Posted on 04/22/2010 4:33:30 PM PDT by wagglebee
SOUTH BEND, Indiana, April 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - While numerous pro-life protesters who were arrested for trespassing at the University of Notre Dame last year continue to face up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine, anti-military and pro-gay demonstrators who were previously arrested on campus had their charges dropped, according to a shocking new investigation by the Sycamore Trust. Furthermore, the president of the University, Fr. John Jenkins, has reportedly refused to discuss the disparate treatment.
William Dempsey, Notre Dame alumnus and president of the Sycamore Trust, notes in the organization's latest bulletin that Jenkins has responded to inquiries about the pro-lifers (who were arrested last May while peacefully protesting Obama’s commencement speech and honorary degree) by saying that, "The University cannot have one set of rules for causes we oppose, and another more lenient set of rules for causes we support. We have one consistent set of rules for demonstrations on campus – no matter the cause."
While Notre Dame does not have power to drop the charges, the University's recommendation to dismiss would likely carry great weight with the St. Joseph County prosecutor.
Dempsey says that "we doubted that any organization would saddle itself with such an inflexible policy." Hence, his organization set about investigating how past trespassers have been treated.
It turns out that members of the pro-gay group Soulforce, and Catholic Worker anti-ROTC demonstrators, who were arrested for trespassing on campus in March 2007, were let off scot free. Dempsey says that he interviewed participants in each case, who "all state that, after they were taken into custody and processed on the campus, they were released and heard nothing more." It is unclear whether the decision not to pursue the cases further was made by the university or the district prosecutors, although the Trust suggests that it originated with the university.
Having related the information to Notre Dame, says Dempsey, a spokesman replied that "this exchange is no longer serving any purpose from our perspective, and, as a result, we have decided to discontinue communications with you on this topic."
After writing Fr. Jenkins, the Trust reported that "his brief response was not encouraging."
"He seconded the spokesman’s termination of the discussion and he characterized as 'not warranted' unidentified 'inferences' and 'assumptions' in Bill Dempsey’s wide-ranging exchanges with the University spokesman, but he did not dispute the facts respecting the Soulforce and Catholic Workers arrests."
"The stark facts, then," the Trust alleges, "are that the University has treated pro-gay and anti-military demonstrators far more generously than pro-life demonstrators and that it declines to explain why.
"The mystery of the University’s attitude toward the pro-life demonstrators deepens."
The bulletin further points out how the prosecution of the pro-life "Notre Dame 88" can and already has wreaked havoc on the defendants' lives, even prior to sentencing: the Trust reports that one defendant and her husband have already been declined as foster parents thanks to the trespassing charges.
"The University’s position is bewildering, for there are many compelling reasons for the University to recommend to the prosecutor that he drop these cases," notes the group. "The University’s stance obviously impairs Father Jenkins’s post-Obama efforts to shore up Notre Dame’s pro-life credentials. The demonstrators are intensely dedicated and include many notably sympathetic individuals."
"The question, then, is why the University persists in endorsing these prosecutions."
To sign a petition to free the ND 88, click here.
For University of Notre Dame contact information, click here.
See recent LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Notre Dame Releases New Pro-Life Statement after Obama Dust Up
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10041310.html
Document Reveals Inconsistencies in ND's Jenkins Claims on ND88
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10020811.html
Scheidler: Jenkins Remains Utterly Immovable on ND 88
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10012505.html
I condemn it as a Catholic Institution because of the actions of its top man, and the apparent inaction of catholic leadership to replace him. This tells me they accept his actions. Actions which are an insult to “The Lady” the school is named after. Yes.
I retract the words. I was angry. Still am. But I apologize for them. Nevertheless, the wider Notre Dame family is one of the finest group of people in the world. And, by the way, they don’t have fraternities at Notre Dame. They are above that.
Some these days would say the same of the Pope. The wider Notre Dame family is one of the finest group of people in the world.
I retract the words. It was late and you made me angry. Still am. But I apologize for the words. Nevertheless, the wider Notre Dame family is one of the finest group of people in the world, full of thousands upon thousands of men and women who are full of much more love and understanding, broadmindedness and tolerance, dignity and class, than are so many on this web site.
I call BS. ND students and grads are some of the finest people I’ve met. They are mostly (two parent) upper middle class and have learned manners. The only other campus (I’ve been on & I’ve been on many) with comparable students is the Franciscan University Steubenville.
“ask any IU or Purdue fan about the nastiness of their fans during the games.”
It’s true they will arrest loud obnoxious drunks. Those people who were nasty to your IU and Purdue friends weren’t fans, they were police.
Which of my statements suggested otherwise? I've said on this thread that ND is a fine school, but they have embraced secularism.
who’s the snob here? The successful ND grad, or the envious critic?
What precisely am I envious of?
I have an uncle and a couple cousins who went to ND.
I was accepted to ND and decided not to go.
My family is very wealthy, I have been quite successful myself and I am definitely not envious of a Notre Dame graduate.
I think the better question is why are YOU so supportive of their current actions? Sure ND was a fine Catholic school in the past. Sure they still have daily mass. However, just last year they arrested people who were upset that they gave an award to a pro-abortion president. These people still face charges while other protesters have had charges dropped.
With a legacy like your father and you still couldn’t get in?
What did you do spend eight years in high school or murder a nun?
Or both?
BTW, you have certainly given a great deal of credence to Kimmer’s post!
>>> http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2498632/posts?page=29#29
>>
>>Very well put!
>
>Very shallow and short-sighted, actually.
Really? How is it shallow? How is it short-sighted?
Granted that I did say “Your defense of Notre Dame strikes me as a bit ‘second-hand’ and somewhat dated;” however, I am compelled to point out that the ‘strikes me’ portion clearly indicates a SUBJECTIVE viewing on my part.
Also, how is using the life of a character chronicled in the bible short-sighted? How was my analysis shallow? {Yes it was informal and not in-depth; but an overview or outline is not necessarily shallow.}
>It is a huge, world-wide community. You condemn it because of the actions of a few misguided men.
Where did I condemn anyone on this thread? If anything I only offered you a slight warning/rebuke, and that is hardly a condemnation.
Your reply contains the very contradictions others are bemoaning -- Notre Dame has changed 180 degrees since your father's meritorious time. It is one thing to be considered elite by others because of your dedication, training and heroism. It is quite another to consider oneself elite because your parents paid for you to attend school where giants once walked.
Just dayum!
>>>>The wider Notre Dame family is one of the finest group of people in the world.<<<<
I dont doubt that for one minute. They should be putting pressure on Jenkins to drop the charges against real Catholics.
The Blessed Mother is more than a character in the Bible. To me she is immortal , a figure appointed by God to ear his child, a diety ordained by God. It is sinful for her name to be used at an institution that honors the greatest proponent of abortion in the Government today.
If that is short-sighted and shallow, then call me short sighted and shallow. It wont hurt me in the least.
I think you misunderstood my post... I was using ‘>’ to indicate quoted text previously on the thread. [In the case of ‘>>>’ though, I merely included the link to that post.]
Ping!
No problem.
the worst persecution of all will probably come from “the Church.”
The relative wealth of a man’s family has nothing to do with his character. I thought it was Conservatives who were always denoucing class warfare. In any event, half the students at Notre Dame are on some sort of financial aid. A large number have earned scholarships. And most, being at or near the top of their high school classes, have already earned their “elite” status by means of their hard work to get where they are. Just so you know, envy is one of the seven deadly sins.
Hardly. No need to insult me. Notre Dame’s is one of the most difficult admissions offices in the country. I attended a very fine school, myself, thank you very much.
Well you just are ever so damn welcome!
BTW, after meeting you I am even less impressed with your almost Alma mater.
Dear fellow, I am Ivy League, graduate honors. Being envious of Notre Dame undergraduates, bless their hearts, had never crossed my mind.
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