obama notre dame
It would be helpful for those currently leveling charges of disloyalty at the University of Notre Dame and its president, John Jenkins, CSC, to revisit the Buckley imbroglio. [1]
SOUTH BEND, Indiana (CNN) — President Obama delved into the abortion debate in a controversial Notre Dame commencement address Sunday, calling for a search for common ground on one of the most divisive issues in American politics. [2]
Publicity surrounding the arrest of former ambassador Alan Keyes and 21 other demonstrators for trespass at the University of Notre Dame last Friday will likely bring more demonstrators to the South Bend campus to protest Sunday’s commencement address by President Barack Obama, one of the protest organizers said. [3]
To Father Hesburgh, to Notre Dame trustees, to faculty, to family: I am honored to be here today. [4]
The same can’t be said of conservative Catholics who are lobbying Notre Dame University, the best-known Catholic institution of higher learning in the country, to rescind an invitation to Obama to speak at its commencement in May and accept an honorary degree. [5]
Unfortunatly, Mr. Obama still spoke, but the whole world heard our message. [6]
The Buckley and Obama incidents are not, of course, strictly analogous. [1]
By inviting Obama, Notre Dame is thumbing its nose at the Catholic church and “forfeited its right to call itself a Catholic university,” Ralph McInerny, a professor of medieval studies and philosophy, wrote on the Web site The Catholic Thing. [7]
“The phones are ringing off the hook from people who want to come here to be arrested this Friday,” said a woman who answered the phone at the StopObamaNotreDame.com headquarters in South Bend. [3]
The motivation: to provide an outlet for Catholics upset with what Wenski calls the University of Notre Dame’s “clueless” decision to invite President Barack Obama to speak at its commencement and receive an honorary doctorate May 17. [8]
A Quinnipiac University poll released last Thursday suggests most U.S. Catholics wanted Notre Dame to allow Obama to speak, with 60 percent of Catholic voters in the survey saying Notre Dame should stand by its invitation to the president. [2]
Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush have spoken to Notre Dame graduates months after taking office. [7]
We’ve set up this site as a collective on Barack Obama’s visit to the University of Notre Dame for the 2009 Commencement, May 17th. [9]
Attempts to disinvite the president as commencement speaker are an unwelcome intrusion of religion into academic life. [5]
Cleary did invite the president to “rethink, through prayerful wrestling with your own conscience, your stated positions on the vital `life issues’ of our day, particularly in regard to abortion, embryonic forms of stem cell research and your position on the Freedom of Choice Act before Congress.” Many Catholics, both lay and religious, are not eagerly awaiting the outcome of such a wrestling match between Obama and his conscience. [3]
Sources:
[1] Commonweal - A review of religion, politics and culture
[2] 19 arrested at Notre Dame protest against Obama - CNN.com
[3] Protesting Obama’s Notre Dame Invitation
[4] Text of Obama’s Notre Dame speech
[5] Notre Dame’s Obama flap - Los Angeles Times
[6] Stop Obama at Notre Dame - by Randall Terry
[7] President Barack Obama’s Invitation To Notre Dame University Stirs …
[8] Notre Dame’s Obama Invite Riles Catholic Bishops
[9] Barack Obama to speak at Notre Dame ND commencement graduation in South …