OK. I was kind of back and forth on this one for a while.
Fr. Jenkins, President of Notre Dame, who infamously invited and honored President Barack Obama on campus last year, joined hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers this week in protesting Roe V. Wade at the March for Life. And in a strange turn he also met some pro-lifers protesting him.
According to the Thomas More Society, Jenkins:
“came face to face with large banners urging him to “Free the ND88″ and many thousands of leaflets also calling out for his taking steps to end criminal prosecutions of the “ND88.”
Many folks are upset that Jenkins has not asked Notre Dame officials to withdraw the charges against the 88 pro-life protesters arrested on campus for protesting the Obama speech.
And initially I thought that maybe that wasn’t the time and place for that kind of action. And as much as I’ve taken issue (some say too harshly) with Fr. Jenkins’ decision to honor Obama, part of me wondered if the March for Life was the proper venue to go against a fellow marcher publicly. The March for Life is important and I’m not sure airing our grievances with each other during it is productive.
I thought that if I’m carrying a sign during the March for Life (which I have done) I’m going to be sure to make it about protecting human life.
But then I read Fr. Jenkins’ comment to LifeNews.com said:
“I felt it was important not to let those banners take away from the central goals of the day,” he said. “And I refuse to let them distract from advancing pro-life cause.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. Fr. Jenkins refuses to let them distract from advancing the pro-life cause? Give me a break! That’s absurd. The whole country was watching when this priest hung an award around the most pro-abortion President’s shoulders. Pro-lifers begged Fr. Jenkins to advance the pro-life cause by refusing to honor the President who publicly said he would kill his own grandchild when he said he didn’t want his daughter “punished with a baby.”
This entire (ongoing) episode is a terrible stain on Notre Dame’s reputation as well as the Catholic Church and Fr. Jenkins should be embarrassed by his actions.
But Fr. Jenkins ignored us all. Fr. Jenkins said he wanted dialogue. Well, now he’s got dialogue from people and he calls them a distraction? You know, I’m starting to think that when Fr. Jenkins says “dialogue” he actually just means for everyone to shut up and listen to him.
January 28, 2010 at 4:41 am
See? You're admitting that I was right the whole time. The man had a lot of nerve just showing his face inside the Beltway that day.
January 28, 2010 at 4:55 am
So, because Fr. Jenkins is (still) wrong, we should make the March about attacking him? Does the fact that our grievance with him is all the greater for his comments and/or attendance at the March make airing that grievance during it more productive?
DS, ND Class of 2010
January 28, 2010 at 5:03 am
Fr. Jenkins made himself a cultural lightning rod, so he deserves a little heat.
Maybe he's just a side show to the overall "goals of the day", but at the moment he's in the spotlight.
The pro-life cause is advanced by more than just laws, but also by actions and attitudes. Fr. Jenkins' attitude stinks.
January 28, 2010 at 5:20 am
"I refuse to let them distract from advancing the pro-life cause."
WTF? Jenkins arrives late to the party as an uninvited crasher and acts as if he's the one throwing it.
January 28, 2010 at 8:54 am
Would signs asking to free Nelson Mandela at an Apartheid march being out of place?
He extends such blind 'courtesy' to a famous politician who will exploit a situation, but extends nothing to the common person, who protested because of their Catholic beliefs.
January 28, 2010 at 11:26 am
Don't forget the 70 plus Bishops who joined thier voices against honoring this POTUS at Notre Shame. As well as 350,000 people who signed a petition to Fr. Jenkins asking him not to give honors to this Pro-Abortion POTUS.
January 28, 2010 at 11:36 am
Playing off A Voice in the Crowd,
That banner was just as appropriate as any banner that decried the killing of George Tiller. Not a distraction at all.
January 28, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Jenkins is a disgrace to the Church and everything truly pro-life.
January 28, 2010 at 1:41 pm
I'm with Daniel. This isn't a question of just desserts, it's a question of what the March is supposed to be about.
And it wasn't just *a* banner. There were several–and one of them made it a point to march right along the ND Right to Life club, which had nothing to do whatsoever with the Obama invitation. You're telling me that wasn't a distraction?
I'd like to urge some caution in assessments of Fr. Jenkins' character or motives. We don't know why he chose to go on the March, and we don't know what conversations took place between him and Bishops D'Arcy and Rhoades. We do know that he's a priest of the Church, and deserves some respect.
Finally, no one would say that Bishop D'Arcy was too soft in the controversies last spring. But he was happy to celebrate a Vigil Mass for Life with Fr. Jenkins last Tuesday, and he made no great issue of it. On this, and everything else, I stand with my (former) bishop.
January 28, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I think carrying a "Free the ND88" banner at the March was completely appropriate. A lot of people complained when Fr. Jenkins announced that he would be attending the March For Life, but personally I thought it was great that he wanted to participate (maybe he was having a change of heart??) But if he had any integrity at all he would drop all the charges that were incurred on the pro-life protestors.
January 28, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Sharon,
Neither the University nor Fr. Jenkins are pressing charges. The most he could do is request that charges be dropped, with no guarantee that his request would be heard. I agree that he should make such a request–but it's important to recognize that there are limits to what he can do.
January 28, 2010 at 2:59 pm
I agree others who have said that there's room at the March for those who want to display messages supporting the Notre Dame 88 just as there's room for people who, for example – it's an issue related to the pro-life movement. Surely in a crowd of 300 thousand there's room for 100 people supporting the ND88 (which I would think is a high estimate of the number of people with such signs).
January 28, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Curious, is this the first time Fr. Jenkins decided to march, or has he done it in the past?
January 28, 2010 at 3:30 pm
These people are serving time for expressing their view, and defending the innocent unborn. I don't see how Jenkins could qualify their witness, or defense of their witness as a "distraction"?
Sometimes reprimands need to be made in our fold in order to help save a soul. Maybe, with all due respect, Fr. Jenkins could use some reproach? Unless, of course, repentance is a "distraction" too.
January 28, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Fr. Jenkins can't do anything except request charges be dropped? He hasn't done even that and his silence speaks volumes.
He deserves respect because he's a priest? True to a degree but respect solely due to position is the cheapest sort, bought with the efforts and integrity of others more worthy of it.
January 28, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Jenkins is a total DISGRACE.
January 28, 2010 at 6:23 pm
As someone who has long been critical of Fr. Jenkins, I can't see anything wrong with what he said on the March. Why is it acceptable to distract from the right to life message by calling out one of the marchers?
I agree with Daniel and Ben in that I do think it's a mistake to equate "Free the ND 88" with the "true, Catholic" pro-life position. One can be a faithful Catholic and truly pro-life and still believe that it is well within ND's property rights to prosecute those arrested for trespassing. Would it be wise to extend the olive branch and ask that the charges be dropped? Probably. Is it a requirement of justice? I don't think so.
What is most unfortunate in all of this is that the mainstream media remembers Obama receiving his honorary doctorate of laws, and Catholics remember the ND 88. No one remembers the very real "advancement of the pro-life cause" which took place during all-night adoration in Alumni Hall, or on South Quad and in the Grotto, at events coordinated by the students and faculty of ND Response. Thousands of people gathered to prayerfully protest the Obama honor, to pray for a greater respect for human life, and to pray for the graduates of the Class of 2009. Especially when Bishop D'Arcy himself asked that all people of good will participate in ND Response and refrain from "making this a circus" (as Randall Terry promised), it's unfortunate that many of the ND 88 did not see fit to follow the local bishop's directives and participate in the constructive and prayerful Mass and Rally for Life. When it comes down to it, the arrests could have been avoided on *both* sides. Because they were not, we find Catholic pro-lifers deeply divided.
Rachel, ND Class of 2009
January 28, 2010 at 6:56 pm
"One can be a faithful Catholic and truly pro-life and still believe that it is well within ND's property rights to prosecute those arrested for trespassing. Would it be wise to extend the olive branch and ask that the charges be dropped? Probably. Is it a requirement of justice? I don't think so. "
The above quote is from godandchocolate
THINK OF THE UNBORN !
With priests like Jenkins, the unborn don't need enemies.
January 28, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Jenkins Won.
JENKINS 88
The Unborn 0
January 28, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Anonymous @ 1:56–
One could just as well say "Think of the unborn!" to those who choose to focus on the legal standing of 88 protesters instead of providing a cohesive, consistent witness for life.
Subvet–
Priests deserve respect, to every degree, due not to their position but to the sacrament they received, they Sacrament they bring about, and the imprint of Christ on their souls.
This was Fr. Jenkins' first March, and he did it as a direct result of the NDResponse rally last May. Maybe he did it as a PR stunt. Maybe he did it as penance. Maybe he really wants to advance the pro-life cause, and is simply misdirected some of the time. None of us knows the answer: but I urge you all to charity.
What I do know is this: on the March, he looked like a man under siege. The "dialogue" of some of the counter-protesters very nearly crossed into harassment. I was there. On a personal level, it's hard to reconcile all that with "the central goals of the day."
Like the rest of you, I want him to urge the county to drop the charges, but it was not the appropriate time, place, or manner to get him to do so.