Notre Dame President Refuses to Meet With Students Objecting to Inviting Pro-Abortion Obama

[Caveman]

here’s the first three paragraphs from LifeNews.com; (Emphasis mine)

Notre Dame President Refuses to Meet With Students Objecting to Inviting Pro-Abortion Obama

South Bend, IN (LifeNews.com) – An ad hoc group of several Notre Dame students organizations says University of Notre Dame president, Rev. John Jenkins, has refused their request for a meeting. The students want to talk to Jenkins about his invitation to pro-abortion President Barack Obama to give the commencement speech next month and receive an honorary degree.

The leaders of ND Response, a broad coalition of Notre Dame student groups founded to oppose the Obama invitation, sent Jenkins a letter confirming their interest in discussing their concerns with him.

The students received word back that Jenkins would meet with them but only in a limited, closed-door fashion. They wrote back that they wanted a chance for **all of the leaders **of ND Response to have the ability to meet with Jenkins, instead of limiting the attendance.

 

[redrosetea]

I think he should step down

 

[jamesdunnaway]

I agree

 

[JReducation]

I believe that Fr. Jenkin days as the president of UND are numbered. He has refused to hear his Superior General, which constitutes a serious issue of obedience to one who is in vows as a religious brother. Let us not forget that the Jenkins is not only a priest, but a religious brother of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. As such, he must respond to his Superior General in a satisfactory manner.

I have no idea what they have discussed behind the scenes and we shall never know, because that is privileged information between a superior and his subordinate. But if his response is the same as it has been to the public, he may be in trouble with his boss. There is only one way that he can get out of it, that is to argue that what the Superior General asks of him is damaging to his soul or that of the religious of the Holy Cross. In that case, his is not bound to obey. I can hardly see how this can be the case. He has not been asked to do anything that may cause damage to the soul.

I finish with my suspicion, his days in that post are numbered. As soon as the canonical term is over, the Superior General has the authority to remove him. I’m not sure if the canonical term applies. I don’t know if he is the superior of the religious house at Notre Dame. If he’s not, then there is no canonical term of office. In that case he can be transfered at any time without an ecclesial hearing.

Fraternally,

JR

 

[redrosetea]

I wonder if it is possible to let Obama speak and not give him the honorarium

This could be a face saving action for everyone, if he just gave a commencement address, without getting the honors bestowed on him

 

[sonofourlady]

I believe that Fr. Jenkin days as the president of UND are numbered. He has refused to hear his Superior General, which constitutes a serious issue of obedience to one who is in vows as a religious brother. Let us not forget that the Jenkins is not only a priest, but a religious brother of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. As such, he must respond to his Superior General in a satisfactory manner.

I have no idea what they have discussed behind the scenes and we shall never know, because that is privileged information between a superior and his subordinate. But if his response is the same as it has been to the public, he may be in trouble with his boss. There is only one way that he can get out of it, that is to argue that what the Superior General asks of him is damaging to his soul or that of the religious of the Holy Cross. In that case, his is not bound to obey. I can hardly see how this can be the case. He has not been asked to do anything that may cause damage to the soul.

I finish with my suspicion, his days in that post are numbered. As soon as the canonical term is over, the Superior General has the authority to remove him. I’m not sure if the canonical term applies. I don’t know if he is the superior of the religious house at Notre Dame. If he’s not, then there is no canonical term of office. In that case he can be transfered at any time without an ecclesial hearing.

Fraternally,

JR

Funny you should mention this JR but I asked a friend of mine about having Father Jenkins being punished over all this and he replied the following:

The head of the CSC has already said he’s sad, but he won’t take any action. The only person above him is the Pope, who won’t get involved because of the principle of subsidiarity - it is the duty of each order to clean their own house. He can advise it, but he won’t go farther than that.

Obama is speaking.
It will not be stopped.

Later when I asked if the Congregation of the Clergy could get involved he replied to it:

The Sacred Congregation of the Clergy is going to look at it the same way the Pope does: subsidiarity will prevent them from getting very involved.

This is primarily a prudential error, not a formal act of heresy.

Insofar as it is disobedience, it is disobedience to the US Bishops’ Conference, which really doesn’t have any binding authority in most matters anyhow. So, the Congregation is going to consider this a problem for the USCCB to clean up, and we all know how THAT will go. The USCCB set a standard that it cannot enforce because it’s only a standing conference, it isn’t a synod or council.

The CSC is not directly responsible to any bishop except the Pope. Fr. Jenkins is only tangentially responsible to Bishop D’Arcy. The USCCB can complain all it wants, but unless Bishop D’Arcy is interested in doing something - it’s clear he isn’t - nothing will happen.

Jenkins is going to walk away clean, which is why he did it in the first place. He knew nobody was going to touch him.

A few bishops yell, a few dioceses may close down their Notre Dame extension programs (although probably none of them will). Big whoop. By next year, no one will even remember what happened.

 

[Vonier]

I’ll remember.

 

[irishpatrick]

So, a question.

If you were attending ND, would you stay or leave?

 

[redrosetea]

I don’t know, perhaps I would stay and fight peacefully hoping to make a change, but I would have to think about it …I think my first inclination would be to go

 

[irishpatrick]

I don’t know, perhaps I would stay and fight peacefully hoping to make a change, but I would have to think about it …I think my first inclination would be to go

Not sure. I think a mass exit by many students would send a stronger messages. If not, then the school is truly lost.

 

[redrosetea]

Not sure. I think a mass exit by many students would send a stronger messages. If not, then the school is truly lost.

I misunderstood…I thought you meant leave the school altogether…I would try to ornaize a mass withdrawal before he spoke, with everyone wearing red, the color of the blood of the martyrs

 

[JReducation]

Funny you should mention this JR but I asked a friend of mine about having Father Jenkins being punished over all this and he replied the following:

Later when I asked if the Congregation of the Clergy could get involved he replied to it:

Actually, the Congregation of the Clergy has no jurisdiction over priests who are brothers. Their jurisdiction is only over priests who are secular. Brothers come under the Congregation for Religious Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life. Even there, the only ones who answer directly to them are the superiors general. A superior general is not going to be taken to task for something that one member of his community does. The Congregation only gets involved if the community violates its constitutions, rule or canon law.

The Superior General only has jurisdiction over the religioius under him in matters that affect the individual or their community. In this case, if the agreement was reached by the organization who owns the university, the superior general has no authority over them. The principal of subsidiarity applies here, because it is up to the provincial superior and the council to decide what to do in this case. The superior general rarely goes over the head of the provincial superior unless there is an abdication of duty.

In this case, there can be such a cause. I’ve seen it happen in other religious communities where the superior general or his delegate has demanded that the provincial superior take certain actions.

The Holy Father cannot get involved due to the principal of subsidiarity and because it would create a conflict between two heads of state. That is something that the Holy Father would want to avoid.

We’ll just have to wait and pray.

Fraternally,

JR