Obama at Notre Dame?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Obama at Notre Dame?
22
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 12:42am

It doesn't seem like a good fit to me.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/24/critics-blast-obamas-notre-dame-commencement-address/

Critics Blast Obama's Scheduled Notre Dame Commencement Address

Nearly 65,000 people have signed an online petition protesting President Obama's scheduled commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, citing the president's views on abortion and stem cell research that "directly contradict" Roman Catholic teachings.

Nearly 65,000 people have signed an online petition protesting President Obama's scheduled May 17 commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, saying the president's views on abortion and stem cell research "directly contradict" Roman Catholic teachings.

"It is an outrage and a scandal that 'Our Lady's University,' one of the premier Catholic universities in the United States, would bestow such an honor on President Obama given his clear support for policies and laws that directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage," the petition at notredamescandal.com reads.

The Cardinal Newman Society, an advocacy group for strengthening ideals at the nation's 224 Catholic colleges and universities, created the Web site to end what it calls the "travesty" of Obama's selection. The petition, which had garnered 64,051 signatures as of midday Tuesday, asserts that thousands of other "accomplished leaders" in business, law or education would have been more appropriate selections. The group says it is sending the list to an independent firm Wednesday to ensure that there are no duplicate names.

"Instead Notre Dame has chosen prestige over principles, popularity over morality," the petition reads. "Whatever may be President Obama's admirable qualities, this honor comes on the heels of some of the most anti-life actions of any American president, including expanding federal funding for abortions and inviting taxpayer-funded research on stem cells from human embryos."

David Constanzo, communications director for the Cardinal Newman Society, said Notre Dame's tradition of inviting sitting U.S. presidents to its commencement should be rethought.

"There is a time when policies need to be reconsidered in light of the fact that the individual invited may have a history of standing in direct opposition to some of the most prominent aspects of our faith -- the biggest case in point is that of the pro-life agenda," Constanzo said. "The obligation of Notre Dame as a Catholic institution is to follow the directives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who clearly stated in 2004 that Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles."

Meanwhile, the Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend has indicated he will not attend the commencement ceremony.

"President Obama has recently reaffirmed, and has now placed in public policy, his long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred," Bishop John D'Arcy said in a statement issued Tuesday. "While claiming to separate politics from science, he has in fact separated science from ethics and has brought the American government, for the first time in history, into supporting direct destruction of innocent human life."

D'Arcy said he learned that Obama had accepted Notre Dame's invitation just before White House officials announced the move on Friday.

"I wish no disrespect to our president, I pray for him and wish him well," the statement continued. "I have always revered the Office of the Presidency. But a bishop must teach the Catholic faith 'in season and out of season,' and he teaches not only by his words -- but by his actions."

George Weigel, a Catholic theologian and distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said the invitation is not a "neutral act" and will significantly damage Notre Dame's reputation in Catholic circles following Obama's decision to reverse restrictions on embryonic stem cell research and for family planning groups that provide abortions.

"I think Notre Dame should not have issued the invitation," Weigel told FOXNews.com. "This is a colossal mess. This is their mess to fix right now, but they should know that they have forfeited an enormous amount of credibility as an institution that takes moral reasoning seriously."

Weigel said he was not surprised by the outpouring of criticism following the university's announcement on Friday that Obama would become sixth U.S. president to speak at its commencement. Obama will also become the ninth U.S. president to receive an honorary degree from the university.

"Major donors have the most effective leverage in situations like this," Weigel said. "I hope the donors are paying attention."

Asked if Notre Dame is considering rescinding its invitation to Obama, university spokesman Dennis Brown said Tuesday: "I can't foresee that occurring. We made an invitation to the president and he's accepted. We expected criticism and it's nothing beyond what we expected."

The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

In a statement issued Monday, the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, said Obama will be honored as an "inspiring leader" at the commencement.

"Of course, this does not mean we support all of his positions," Jenkins said. "The invitation to President Obama to be our Commencement speaker should not be taken as condoning or endorsing his positions on specific issues regarding the protection of human life, including abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Yet, we see his visit as a basis for further positive engagement."

But Ralph McInerny, a philosophy professor at Notre Dame for more than 50 years, likened the invitation as a "deliberate thumbing of the collective nose" at the Roman Catholic Church.

"By inviting Barack Obama to be the 2009 commencement speaker, Notre Dame has forfeited its right to call itself a Catholic university," McInerny wrote in a column for The Catholic Thing. "It invites an official rebuke. May it come."

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2009
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 1:07am
Perhaps Notre Dame will withdraw the invitation.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 1:07am

~It doesn't seem like a good fit to me.~


I guess it depends on how you look at it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 1:10am

~Perhaps Notre Dame will withdraw the invitation~


"School spokesman Dennis Brown says he doesn't foresee a circumstance under which the university would rescind Obama's invitation to speak at the May 17 event."


http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/03/23/ap6202604.html

Kate


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2009
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 1:33am
Despite the fact that several other presidents who were not in opposition to birth control, etc.,

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-19-2005
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 1:34am

I find it wildly ironic and macabrely funny that a church that helped Nazis escape capture and prosecution after WWII and has played a horrific shell game, shuffling child molesting priests from one unsuspecting parish to the next, would "find religion" on issues such as Stem cell research and abortion. Perhaps they are concerned that their "shell game pedophiles" might run out of prey.

They ought to be ashamed. I KNEW there was some reason I left that religion as soon as I found my adult reasoning skills.

Of course we ALL want to reduce the number of abortions as President Obama has repeatedly stated, and that has best been accomplished in states where efforts have been focused on making people smarter and offering other options as opposed to the type of authoritarian mindset that the Catholic Church seems to prefer.GHMonroe.com

I would strongly suggest that the Bishop and any other radical catholics read Sen. John Danforth's "Faith and Politics"




Edited 3/25/2009 2:38 am ET by jerrymon
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 1:36am
Great points as usual :)

Kate


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 9:16am

>"Asked if Notre Dame is considering rescinding its invitation to Obama, university spokesman Dennis Brown said Tuesday: "I can't foresee that occurring. We made an invitation to the president and he's accepted. We expected criticism and it's nothing beyond what we expected.""<

I wonder how many of these >"65,000 people have signed an online petition protesting"< are RC or how many are simply anti-choice?

It makes no sense to dispose of fertilised eggs instead of using them to research cures for diseases. It makes no sense to promote not using condoms in the fight against AIDs.

Photobucket

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 1:43pm

Just some thoughts...Notre Dame isn't a church, it's a private university, therefore I wonder just how many of the students are even Catholic, let alone practicing Catholics.


iVillage Member
Registered: 07-25-2008
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 2:16pm

You say "Church" involvement with a capital C so I don't know if you mean the Catholic Church, or churches in general.


The black churches use the pulpit for democrats and have for years.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2009
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 2:18pm

 

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