The Pope's meeting with Obama: NOT another Notre Dame scandal

In various forums, people have been comparing the Pope's meeting with Obama to the Notre Dame scandal. But this comparison is fatally flawed. There is a huge difference between (1) a Catholic college causing worldwide scandal & violating a directive of the bishops (From the 2004 USCCB statement: "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") by inviting & conferring an honorary law degree on a pro-abortion president (who, by the way, feels the "world's most innocent & helpless persons" - the unborn - should have no legal rights whatsoever) and giving him a platform to speak to impressionable students, even in defiance of the area's bishop, and (2) the Pope agreeing to meet with Obama diplomatically as head of the U.S. without giving him an award or a public platform to speak to impressionable young persons. The former situation honors the man, the latter honors the office of the president.

And we can be fairly sure that when Obama meets with the Pope, the President won't be wearing an inscription symbolic of dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary while affirming his radical pro-abortion stance. Also, the two of them will each be speaking - the Pope won't simply be listening to Obama's rhetoric. Further, we feel confident that elderly priests on the grounds won't be arrested and carted away for defending life along with other pro-lifers. Likewise, we hope that the Pope would dismiss the idea of "common ground" on the killing of babies as fast as he would reject the notion of finding "common ground" concerning toleration of racial prejudice. Obviously, both should be rejected outright. Furthermore, it would seem out of character that a Pope would give Obama the (embarrassingly) laudatory treatment that Notre Dame's Fr. Jenkins accorded our President. Nor will Obama walk away from his meeting with the Pope carrying an honorary degree. Finally, while the President's presence at Notre Dame was in no way obligatory, his presence in world diplomatic relations obviously is necessary. Who cannot see that there is a world of difference between these two events? Or is this just one more attempt by liberals to turn a situation to their advantage?

[7/9]

A thing of beauty

Truths and strong words from Archbishop Chaput's statement concerning the ND scandal are a 'thing of beauty'. Highlights include:

* We "have the duty to avoid prostituting our Catholic identity by appeals to phony dialogue that mask an abdication of our moral witness."

* "Notre Dame did not merely invite the president to speak at its commencement. It also conferred an unnecessary and unearned honorary law degree on a man committed to upholding one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in our nation’s history"

* "[T]here was no excuse - none, except intellectual vanity - for the university to persist in its course."

* "Father Jenkins compounded a bad original decision with evasive and disingenuous explanations to subsequently justify it."

* "Notre Dame's leadership has done a real disservice to the Church, and now seeks to ride out the criticism by treating it as an expression of fringe anger. But the damage remains, and Notre Dame's critics are right."

* "[T]he most vital thing faithful Catholics can do now is to insist - by their words, actions and financial support - that institutions claiming to be 'Catholic' actually live the faith with courage and consistency."

[story here] [5/19]

The good & the bad, and the ridiculous

The following is a short summary of certain good & bad elements from Notre Dame's controversial commencement ceremony & the events surrounding it...

The Good

* Some pro-life students boycotted their own commencement ceremony

* Bishop D'Arcy boycotted the graduation ceremony & spoke to pro-lifers at a Notre Dame pro-life rally [story here]

* Around 100 pro-life students attended the graduation wearing a pro-life symbol; These students remained seated while Obama received standing ovations

* Courageous individuals risked arrest in support of the pro-life cause. Those arrested included an elderly priest, Alan Keyes, and Norma McCorvey (the "Roe" of "Roe vs. Wade")

* Pro-life hecklers disrupted Obama's speech on several occasions

* The pro-life rally held at ND was attended by thousands [story here]

* Bishop D'Arcy called the pro-life students who boycotted their commencement "heroes" [story here]

* A selfless lady declined a prestigious ND honor [see previous news brief]

The Bad

* The "most pro-abortion president in history", Obama, received an honorary law degree from the nation's "most prestigious Catholic university", causing great scandal

* ND's president disregarded the bishops' statement, his own bishop's condemnation, and the public scandal to go forward with his "pet project". Despite this, students seem to support him overwhelmingly.

* Obama enjoyed the support of thousands of students & received a standing ovation; Attendees even chanted Obama's campaign slogan in response to pro-lifers' heckling

* Radical pro-abortion Obama received ND's honor & affirmed his pro-abortion stance while wearing a robe containing an inscription to the Holy Mother of God, "symbolizing dedication of all Notre Dame's activities to the Virgin Mary" [story here]

* There was no formal condemnation of ND's honoring Obama from Pope Benedict XVI (Archbishop Burke criticized the decision, but this is obviously not the same as if a condemnation had come from Pope Benedict himself)

* Some fear that "Notre Dame will become symbol of Catholic dissent" [story here]

The Ridiculous (pathetic, absurd)

* Obama's ridiculous call to find "common ground" over the murder of the unborn. Would he advance "common ground" on racial matters or would he reject racism outright?

* Hypocrisy of Obama on "respecting" each others views on abortion considering that he has shown no respect to the views of pro-lifers (and, of course, it isn't possible for pro-lifers to "respect" the views of those who advocate the killing of children) [story here]

* Hypocrisy of Obama concerning "conscience rights"; on one hand he claims to honor conscience rights, but on the other he works to remove protections already in place [story here]

* Fr. Jenkins' laudatory treatment of Obama; Embraces him, pats him on the back, almost seems to campaign for Obama

* The Vatican newspaper's response to the event fails to include a condemnation of the scandal; instead claims Obama seeks "common ground" on baby killing [story here]

[5/18]

No more excuses

Now that Bishop D'Arcy has publicly issued a statement to the faithful, perhaps any remaining "controversy" can be put to an end. The bishop stated unequivocally that "I consider it now settled - that the USCCB document, Catholics in Public Life, does indeed apply in this matter." It will be interesting to see what happens. Could one be allowed to hope that Obama may be disinvited from ND's commencement? Or at least not be given an honorary law degree? Time to start praying... [4/22]

Great grades, but what about Catholic teachings?

Notre Dame's 2009 valedictorian has gone on record saying that the "opportunity" to have Obama speak at ND is "unbelievable and incredible". Unfortunately, she means this in a positive sense. She called Obama a "great leader" and praises that he "continues to live by those values... He sticks with his values and his ideals". How is it that this obviously intelligent student doesn't see that it would be better in his case - e.g. the case of the most pro-abortion president in history - if he gave up some of his "values and ideals"? Even if one conceded any positive "values & ideals" to the U.S. President, how can they be "of much value" if the man doesn't respect even the most basic right to live? Maybe ND needs to add another class to its roster concerning the importance of holding all Catholic teachings without exception. "For whoever keeps the whole law, but falls short in one particular, has become guilty in respect to all of it." (Jms. 2:10) And, further, how can such a smart student not see that for a Catholic University to give Obama an honorary law degree when he seeks to break the most basic of all laws - the right to life - is scandalous & most definitely not worthy of praise? [story here] [4/20]