Laura Ingraham says Notre Dame’s no longer a viable Catholic institution

Hot Air ^ | May 20, 2009 | Allahpundit

[Mozilla]

Via Gateway Pundit, a stemwinder from last night’s Factor that’s most remarkable for her assumption that it was a viable Catholic institution until this past weekend. William McGurn begs to differ:

We’ve been here before. In his response to an inquiry from this reporter, Dennis Brown, the university’s spokesman, wisely ignored a question asking whether “ambiguity” would be the word to describe a similar decision in 1984 to give Mario Cuomo, then governor of New York, the Notre Dame platform he so famously used to advance his personally-opposed-but argument. Or the decision a few years later to bestow its highest Catholic award on Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, another supporter of legal abortion. It seems that whenever Democratic leaders find themselves in trouble over their party’s abortion record, some Notre Dame honor or platform will be forthcoming to provide the needed cover…

With its billions in endowment and its prestigious name, Notre Dame ought to be in the lead here. But when asked for examples illuminating the university’s unambiguous support for unborn life, Mr. Brown could provide only four: help for pregnant students who want to carry their babies to term, student volunteer work for pregnant women at local shelters, prayer mentions at campus Masses, and lectures such as a seminar on life issues.

These are all well and good, but they also highlight the poverty of Notre Dame’s institutional witness. At Notre Dame today, there is no pro-life organization — in size, in funding, in prestige — that compares with the many centers, institutes and so forth dedicated to other important issues ranging from peace and justice to protecting the environment. Perhaps this explains why a number of pro-life professors tell me they must not be quoted by name, lest they face career retaliation.

The real question here isn’t whether Notre Dame is still Catholic in any meaningful sense, it’s what it means to be “Catholic” in America today. 54 percent of Catholics voted for The One last fall and 67 percent approved of his job performance as of three weeks ago; majorities approve of torture in at least some circumstances and say they’re more likely to consider common sense and experience when making decisions than Church teachings; a narrow plurality think priests should be allowed to marry. Even on abortion and stem cells, those calling themselves Catholic are almost indistinguishable from non-Catholics (although there are sharp differences between non-Catholics and Catholics who attend mass regularly). And of course the Vatican itself is as squishy as can be when it comes to taking on Obama for his stances. The Church, ironically, seems to have the opposite problem from the GOP these days: They’re so comfortable with “centrists” that it’s no longer clear what American Catholicism stands for. Which puts Notre Dame squarely inside the mainstream.

[Mozilla]

Here is the video link

[GOP Poet]

I agree with her.

[classified]

me too

[ak267]

me three

[Colofornian]

Mega dittos, Laura!

[Wild Irish Rogue]

Me Four.

[Choose Ye This Day]

I’m no longer Catholic, so I can’t say anything about Notre Dame...

But if BYU ever bestows an honorary degree on Obama, I won’t send my daughters there.

[webschooner]

It’s just another Eastern Liberal-run university, nothing more.

[bmwcyle]

The Fighting Irish are now the sissy Liberals.

[philly-d-kidder]

Laura still in Radio?? never hear her in Philly!!

[Mozilla]

Oh yeah. I guess not everyone carries her. Mornings at the same time as Glen Beck which is before Rush Limbaugh. She goes on Bill O’s show once a week.

[Mozilla]

Yes Notre Dame is sissy now. To not have a Pro-life organization proves what direction it leans.

[Niuhuru]

They’re still cowering before PC. For some reason they are still afraid of Zero and being seen as racist.

[philly-d-kidder]

MOZ

Sorry I missed her not even on any local County Stations..

[windsorknot]

The university should formally drop the name of Notre Dame.

[Alex Murphy]

The real question here isn’t whether Notre Dame is still Catholic in any meaningful sense, it’s what it means to be “Catholic” in America today. 54 percent of Catholics voted for The One last fall and 67 percent approved of his job performance as of three weeks ago; majorities approve of torture in at least some circumstances and say they’re more likely to consider common sense and experience when making decisions than Church teachings; a narrow plurality think priests should be allowed to marry. Even on abortion and stem cells, those calling themselves Catholic are almost indistinguishable from non-Catholics (although there are sharp differences between non-Catholics and Catholics who attend mass regularly). And of course the Vatican itself is as squishy as can be when it comes to taking on Obama for his stances. The Church, ironically, seems to have the opposite problem from the GOP these days: They’re so comfortable with “centrists” that it’s no longer clear what American Catholicism stands for. Which puts Notre Dame squarely inside the mainstream.

Ouch.

[slumber1]

And their football team sucks too

[An American In Dairyland]

Anyone can say they are a Catholic to a pollster. It isn’t like any proof is required. Anyone can lie to a pollster to skew a poll. These polls as to what “catholics” approve of or vote for are absolutely meaningless.

[Colofornian]

But if BYU ever bestows an honorary degree on Obama, I won’t send my daughters there.

(Well, a hearty rah-rah...yet, did you give any negative feedback to BYU when it welcomed Harry Reid in an all-student, all-prof rally in October 2007...with a small % of the BYU faithful giving him a standing ovation while the rest of the 4,091 cheered him on?)

In fact, I couldn't help but note the stark contrast of headlines:
Oct. 10, 2007: The LDS church owned Deseret News runs headline that made into a FReep thread: Reid gets WARM reception at BYU [See ReidGetsWarmReceptionAtBYU ]
Less than two weeks later (Oct. 21, 2007), a Las Vegas newspaper runs the following headline: Not so Wild about Harry Reid. [See: NotSoWildAboutHarryReid ]

So, CYTD, ya wanna ‘xplain how it is that during this snapshot of history...
...Reid was apparently more popular @ BYU -- a campus once rated by the Princeton folks as being the third most conservative campus in the country
--than he was in a state beholden to the gambling mecca & legalized prostitution?

And, of course, Harry Reid took the opportunity to soundly bash Evangelicals along w/President Bush. Perhaps that made his appearance "OK" w/the home Mormon crowd, after all, eh?

From the Deseret News: The Nevada senator attacked President Bush and evangelical Christians...Reid first spent 40 minutes delivering a well-received and sometimes tender BYU forum speech in the Marriott Center to 4,091 students, faculty, staff and visitors...Reid also told reporters the Republican Party has been driven by evangelical Christians for 20 years. "They are the most anti-Christian people I can imagine, the people from the Christian far right."

Maybe so-called "conservative" religious campuses keep giving the Party of Dismembered-Babies-as-'Choices' such mega-platforms just so these speakers can keep getting their digs in @ Christian pro-lifers.

Oh, and BTW, @ that speech @ BYU 19 months, here was Reid's real capper: "I am a Democrat because I am a Mormon, not in spite of it," he said.

[vladimir998]

Ouch. That’s gonna leave a mark.