Obama to Give Commencement Speech at Notre Dame

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Follower said:
It would be helpful if you identified precisely what you are referring to by “policies at odds with Church teaching.” Were any of those purported “policies” on the same level as abortion? That is, were any of them things that the Church has unequivocally declared to be always and everywhere intrinsic evils? Or were they, instead, matters that Catholics in good standing can disagree about and still be Catholics in good standing?

Your suggestion that inviting a pro-abortion-rights Republican to be commencement speaker at a Catholic college would not draw similar protests is simply wrong - and demonstrably so. In fact, when a Catholic college invited Giuliani to be its commencement speaker, the very same “outrage” resulted, complete with a Cardinal Newman Society (and others)-led national protest, a refusal by the local bishop to attend, and a letter from the local bishop urging the school to rescind the invite. The school was Loyola College of Maryland; the local bishop was Cardinal Keeler; and the year was 2005. See, e.g., the following links:
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/19/AR2005051901733.html

lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/may/05051901.html

Giuliani also drew a stern rebuke - an abortion-based rebuke – from Rhode Island’s Catholic Bishop in response to receiving an invitation to a Giuliani presidential campaign fundraiser, as these links show:
nytimes.com/2007/06/05/us/politics/05rudy.html
dioceseofprovidence.org/files/05-31-07_My_R.S.V.P.pdf

To take another example, in 2005, Republican pro-abortion-rights Congressman Sherwood Boehlert voluntary withdrew as commencement speaker at a Catholic college in upstate New York – the St. Elizabeth College of Nursing in Utica – after abortion-based protests seemed poised to trigger the rescinding of his invitation. See, e.g.:
encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-132547352.html

Many, many, many more examples can be readily found; all one has to do is look.
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None of the nine presidents previously honored by Notre Dame agreed with the Church on abortion. Most disagreed with the Church on the death penalty and just war. At least one disagreed with the Church on embryonic stem cell research and torture.

I’m sure if one were to look, he could find someone protesting anything. But there was no need to look to see the outrage being trumpeted here. This started with Clinton Derangement Syndrome, continued with Bush Derangement Syndrome, and continues with Obama Derangement Sydrome. I have no idea what your own motivations are, but you only have to look at the typical political types fueling this thing to understand that the reason it has picked up a little heat is that so many people in this country let their religon follow their politics.
 
The others might have supported abortion ,I really don’t know about anyone else, but 2 wrongs never make a right…Obama doesn’t just support abortion he is in favor of forcing the unwilling to take part in them with his support of Foca…This is monstrous
 
Am I in error in my thinking that the U.S. Conference Catholic Bishops stated that a Catholic institution should NEVER invite a pro choice poltician to speak at that Catholic institution’s event? Not only is Obama giving a speech he is being honored with a Doctorate.
Can someone please clarify this, about the USCCB, for me?
Thank you,
joe d
 
redrosetea said:
The others might have supported abortion ,I really don’t know about anyone else, but 2 wrongs never make a right…Obama doesn’t just support abortion he is in favor of forcing the unwilling to take part in them with his support of Foca…This is monstrous
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This is a badly misinformed statement. FOCA would be a bad law, but it has nothing to do with forcing anyone to take part in anything.

My point is not that hosting the other presidents was wrong, or that hosting this one is right. My point is that the whole blogospheric uproar is political, not religious.
 
No it is not misinformed, any DR could be forced to perform an abortion and any catholic hospital could be forced to allow them…Why do you think the Bishops are threatening to close Catholic hospitals if this bill passes as written? Some of the senators who are Dr’s said they would go to jail before they would do an abortion

Christ told us we could not serve God and mammon we all had to choose…It sounds to me as long as they are a Democrat whatever they decide is OK with you…I would never chose a party or a president over my faith
 
jdau said:
Am I in error in my thinking that the U.S. Conference Catholic Bishops stated that a Catholic institution should NEVER invite a pro choice poltician to speak at that Catholic institution’s event? Not only is Obama giving a speech he is being honored with a Doctorate.
Can someone please clarify this, about the USCCB, for me?
Thank you,
joe d
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You are correct. You are not in error.
 
jdau said:
Am I in error in my thinking that the U.S. Conference Catholic Bishops stated that a Catholic institution should NEVER invite a pro choice poltician to speak at that Catholic institution’s event? Not only is Obama giving a speech he is being honored with a Doctorate.
Can someone please clarify this, about the USCCB, for me?
Thank you,
joe d
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Good question Joe…

Rather than take the word of a poster here who might say yay, or nay, let’s see what a respected Bishop has said:

blog.beliefnet.com/pontifications/2009/03/phoenix-bishop-says-notre-dame.html

Wish we had 279 more like him.;)👍

.
 
redrosetea said:
The others might have supported abortion ,I really don’t know about anyone else, but 2 wrongs never make a right…Obama doesn’t just support abortion he is in favor of forcing the unwilling to take part in them with his support of Foca…This is monstrous
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Have you read FOCA? No where in the proposed bill does it attempt to force anyone to either have an abortion or to take part in an abortion. It says absolutely nothing about forcing hospitals to perform abortions.

Misrepresenting what the bill says does not work in Catholic’s favor at all. It simply makes Catholics look like extremists who intentionally misinterpret the bill for their own agenda.
 
adamsapple said:
Have you read FOCA? No where in the proposed bill does it attempt to force anyone to either have an abortion or to take part in an abortion. It says absolutely nothing about forcing hospitals to perform abortions.

Misrepresenting what the bill says does not work in Catholic’s favor at all. It simply makes Catholics look like extremists who intentionally misinterpret the bill for their own agenda.
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You imply that you have read FOCA.

Would you be so kind/fair to post a link to the bill that you read?

Thanks

.

.
 
am not sure if anyone has posted this. If it has been, please excuse.
just thought you might like to read one of our Bishops who is not afraid of speaking out.

Dear Fr. Jenkins,
Pres. Notre Dame
I am saddened and heavy of heart about your decision to invite President Obama to speak at Notre Dame University and even to receive an honorary degree.

It is a public act of disobedience to the Bishops of the United States. Our USCCB June 2004 Statement “Catholics in Political Life” states: “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.” No one could not know of the public stands and actions of the president on key issues opposed to the most vulnderable human beings.

John Paul II said, “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights - for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture - is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with the maximum determination.”

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.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted
Diocese of Phoenix
 
redrosetea said:
FOCA fact sheet…from the USCCB

usccb.org/prolife/issues/FOCA/FOCA_FactSheet08.pdf
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The new bill actually says nothing about conscientious objection to abortion. As I said before, there is no mandate to force anyone to either have an abortion or to perform an abortion.

It’s a total misinterpretation that Catholic hospitals or doctors would be forced to sponsor abortions. They may be required to refer patients to other facilities, but they are not forced to perform abortions.

My guess would be that the bill will be revised to contain a conscientious objection clause with the caveat that patients receive information on referrals.
 
The bishops know where this can lead, and so do the rest os us who are against abortion…This bill becomes law and there is no provisions at all for conscientious objectors…they will be in defiance of the law if an abortion is demanded and denied
 
I would refer no one to a mill for murdering babies…Let them find out on their own ways to murder their baby for that is exactly what it is murder
 
Referring a patient to an abortionist is cooperating in crime. If I asked Adam to kill my friend and he told me he was not a murderer but he knew someone who would be happy to murder my friend…would that not be cooperating:rolleyes:? Physicians should not be forced to cooperate in crime. What happened to the favorite campaign word…“C H O I C E”? Don’t doctors deserve “choice” to make moral decisions?
 
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