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Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Bishops Weigh in on Notre Dame Invite to Obama

Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to speak at the commencement ceremony in May and receive an honorary law degree has been criticized by a number of bishops around the country. The response? Unprintable. Pray that the heat will become as hot as the fiery furnace in today's first reading. Notre Dame sure can't expect help from the heavenly messenger like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who walked unscathed through the white-hot furnace. Let's hope that President Jenkins comes to his senses and does the right thing. Otherwise the Blessed Mother standing atop the golden dome might as well be replaced by Molloch in honor of a man who believes in sacrificing babies on the altar of choice.

Archbishop Nienstedt protests ‘egregious’ invite of Obama to Notre Dame

From the article:

“It is a travesty that the University of Notre Dame, considered by many to be a Catholic University, should give its public support to such an anti-Catholic politician,” the archbishop wrote, asking President Jenkins to reconsider the decision.

If the decision is not reconsidered, the archbishop said, “please do not expect me to support your University in the future.”


Bishop D’Arcy will not attend Notre Dame commencement featuring Obama

From the bishop's statement:

President Obama has recently reaffirmed, and has now placed in public policy, his long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred. 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.

This will be the 25th Notre Dame graduation during my time as bishop. After much prayer, I have decided not to attend the graduation. I wish no disrespect to our president, I pray for him and wish him well. 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.

Bishop Olmsted: Notre Dame's Obama Honor "Public Act of Disobedience to U.S. Bishops"

From the article:

"It is a public act of disobedience to the Bishops of the United States," said the bishop, who cited the U.S. bishops' 2004 directive that pro-abortion politicians "should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

"I pray that you come to see the grave mistake of your decision, and the way that it undercuts the Church's proclamation of the Gospel of Life in our day," Olmsted concluded.

Oklahoma bishops criticize Notre Dame honor for Obama

From Bishop Slattery's letter quoted in the news brief:

For President Obama to be honored by Notre Dame is more than a disappointment, it is a scandal-- especially to young adults. His being honored by Notre Dame will make it easier for a woman who contemplates abortion to actually submit herself to this cruel and deadly procedure. At the same time, the University of Notre Dame will have distanced itself from the Bishops of the country who unanimously have asked that no politician promoting abortion be honored by any of our institutions.

On the other hand, your cancellation of the president’s visit will be noted and remembered as an affirmation of the intrinsic value of human life, a courageous example of prophetic witness worthy of a Catholic institution.


Notre Dame draws Texas fire from Cardinal DiNardo

From the article:

“I find the invitation very disappointing,” Cardinal DiNardo writes.

"Though I can understand the desire by a university to have the prestige of a commencement address by the President of the United States, the fundamental moral issue of the inestimable worth of the human person from conception to natural death is a principle that soaks all our lives as Catholics, and all our efforts at formation, especially education at Catholic places of higher learning."

According to Cardinal DiNardo, “the President has made clear by word and deed that he will promote abortion and will remove even those limited sanctions that control this act of violence against the human person. The Bishops of the United States published a document a few years ago asking all Catholic universities to avoid giving a platform or an award to those politicians or public figures who promote the taking of unborn human life. Even given the dignity of Office of the President, this offer is still providing a platform and an award for a public figure who has been candid on his pro-abortion views."

"Particularly troubling, he continues, is the Honorary Law Degree since it recognizes that the person is a 'Teacher,' in this case of the Law. I think that this decision requires charitable but vigorous critique.

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