The Notre Dame scandal is now a matter of history. President Obama has spoken at the university commencement, has been given an honorary degree, and is now back in the White House, pushing more anti-life policies. A number of pro-lifers were arrested at the event, some graduating students boycotted it altogether, and at last count, some 83 Bishops have publically condemned the “Catholic” university for inviting Obama, arguably America’s most pro-death president.
Especially galling were the photos of Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins walking along with Obama, with a smarmy grin on his face. The pictures strongly indicate that Jenkins was far more concerned about the praise of men (‘golly, here I am with President Obama’) than with the fear of God (‘I cannot violate my faith and spurn my God by endorsing this pro-death President’).
As Archbishop Charles Chaput said, “There was no excuse – none, except intellectual vanity – for the university to persist in its course”. He continued, “”We also have the duty to oppose him when he’s wrong on foundational issues like abortion, embryonic stem cell research and similar matters. And we also have the duty to avoid prostituting our Catholic identity by appeals to phony dialogue that mask an abdication of our moral witness.”
And Obama’s speech at the occasion was appalling. As Father Jonathan Morris remarked, “During much of his 25 minute speech, President Obama lectured Notre Dame about why some of the Church’s fundamental values don’t really matter that much and why graduates should burn these values at his altar of feigned dialogue. And all the while, students and professors cheered. And Fr. Jenkins took bows. And Team Obama scored points, moving quickly toward its goal of winning another electoral victory in 2012.”
Paul Kengor wrote, “Barack Obama says he wants abortion to be safe, legal, and rare, while doing everything in his power to advance it. For a long time in America, the Religious Left, Catholics and Protestants alike, have been duped, played like fiddles. It happened again at Notre Dame yesterday.”
Deal W. Hudson noted that this is a bigger problem than just one university: “The scandal of President Barack Obama receiving an honorary degree at Notre Dame yesterday pales in comparison with the ongoing scandal of Catholics in Congress. Of the 161 Catholics presently serving, only 26 have 100 percent pro-life voting records, while 28 have a zero percent rating. Sixty-five have less than a 20 percent pro-life rating and 75 have accepted donations from pro-abortion lobbying groups.”
Or as Jack Sonnemann remarked on Facebook: “Barack Obama is right. ‘The views of the two camps [on the abortion issue] are irreconcilable.’ One view is against the killing of innocent human life, the other is for it. Obama has now shown the entire world that he has such an open mind on this issue that his brain has fallen out!”
But for some final conservative thoughts, the stinging wit of Ann Coulter can’t be beat. She might be on to something when she suggests, “How about for next year’s graduation ceremony Notre Dame have an abortionist perform an abortion live on stage? They could have a partial-birth abortion for the advanced degrees. According to liberals, the right to kill babies was enshrined by the Founding Fathers in our Constitution – and other constitutional rights are celebrated in public.
“The right to bear arms is honored in 21-gun salutes, turkey shoots, Civil War re-enactments, firearms demonstrations and, occasionally, at Phil Spector’s house. The right to petition the government for redress of grievances is celebrated at political rallies, tea parties, marches, protests and whenever Keith Olbermann has a fight with his cat. The free exercise clause is observed in church services, missionary work, peyote-smoking Indian rituals, and for a few days after every time Bill Clinton gets caught having an extramarital affair.
“So instead of inviting a constitutional lawyer to yammer on about this purported constitutional right, why not show it being practiced? How about a 21-vacuum hose (D&C) salute? Maybe have the Notre Dame marching band form a giant skull-piercing fork? How about having the president throw out the ceremonial first fetus, like on opening day in baseball? I’m just brainstorming here, folks — none of this is written in stone.
“Being such a prestigious institution, Notre Dame could probably get famed partial-birth abortion practitioner George Tiller to do the demonstration at next year’s graduation. Obama could help – inasmuch as Tiller the abortionist is a close friend of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. This is a ‘constitutional right’ like no other.
“Even its supporters are embarrassed by the exercise of this right. They won’t practice the right in public – they won’t even call abortion by its name, preferring to use a string of constantly changing euphemisms, such as ‘reproductive health’ and ‘choice.’ It would be as if gun owners refused to use the word ‘gun’ and the NRA’s motto were, ‘Let’s all work together to keep hunting safe, legal and rare.’
“Liberals were awestruck by Obama’s statesmanlike speech at Notre Dame, but whatever he says about abortion is frothy nonsense because we’re not allowed to vote on abortion policy in America. If it’s a ‘constitutional right,’ we can no more vote on abortion than we could vote on free speech….
“Showing his open-mindedness, Obama asked, ‘How does each of us remain firm in our principles … without demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?’ (What do I have to do to get you murderers and you non-murderers to shake hands and be friends?) A good start would be letting us vote.
“Liberals can be all sweet reason as long as their preference for abortion on demand is lyingly called a ‘constitutional right,’ immutable to the tiniest alteration by the voters.”
She concludes, “Here’s my idea for how we can ‘live together as one human family,’ as Obama proposed at Notre Dame: Go ahead, demonize pro-lifers, Obama – call us ‘right-wing ideologues.’ But just once, support one little policy that will save a single unborn child.”
May 17 was a dark day in American history, a dark day for Notre Dame, and a dark day for many Catholics. Things will only get darker unless Christians of all stripes band together and fight one of the most important battles of our time. We can do no less for the unborn.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051905.html
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051913.html
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31961
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