Posted by Tom McFeely
Monday, March 23, 2009 9:25 AM
To say that the University of Notre Dame has placed the U.S. bishops in a bad position is an understatement.
Monday, March 23, 2009 9:25 AM
To say that the University of Notre Dame has placed the U.S. bishops in a bad position is an understatement.
By honoring President Barack Obama by selecting him as Notre Dame’s commencement speaker, the university flagrantly has violated the U.S. bishops’ document, “Catholics in Political Life.” It specifies that such honors should not be conferred on pro-abortion politicians. “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,” the document states. You just can’t get more pro-abortion than Obama. And no moral principle is more fundamental than the sanctity of innocent human life.
But if the bishops condemn Notre Dame for its bad decision, they are guaranteed to be deluged with hostile public commentaries that paint them as “small-minded” and “mean-spirited,” and much worse. And many of these commentaries will come from Catholic dissenters on abortion, you can be sure. So what can faithful Catholics do to help their bishops? We can deluge the office of Notre Dame’s president, Holy Cross Father John Jenkins, with emails, letters and telephone calls, letting him know just how wrong his decision was to confer this honor on Obama — and requesting, politely but resolutely, that it be rescinded. One way to do this is by visiting notredamescandal.com, and joining there with the thousands of Catholics who have already registered their dismay and hurt about this horrible decision by signing an online petition that will be sent to Father Jenkins. We can pray — most definitely through the intercession of Mary, to whom the University of Notre Dame is dedicated — for a change of heart at the university and a reversal of its invitation to the president.
We can send letters and emails to newspapers explaining why the university’s decision is so wrong, in order that no one can claim our bishops are the only Catholics who oppose this honor being conferred on Obama. And Notre Dame alumni and others who support the university financially also can explain to the school that their contributions can’t be taken for granted — that when a Catholic institution takes an action that is so flagrantly opposed to what the Church teaches, faithful Catholics are called in conscience to examine their support of that institution. Not in any way out of malice, but seeking in charity to persuade the institution to reverse an action that contradicts its own Catholic identity and undermines Church teachings and the authority of the Church’s shepherds.
In sum, there are lots of things lay Catholics can do to help their bishops respond to Notre Dame’s mistake. So let’s get busy!
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