A letter is being circulated among students at Notre Dame considering the school’s invitation to President Obama to be Commencement Speaker. I’m happy that the letter is being signed by many students as it clearly is a protest letter.
But I am concerned that the authors did feel a need to throw in some caveats which I think Catholics should be concerned with, including this sentence:
There has been overreaction on both sides, and it is important to keep the discussion civil – Uninviting Pres. Obama would be a disrespectful move…
Firstly, who has “overreacted” on the pro-life side? Has there been instances of civil disobedience? Sit ins? Violence? Graffiti? Snowball throwing, even?
None that I’ve heard of.
As far as I can see Catholics have shown great moderation for many years in their protestations of abortion. But there’s a difference between moderation in temper and moderation in principle. To me, if you’re going to defend something. Defend it with all your heart. Ceding ground like that simply makes the rest of the letter your terms of surrender. And please don’t show how “moderate” you are by exclaiming that both sides have gotten carried away and that now…thank God you’re here…can now march in under the banner of truth and moderation.
John McCain tried that. Oh excuse me, Senator McCain tried that. He’s still a Senator. He lost. Obama won – which is what got us into this mess in the first place. You know, the President who just declared it open season on embryos and is now being given an honorary degree by a Catholic University. Yeah, that one.
Now as far as uninviting Pres. Obama being a disrespectful move. Disrespectful? How about it would be disrespectful to the millions of unborn who’ve been killed to allow Obama to speak at Notre Dame?
Disrespectful would be giving DVD’s to a world leader that don’t even work in his home country. That’s disrespectful.
Allowing Obama to speak at a school named after Mary, the Mother of God, would be something else. And disrespectful doesn’t begin to describe what that is.
Here’s a link to the letter and the text below:
Dear Fr. Jenkins:
As students of Our Lady’s University, we are proud and honored to take part in the tradition and heritage that is so unique to our school. Notre Dame is a place for intellectual inquiry, open discussion, personal enlightenment, and the pursuit of truth. Its Catholic identity, grounded in 2,000 years of the Church’s moral, social, and theological teaching and guidance, provides both a foundation and guidance for our pursuit of a deeper understanding of faith and reason.
The University’s status and reputation make it a powerful national platform, and its place as a leading Catholic university engenders a responsibility to be a loud voice for the disadvantaged, the poor, and the marginalized. Programs such as the Center for Social Concerns, the Alliance for Catholic Education, and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies all bear witness to the school’s commitment to proclaim the truths of the Church in public life.
It is in this spirit that we take issue with the University’s decision to invite President Barack Obama to deliver this year’s Commencement address. By now, extremists on both sides have made their views known, and quite passionately. Let us be clear – This is not a letter based on political beliefs, and we have a tremendous amount of respect for the office of the President, as well as for Pres. Obama’s call to find a common ground on issues that have torn our nation apart for decades. It also speaks highly of Notre Dame’s reputation and national stature that the leader of the free world has agreed to come and speak to our graduates.
This stature, however, should not be used to give the impression that the University, its students, or the Church approves of Pres. Obama’s stances on the unborn and other issues on which the Catholic Church has taken a strong stance. His decision to undo the “Mexico City” provisions re-opened the door to U.S. taxpayer dollars funding abortions overseas. His executive order expanding federal embryonic stem cell research went in the face of the teaching of the Church and ignored the advances that researchers, including some from our own university, have made in developing stem cell treatments that aren’t based in embryo-destructive work.
There has been overreaction on both sides, and it is important to keep the discussion civil – Uninviting Pres. Obama would be a disrespectful move, and having students turn their back on his speech, as some have called for, would be an immature gesture. As the preeminent Catholic university in America, we have an obligation to respect the office of the President of the United States, and his visit to our beloved campus can serve as the impetus for increased discussion about the role of Catholicism in the public square.
But the University should also use Pres. Obama’s visit as an opportunity to reiterate its commitment to the teachings of the Church and the sanctity of life. We ask that you consider making a public statement, if not at the Commencement exercises themselves then in a highly visible public forum, distancing yourself and the University from his views, making it clear that the University disagrees in no uncertain terms with his views on the unborn, which stand in contrast to that of the Church’s stance of protecting the most defenseless and voiceless among us. Awarding him an honorary degree without making clear that the University disapproves of his stance on issues regarding the sanctity of human life would be a disrespect to those students who, like ourselves, chose to attend this University based not only on its status as one of the country’s premier institutions of higher learning, but a school that takes pride in its Catholic foundation and identity.
March 23, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Love how we’re all “extremists on both sides” of the issue. Essentially, you’re extreme if you hold one position or the other. Thankfully, the authors of this letter are right in the middle.
“We have …respect for the office of the President(‘s)…call to find common ground on issues that have torn our nation apart for decades.” How is reversing the Mexico City policy and widening the way for embryonic stem cell research a reach for more common ground?
I’m afraid the authors of this letter are exactly the same type of Catholic that convinced himself to vote for Barry. And I mean that with the utmost respect.
March 23, 2009 at 3:12 pm
This is a weak letter full of hoary cliches’ re the marginalized, said marginalized surely not being the lower middle-class of working people who obey the laws and pay a disproportionate share of taxes.
Finally, one cannot, for shame, have an “open discussion” on whether babies may be murdered, no more than one may debate the relative merits of Dachau.
What was called for was a stern, Rocknean “Hell, no.”
March 23, 2009 at 4:07 pm
What Mack Hall said. That letter should come with a warning to have an air-sickness bag within reach.
March 23, 2009 at 4:20 pm
The overall tone seems to be, “Let’s give the President his promised degree but at the same time we don’t approve of all his choices.” About the same mindset some might have when their sister brings home a new boyfriend.
That sort of wishy-washy, let’s-all-be-friends-despite-our-differences attitude is precisely why the Catholic Church is the butt of so many jokes regarding birth control. It starts from the pulpit and continues on to the back pews.
Collectively we need to “grow a set”, call a spade a spade and start being truly counter cultural. Stop trying to “fit in” and start proclaiming the truth loud, long and obnoxiously.
March 23, 2009 at 4:28 pm
The president has all the fora that he needs to make his ideas known. And I doubt whether we need to hear more until he changes his policies and programs. Are we asking to hear more lies? So, a Catholic university need not welcome someone who has repeatedly struck down legislation that protects the unborn. As St. Paul would exclaim, “Let him be anathema.” We can always express our objections in many other ways. Why open our schools and roll out the red carpet to someone who has repeatedly mocked our God for “if God knows whenever a hair falls off our heads, then He must feel whenever a child is murdered.” And we know where the buck stops as far as those decisions are made.
March 23, 2009 at 4:37 pm
As a co-signer of the letter, I would like to state that I, along with many of my friends, abhor Pres. Obama’s pro-choice, pro-embryonic stem cell views, and stand unequivocaly for the defense of human life from the moment of conception until natural death. The “extremism” mentioned in the letter refers to the calls by some to carry bloodied baby dolls to the stage when receiving a diploma and the like. If that makes us moderates, so be it. But many of us feel the need to be respectful while passionate in dissent, and believe the only way to end the culture wars and put an end to abortion for good is not only by legal means, but by logical argument and changing hearts. Keep up the fight for human dignity for all, born and unborn alike.
March 23, 2009 at 4:41 pm
P.S. The snowball line was very good. Props to the author.
March 23, 2009 at 4:47 pm
My goodness, I would agree that extremism could well be an apt label for carry bloodied baby dolls to the stage when receiving a diploma.
On that I would agree. And once again I support you in your pro-life efforts.
I differ on the efforts to get the administration to rescind the invitation. I think that should be a goal.
You seem like a gentleman and I’d rather see you in charge of Notre Dame than Fr. Jenkins. Any day of the week.
March 23, 2009 at 5:23 pm
That’s not a protest letter at all. As far as the abortion issue, there’s just black and white, there’s no middle ground.
March 23, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Yawn.
This is the same spineless drivvel that 40 years of liberalizm hath wrought in the Church.
I defy anyone to define “common ground” when it comes to the life of an innocent child.
There comes a time when one must make a stand and protect our fellow humans. If a murderous thief trys to enter your home, do you find “common ground” with him, standing aside and letting him do his evil…but only a little bit?
From Pope Pius XI: “let all remember that Liberalism is the father of this Socialism that is pervading morality and culture and that Bolshevism will be its heir.”
ND is bringing “our” Lenin to it’s campus.
March 23, 2009 at 5:38 pm
For the reception, there might be a punch bowl of Kool Aid where the speaker can pee, since he’s got a lot of fans there who’d drink it readily.
March 23, 2009 at 6:48 pm
If he cannot be uninvited, I hope the students and faculty of Notre Dame show up then one by one walk out to protest his policies of violence and death. Maybe that’s the plan. I can’t image the people there to be so naive or desensitized to the blood bath that the president has promoted.
March 23, 2009 at 7:20 pm
For all us moderates: who are outraged: consider signing the petition:)! Mind you, in the words of that letter, we are “extremists”: i think abotring a human life is extreme (not in the extreme sports sense either: in the really wrong sense)
petition:
and remember to email the Notre Dame head with an email expressing disgust:
http://www.notredamescandal.com/
Marc:)!
March 24, 2009 at 12:20 am
Limp wristed sissies – stop being “moderates,” grow a pair and have the guts to stand up for the constant teachings of the Church. I specifically point to the US bishops’ document “Catholics in Political Life”: “The Catholic community and 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.”