I am sure that this man deserves recognition for his pro-life efforts, but I cannot help but wonder is Notre Dame just tried to put lipstick on the pig it birthed last year with the invitation of President Obama.
Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Secretariat for Pro Life Activities, will receive the University of Notre Dame Fund to Protect Human Life Evangelium Vitae Medal.
According to David Solomon, chair of the fund’s governing committee and William P. and Hazel B. White Director of the Center for Ethics and Culture, “the fund is establishing the annual Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal to honor individuals whose outstanding efforts have served to proclaim the Gospel of Life by steadfastly affirming and defending the sanctity of human life from its earliest stages. Richard Doerflinger’s unwavering commitment and heroic witness to life on Capitol Hill and beyond make him the perfect first recipient.”
The Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal, which is announced annually on Respect Life Sunday, the first Sunday of October, consists of a specially commissioned medal and $10,000 prize, to be presented at a spring banquet….
So a year after it took a hit to its pro-life credentials for inviting AND HONORING the most virulent pro-abortion president ever, Notre Dame establishes a pro-life award. Convenient.
The Notre Dame Fund to Protect Human Life is an expendable fund at the University of Notre Dame dedicated to educating Notre Dame students regarding the dignity of human life, specifically at its beginning stages, and to encouraging relevant understanding, support and involvement among the entire Notre Dame community on beginning of life issues.
I am sorry but I fear this may be mostly a PR move.
There is one way the selection committee could prove me wrong. Give it to one of the twenty-two pro-life demonstators arrested at the request of Notre Dame last year. Give it to that elderly priest they dragged off to jail. Then I will believe it is not a PR move.
Until then, a pig with lipstick is still just as ugly.
October 13, 2010 at 4:14 am
One of the anonymouses posted…
[[We need to cheer an announcement like this, and support the good efforts of such people . . . even if the University's administration is glad for some positive pro-life PR. To borrow another expression, this is a case of "don't cut your nose off to spite your face." ]]
AMEN, amen, and amen!
The problem all along in the discussions of "what Notre Dame has done" is that they have treated ND as some monolithic institution that acts in one way (and, usually, as we hear on CMR, acts in a singularly bad/heretical/hypocritical/un-Catholic way). That's just not how the university (much less the universal Church) functions. There always have been and always will be people working for the truth of the Catholic faith at ND, and whether their efforts are supported or opposed by the administration is not something within their control.
It's discouraging–to say the least–to the good, orthodox, truth-loving Catholics at Notre Dame who are fighting for the faith and for the identity of Our Lady's University to see the reaction their small victories receive from the outside world. Every news item is analyzed from a sarcastic and cynical point of view, it seems, and no one at ND can ever do right.
ND Response hosts huge rally on the quad, prayer vigil before Commencement, alternative graduation service for seniors? Oh, forget those 4,000 people–ND still arrested 22 protesters!
The Fund for Human Life is now giving out awards to pro-lifers? Well they didn't stop that award from being given to a pro-choicer…
You can bet your bottom dollar that the people involved with the Fund for Human Life–those who have CONTINUED the fight for authenticity in the Catholic identity of Notre Dame and for a deeper commitment to respect for human life even after the outside protesters left campus (and St. Joe County jails)–are truly working for the truth and praying that the university embraces it once again. To ridicule their efforts and to insinuate that they are mere pawns of the university administration's quest for PR is, to say the least, uncharitable. Moreover, I'm not sure you realize how discouraging it is to those on campus who continue the effort and wish to attract others to support their cause.
October 13, 2010 at 4:25 am
Another question…
It should be clear to everyone by now that the university administration is not at all concerned with ingratiating itself to the pro-life movement. I'm sure they could really care less about PR–good or bad–that comes from this particular announcement.
Besides, Fr. Jenkins and Dennis Brown surely know by now that the ND22 are going to overshadow any attempts they could possibly make at positive pro-life PR.
They just don't care to try to "smooth things over" with the segment of the population that is still outraged about the Obama scandal. (And honestly, you don't give them much reason to even try…) So why would the administration go to all of these great lengths to devise an award, give it to a highly regarded, orthodox, pro-life Catholic, and announce it to the world…if they clearly don't care what the pro-life Catholic world thinks about what they do?
To me, this is even more reason to let good news be good news, and give credit where credit is due…
October 13, 2010 at 8:34 am
Everyone,
I have to agree with Patrick about this being potentially a PR move. Or more charitably: This effort by some passionately faithful Catholics could easily be used by Fr Jenkins' administration to attempt deflecting reasonable criticism away from an otherwise rebellious administration.
Is that clear and charitable enough?
Keep in mind, Fr Jenkins appears to be still at the helm for some time; I believe he was re-elected to the post within the past few months. I gather he'd like for Notre Dame to be a sort of Catholic Harvard. Great idea, if he'd choose to be vibrantly Catholic. He doesn't appear headed in that direction.
Maybe it's not a PR effort, but it's not persuading me that ND genuinely cares about life issues or orthodoxy. It mostly looks like a few people are working hard to make something good happen, but their ship's Captain won't admit that he's taking on lots of water, so he's keeping the pumps turned off.
October 14, 2010 at 2:55 am
I think what the people who know the Center for Ethics and Culture are trying to say here is that by doing research or just by asking around you can be assured that this is the biggest fighter for orthodoxy and pro-life issues on Notre Dame's campus, and we already have the larger part of Notre Dame against us, we don't need other orthodox Catholics and those similarly fighting for pro-life issues against us too. Recognize this for what it is and stand with those who are truly fighting for what is right. I think you should change the heading and commentary on this post, to something more accurate, like small faithful group takes a stand. I read this blog everyday and from that I would think that if you find out something you post is an inaccurate description of the actual situation, then you would change it. Especially if you are bringing down people fighting for the same things as yourself.