Highlights: Received Communion from Father John Corapi at the Mass in the Grotto conducted by Father Frank Pavone.
Stood with Ted Kopple (don't know network affiliate anymore) and Grif Jenkens (Fox News) while at Mass. Has video of entire events from Saturday morning through Sunday evening.
Many interviews with those witnessing for Life (and a few clips of the Pro-Choice activists). Hopes to have them up on his blog with Craig Edwards at Committed to Romney.
Said all but four men were peaceful and respectful. Arrests were made only when Protesters trespassed on the Notre Dame campus to protest. Otherwise all were welcome and treated with kindness. Arrests were “scheduled” for every two to three hours. Only volunteers to be so were allowed (as it gets expensive at $250 a pop).
There is a movement (for which the arrests were allowed) to set the precedence to remove Fr. Jenkens via Canon Law. I hope he realizes what his efforts have cost him. Be of good cheer. Witnesses were there. Small single engine plane flying Pro-Life banner overhead entire two days. Trucks circling the campus. Campus looked lovely (as it always does in May). Students for life were about 125 out of class of 2200. 25 graduated at the Grotto with Fr. Pavone -- about 100 wore the cross and feet on the top of the mortars. Could have been more, but thankful for those who supported it.
Oh, Air Force One “buzzed” the Grotto at about 12:15 p.m. He said it was still the most awesome sight in the world. Men in black stationed around the campus were enjoying a day made in Heaven and stayed “strictly out of sight”.
God bless all who attended and worked and love this country.
I can't seem to find any comprehensive accountrs of what actually happened on the 17th. This was at Lucianne.com
http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=470757
"Pro-life protesters were being arrested as soon as they came through Notre Dame's main gate. Here's 80-year-old Fr. Norman Weslin being arrested, handcuffed and carried away, the first video at this site
http://www.stopobamanotredame.com/
I think the arrest total was 39, and included Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" of "Roe vs Wade," who repented of her role in the legalization of abortion iand is now a pro-life Catholic.
The rest of the protestors decided not to risk arrest, but fanned out along both sides of the 2 mile route from the Interstate 80-90 exit to the campus's main entrance with their posters and banners. How many? I never heard a police estimate. Thousands.
Jill Stanek has good pictures at this site:
http://www.jillstanek.com/
Then there were the crowds at the alternative commencement in the Grotto, where Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life handed out the diplomas to the pro-life graduating seniors who didn't want to attend the regular commencement with Obama (the Grotto was jammed full, over 1,000 people), and another thousand viewing the alternative ceremony via big screens on the South Quad.
It's hard to get a total of particants, since when the arrests were made, people scattered to whatever non-arrest streetcorners they could find, including in South Bend itself, where some groups had permits for legal protest.
When I find sites with good pictures or videos I will post some more here on L-dot. "