do something about it," Toates said.
But many Notre Dame seniors are pleased the president will be their commencement speaker.
"I'm really happy that he's coming to campus," said senior Heidi Torres-Fewell, of Taos, N.M. "The negative attention is embarrassing. He's not coming to speak to us about political views."
"The bottom line is, whether you're pro-life or pro-choice, he's the president of the United States. Nowhere on those invitations does it say, 'Come join us for an abortion debate,' " said senior Francesca Jimenez of Espanola, N.M.
Jimenez, who said she is pro-choice but not pro-abortion, was born and raised Catholic. She's still a strong Christian, but after four years at Notre Dame, she's no longer a practicing Catholic.
"I learned more about the doctrine here," she said. "It was kind of a turnoff, especially after something like this controversy happened, with people backing up their beliefs by saying they're Catholic."
Jimenez said her views on abortion have been influenced by her experiences with pregnant teens at a public high school where she worked as a student teacher.
Many who condemn abortion have no experience with the struggle of living in dire poverty, she said.
Chris Labadie said he thought it was a joke when he first heard Obama would be the speaker. "I hadn't thought of it as a possibility," said Labadie, a graduating senior from Kalamazoo and chair of Notre Dame Response, a coalition of conservative student groups on campus that oppose the Obama visit and honorary degree.
"For a university which is supposed to be Catholic, founded on the ideals of the Catholic Church, to invite a speaker who so blatantly goes against its core beliefs seems contradictory," he said.
Giving the president an honorary degree makes it worse, said Labadie, a theology major and former seminarian. He said it would be more acceptable if Obama were coming to campus to participate in a debate or other academic event. In that case, other speakers would have had a say, too.
Labadie said he considered not attending commencement but has decided to go for family reasons. "I'm not going to let (Obama) ruin my four years," he said.
Graduates who oppose the speaker will be respectful, rising when the president is introduced, but will discourage applause, he said.
Jenkins' explanation
Jenkins, who is in the fourth year of a five-year term as Notre Dame's president, turned down a Tribune request for an interview. So did D'Arcy.
In a letter Jenkins wrote to the Notre Dame trustees that became public in mid-April, the university president said the selection of Obama as commencement speaker follows the "letter and spirit" of a statement passed by U.S. bishops in 2004.
The same statement, titled "Catholics in Public Life," also is cited by critics as a reason Obama should not have been invited.
The statement declares: "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."
In his letter, Jenkins wrote that the bishops' statement refers specifically to honoring Catholics whose actions are not in accord with the Catholic Church's moral teachings. Obama is Protestant.
"This interpretation was supported by canon lawyers we consulted, who advised us that, by definition, only Catholics who implicitly recognize the authority of Church teaching can act in 'defiance' of it," Jenkins wrote. "Moreover, fellow university presidents have told me that their bishops have told them that in fact it is only Catholic politicians who are referred to in this document."
Notre Dame officials declined to identify the canon law experts or university presidents whom they consulted.
Jenkins wrote that he continuously has indicated he disagrees with Obama on abortion and stem cell issues. "If we repeatedly and clearly state that we do not support the President on these issues, we cannot be understood to 'suggest support,' " he wrote.
D'Arcy issued a written statement in response, saying Jenkins' justification was flawed. The bishop said that if Jenkins had questions, he should have consulted D'Arcy, not other university presidents.
More than 70 U.S. Catholic bishops have publicly criticized Notre Dame for honoring Obama.
Jenkins did make one address after the Obama firestorm started.
"We are very proud and honored to welcome the first African-American president of the United States in a few weeks as our commencement speaker," Jenkins told an audience that gathered April 18 on campus to celebrate 60 years of black student athletes at the university. Jenkins received cheers and a standing ovation.
"President Obama clearly could have chosen any university in the country to give a commencement address, and they would have been just delighted to have him, but he's coming to Notre Dame, and we're exceptionally proud," the priest said.
"I think it's unfortunate that the great event of President Obama coming to this campus has been a little clouded by that controversy," he said, "but we believe what we believe, and we're clear on that, but at the same time, we recognize this remarkable leader and this remarkable person who has accomplished so much."
Except that there is NOTHING "great" about it.
Pro-Life Ping
Ping for your lists.
Freepmail wagglebee or DirtyHarryY2K to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
“Jimenez, who said she is pro-choice but not pro-abortion, was born and raised Catholic. She’s still a strong Christian, but after four years at Notre Dame, she’s no longer a practicing Catholic.”
Hmmm?
When you honor someone with obvious moral turpitude towards life, someone who obviously turns his back on the fifth commandment when it is convenient for him, it does ‘suggest support’. It can mean nothing else. To say otherwise is arrogant and self serving.
Osama Bin Laden is not Catholic. Does that change the evil in what he has done, Father Jenkins?
All of these "pro-choice" types need to see how comfortable they are saying this:
"I am personally opposed to murder, rape, arson and armed robbery, but I think it would be wrong of me to tell others that they shouldn't commit murder, rape, arson and armed robbery."
There is a real Catholic University being developed in Florida by Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monagham. It’s called Ave Maria University. Monagham has an interesting background...raised in an ophanage...very, very, devout Catholic and pro-lifer. ND Alumni should donate to Ave Maria instead of ND as it’s been corrupted.
Obviously not.
Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH
University of Dallas
Benedictine College, Atchison, KS
Belmont Abbey College
Christendom College
Wyoming Catholic College
Southern Catholic College
Magdalen College, NH
Thomas Aquinas College, CA
Aquinas College, TN
Just to name a few. My son starts at Steubenville in the fall.
Jimenez, who said she is pro-choice but not pro-abortion, was born and raised Catholic. She’s still a strong Christian, but after four years at Notre Dame, she’s no longer a practicing Catholic.
“I learned more about the doctrine here,” she said. “It was kind of a turnoff, especially after something like this controversy happened, with people backing up their beliefs by saying they’re Catholic.”
Like, what a turn-off. Those repressive old people just want to ruin my fun.
Comments like this tell you exactly where Notre Dame is today.
“She’s still a strong Christian..”
Without being flippant, I would like to know from Jimenez what it means to be a “strong Christian”.
“..said senior Heidi Torres-Fewell, of Taos, N.M. —Snip— “He’s not coming to speak to us about political views.”
Hey Heidi, are all ND seniors as naive as you? Your parents certainly wasted their good money on you.
Father Jenkins can still save the day and all embarrassment for the university by:
1-Removing the statue on the dome and the mural.
2-Disclaiming the Catholic origins of the University.
3-Renaming the school.
4-Not allowing priests to wear the Roman collar at graduation ceremonies.
In the past ten years or so, the good priests at Notre Dame seem to have forgotten how to be Catholics themselves when they fired Joe Moore telling him he was too old, or when they humiliated George O'Leary after themselves failing to do a background check on his resume, or on again humiliating one of their own, Paul Hornung, who merely pointed out the obvious in perhaps an inarticulate manner, or on how they treat alumni and fans at football game tailgate parties. None of those are moments of which to be happy. I am not proud of the leadership of my alma mater and it isn't just over the Obama invitation.
So, why didn't you ask YOUR OWN bishop??
And why hasn’t a SINGLE BISHOP publicly stated this?
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.