President Obama to receive honorary degree from Notre Dame

[pennsylvan]

The number of bishops now on record as opposed to Obama speaking at ND is now up to 79

There are nearly 300 U.S. bishops.

 

[JimG]

There are nearly 300 U.S. bishops.

And how many have spoken out in favor of Obama’s Notre Dame appearance?

 

[DavidinStLouis]

My letter to him:

Dear Father Jenkins:

I can’t begin to say how sad I am to see that Notre Dame, a CATHOLIC university named after Our Lady, is giving such an honor to the most PRO-DEATH president in the history of this country. A man who has publicly stood in front of a Planned Parenthood banner and said he would make it a top priority of his administration to sign legislation to completely unravel 40 years of hard fought pro-life regulations. A man who called a child a punishment. A man who thinks it is above his pay grade to know when life begins. A man who thinks nothing about spending taxpayer’s dollars to kill the unborn children in other countries. THIS is the sort of man Notre Dame chooses to bestow such honor upon. How many of these lost children would have been students of your university and go on to do great and amazing things? Guess we will never know.

My heart breaks for our Church and what this esteemed institution is doing to her by this act of scandal. What a very very sad place Notre Dame has become. There were no champions present the day this decision was made.

Liza Anne
Detroit

~Liza

**
Very, very well said!** …and how/who can counter this statement??

[People can say, “well, what about free speech?” That’s all well & good but free speech doesn’t mean that a Catholic University is obligated to INVITE someone to come and speak (at such a prestigious event). Also, we’re not talking a simple ‘business’ here, we’re talking about a MAJOR name in the Catholic education system essentially sticking a red hot iron in the eye of both Our Lady AND her Son!! This University is named after the ULTIMATE mother and still sees fit to take this scandalous action. It’s nearly impossible to believe.]

 

[DavidinStLouis]

Thank you. I guess we’re going to differ on this. I recognize those people as pro-choice and not pro-abortion, and while I still think of course being “pro-choice” is problematic for a Catholic, I’m not going to kick them out of the Church while there’s hope, as I see it, that they will continue to better form their conscience.

But I also recognize for some people the pro-choice vs. pro-abortion distinction is meaningless. Peace.

I just want to make a point of clarification that is important to understand, I believe: Please note, the Catholic Church in general does not “kick people out” of the Church. People “kick themselves out”. Sometimes the Church is pressed to *identify *those individuals officially so as to clarify. i.e. excommunication findings. Excommunication, as the word itself explains, is a *finding *that the subject in question is **“not in communion” **with Church teachings & beliefs. They have taken themselves away from the Church, so far away that the Church “can’t even see them” anymore. They are “lost” and declared so - just as any parent would cry out that their child is LOST and in need of being FOUND.
Just as a child in this example is not “kicked out” but rather, lost - so too are those who find themselves in excommunique. We wish them to be found and welcomed back. They certainly are not “kicked out”. : )

 

[DavidinStLouis]

Good point.
It would seem naive to believe that Obama is innocently unaware of the backlash which he has created that Notre Dame is receiving from the Church regarding his visit. Is that his honest way of trying to improve relations with the Catholic Church?
If he wanted to improve his relations with the Church, he would renounce his support for the murder of the unborn.

All of this talk about Obama accepting an invitation to ND is all well & good but I think we’ll all agree that the issue here, of course, is the blinkin’ INVITE from “Our Lady” University in the first place. Absolutely disgraceful! Sad, sad, sad.

 

[DavidinStLouis]

Here’s how I put it in my letter to Notre Dame

Mr. President (of Notre Dame University), I am saddened, nee flabbergasted, that you would advocate & allow such a pro-abortion figure as President Obama to act as an example and to speak at the Commencement for these young minds as they graduate from “OUR LADY” university. This is not an act worthy of a faithful Catholic institution. It is an embarrassment to all Catholics by association and makes us appear rudderless, hypocritical & foolish. Such a scandal is this, that more than one Bishop has labeled it so. Please take action to prevent this travesty - or to at least come to your senses and apologize for, and identify it as the mistake that it is, it after the fact.

 

[Insight]

Just spoke with my nutty friends over the cellphone picketing at Notre Dame. They are picketing right now, there are about 100 people at the main entrance. They passed out a bunch of signs and rubber Obama masks they bought last Halloween. They have two sign trucks driving around the campus 24 hrs a day. There have been a few arrests already, but it is going well. There is a lot of media coverage. The turnout is real good, which may be keeping the arrests down, the police don’t want to make a scene anymore than what it is.

God Bless

 

[aicirt]

And how many have spoken out in favor of Obama’s Notre Dame appearance?

I too would like to know why all 300 haven’t come out against Obama speaking and getting an honorary degree. Doesn’t make sense. If they say it is an intrinsic evil, than they should be the ones leading.

Also Father Jenkins wasn’t alone making this decision. Who were the others on the committee?

 

[JimG]

I too would like to know why all 300 haven’t come out against Obama speaking and getting an honorary degree. Doesn’t make sense. If they say it is an intrinsic evil, than they should be the ones leading.

Also Father Jenkins wasn’t alone making this decision. Who were the others on the committee?

I would like to have seen all of the bishops speak out against this.
But the bishop of the diocese in which Notre Dame is located–Bishop D’Arcy, did speak out, and also boycotted the event, and led a prayer service at the grotto.

Bishops don’t ordinarily speak about things occuring outside their diocese. Bishop D’Arcy spoke out, and he should have been heeded.

That said, I can’t help but wish that every bishop in the country would have spoken out against an honor being given to a pro-abortion individual by a Catholic university.

Sadly, many Catholics in academia and in chanceries have already been co-opted by the Obama administration. It is a shame.

 

[mapleoak]

I too would like to know why all 300 haven’t come out against Obama speaking and getting an honorary degree. Doesn’t make sense. If they say it is an intrinsic evil, than they should be the ones leading.

Also Father Jenkins wasn’t alone making this decision. Who were the others on the committee?

My question is why Father Jenkins feels he doesn’t owe obedience to the bishop of his own diocese. After all priests take a vow of obedience to their bishops.

 

[Trader]

My question is why Father Jenkins feels he doesn’t owe obedience to the bishop of his own diocese. After all priests take a vow of obedience to their bishops.

It is a little more complicated than that. Father Jenkins is a member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. His vow of obedience is to his superiors in his order. I can assure you that Bishop D’Arcy has been in contact with the Superior General of the congregation for many years. There are some pretty extreme measures a bishop can take under canon law including the removal of priestly faculties and banning him from the diocese. I don’t think we are anywhere close to those actions.

Bishop D’Arcy actually has a pretty good personal relationship with Father Jenkins and is working very hard for a solution before he retires. Bishop D’Arcy is nearly two years past mandatory retirement age, but the Pope has not yet officially accepted his resignation or named a successor.

Our bishop has a lot of concerns about the relationship between the office of bishop and the rightful independence of a university. He has consulted both historians and theologians on the problem, including the historical process that has led so many universities with religious roots to become totally secular, like Harvard and Yale.

One of the bishops I would like to hear from is Bishop Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois. He is also a Holy Cross member who was Auxiliary Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend under Bishop D’Arcy. Before becoming bishop, he was rector of Sacred Heart Basilica on the Notre Dame Campus. I think Bishop Jenke probably wishes the whole thing would go away. He has no direct authority in the matter, but is well acquainted with the personalities on both sides.

 

[jean8]

Here are the Catholic bishops who have so far expressed disapproval of the Notre Dame action… I can’t think of any other president –ever—who generated this kind of a response from Catholic bishops, for speaking at a Catholic university:

1. Bishop John D’Arcy - Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN
2. Bishop Samuel Aquila - Fargo, ND
3. Bishop Gregory Aymond - Austin, TX
4. Bishop Robert Baker - Birmingham, AL
5. Bishop Gerald Barbarito - Palm Beach, FL
6. Bishop Leonard Blair - Toledo, OH
7. Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua (Archbishop Emeritus) - Philadelphia, PA
8. Bishop Lawrence Brandt - Greensburg, PA
9. Archbishop Daniel Buechlein - Indianapolis, IN
10. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz - Lincoln, NE
11. Archbishop Eusebius Beltran - Oklahoma City, OK
12. Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú - San Antonio, TX
13. Archbishop Charles Chaput - Denver, CO
14. Bishop Paul Coakley - Salina, KS
15. Bishop Edward Cullen - Allentown, PA
16. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo - Houston, TX
17. Archbishop Timothy Dolan - New York, NY
18. Bishop Thomas Doran - Rockford, IL
19. Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty - Scranton, PA
20. Bishop Robert Finn - Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO
21. Bishop Joseph Galante - Camden, NJ
22. Bishop Victor Galeone - St. Augustine, FL
23. Cardinal Francis George - Chicago, IL; President, USCCB
24. Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger - Evansville, IN
25. Archbishop José Gomez - San Antonio, TX
26. Bishop Bernard Harrington - Winona, MN
27. Bishop Robert Hermann - St. Louis, MO
28. Bishop William Higi - Lafayette, IN
29. Archbishop Alfred Hughes - New Orleans, LA
30. Bishop Michael O. Jackels - Wichita, KS
31. Bishop James V. Johnston - Springfield-Cape Girardeau, MO
32. Bishop Peter Jugis - Charlotte, NC
33. Bishop Joseph Latino - Jackson, MS
34. Bishop John LeVoir - New Ulm, MN
35. Bishop Jerome Listecki - La Crosse, WI
36. Bishop William E. Lori - Bridgeport, CT
37. Bishop Paul Loverde - Arlington, VA
38. Bishop George Lucas - Springfield, IL
39. Bishop Robert Lynch - St. Petersburg, FL
40. Bishop Joseph Martino - Scranton, PA
41. Bishop John McCormack - Manchester, NH
42. Bishop Robert Morlino - Madison, WI
43. Bishop William Murphy - Rockville Centre, NY
44. Bishop George Murry - Youngstown, OH
45. Archbishop John J. Myers - Newark, NJ
46. Archbishop Joseph Naumann - Kansas City, KS
47. Bishop R. Walker Nickless - Sioux City, IA
48. Archbishop John C. Nienstedt - St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN
49. Archbishop Edwin O’Brien - Baltimore, MD
50. Bishop Thomas Olmsted - Phoenix, AZ
51. Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk - Cincinnati, OH
52. Bishop Reymundo Pena - Brownsville, TX
53. Bishop Glen Provost - Lake Charles, LA
54. Bishop David Ricken - Green Bay, WI
55. Cardinal Justin Rigali - Philadelphia, PA; Chairman, USCCB Pro-Life Committee
56. Bishop Kevin Rhoades - Harrisburg, PA
57. Bishop Alexander Sample - Marquette, MI
58. Bishop Edward J. Slattery - Tulsa, OK
59. Bishop Richard Stika - Knoxville, TN
60. Bishop Anthony Taylor - Little Rock, AR
61. Bishop George Thomas - Helena, MT
62. Bishop Robert Vasa - Baker, OR
63. Bishop Michael Warfel - Great Falls-Billings, MT
64. Bishop Thomas Wenski - Orlando, FL
65. Archbishop Donald Wuerl - Washington, D.C.
66. Bishop David Zubick - Pittsburgh, PA

Jim,
thank you for the info.
I’m wondering, Is Notre Dame still a Christian College?
How can they honor Obama ?
He supports abortion and gay marrige. God doesn’t support either. God tells us in His word, homosexuality is a perversion. We as christians know abortion is killing an unborn child.

God have mercy,
jean

 

[elts1956]

I too would like to know why all 300 haven’t come out against Obama speaking and getting an honorary degree. Doesn’t make sense. If they say it is an intrinsic evil, than they should be the ones leading.

Also Father Jenkins wasn’t alone making this decision. Who were the others on the committee?

There are many liberals including clergy and ND committee members who are in hiding. They are afraid to visibly stand for anything.

 

[thunderballs75]

Most people believe that there may be some instances where killing innocent people might be justified. A lot of innocent people died in the Iraq War, and World War II. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were guaranteed to kill innocent people, but most of the country supported that action anyway.

The Iraq War wasn’t self-defense.

That’s why the Catholic Church has condemned the Iraq War and the dreadful atomic bombings. World War II was a just war, although it definitely doesn’t make any of the horror less painful.

Anyways, I think Obama should have been allowed to speak. However, he definitely shouldn’t have been given an honorary award, unless he would change his views on abortion.

 

[Luis_Santiago]

That’s why the Catholic Church has condemned the Iraq War and the dreadful atomic bombings. World War II was a just war, although it definitely doesn’t make any of the horror less painful.

You’re right, and I do admit that the Catholic Church has been consistent on this issue. However, I was trying to show that it is hypocritical to condemn abortion while supporting these other actions. It’s futile though. The typical response seems to be along the lines of “even if those things are bad, abortion is so much worse I don’t have to care about them.” I can’t believe this sort of response is Christ-like.

Anyways, I think Obama should have been allowed to speak. However, he definitely shouldn’t have been given an honorary award, unless he would change his views on abortion.

I saw transcripts of parts of the speech. The crowd clearly supported his presence, and his speech seemed to treat the issue with the respect it deserved. His message was to try and work together to solve problems we can agree on, which is pretty much what everyone expected.

 

[mapleoak]

There are many liberals including clergy and ND committee members who are in hiding. They are afraid to visibly stand for anything.

This is so true. There are many who stand up for the Church and what she teaches, except when others might notice. Then they are ashamed of their faith.
St Mark Chap 8:38:

For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation: the Son of man also will be ashamed of him, when he shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels

 

[RobbyS]

It is a little more complicated than that. Father Jenkins is a member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. His vow of obedience is to his superiors in his order. I can assure you that Bishop D’Arcy has been in contact with the Superior General of the congregation for many years. There are some pretty extreme measures a bishop can take under canon law including the removal of priestly faculties and banning him from the diocese. I don’t think we are anywhere close to those actions.

Bishop D’Arcy actually has a pretty good personal relationship with Father Jenkins and is working very hard for a solution before he retires. Bishop D’Arcy is nearly two years past mandatory retirement age, but the Pope has not yet officially accepted his resignation or named a successor.

Our bishop has a lot of concerns about the relationship between the office of bishop and the rightful independence of a university. He has consulted both historians and theologians on the problem, including the historical process that has led so many universities with religious roots to become totally secular, like Harvard and Yale.

One of the bishops I would like to hear from is Bishop Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois. He is also a Holy Cross member who was Auxiliary Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend under Bishop D’Arcy. Before becoming bishop, he was rector of Sacred Heart Basilica on the Notre Dame Campus. I think Bishop Jenke probably wishes the whole thing would go away. He has no direct authority in the matter, but is well acquainted with the personalities on both sides.

The historic process is easy to understand. Catholics have always been attracted to positivism, which which fact is reflect in the organization of the university into departments. It is no longer pulled together by theology but by a worship of science. Faith is reduced to sentiment and ritual with no connection to truth. Finally even the symbols are disposed of.

 

[CKNICKERBOCKER]

“Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no…any more is fron the evil one.”
The greatest thing about my mom was that you never questioned where she stood on an issue. It is hard to see that many of those who are suppose to stand in opposition to abortion, and anyone who supports it, are afraid or too “mixed up” about this issue.
this fear and confusion IS from the evil one.

 

[irom]

I’ve an impression that majority supports Obama getting honorary degree… Does it mean that we’re ‘orthodox catholics’ minority ?

 

[Insight]

I’ve an impression that majority supports Obama getting honorary degree… Does it mean that we’re ‘orthodox catholics’ minority ?

It means that we sold our morals. That we consider promises of better material conforts over the murder of 55 million babies murdered in the US alone. Even to the point of allowing possibly the most pro-death person in the entire US to teach our Catholic youngsters all about abortion. It is only a matter of time before God utters the great “Enough!” When He comes to the aid of the slaughtered innocents under the altar asking for justice, as we read in Revelations.

God Bless