If the text of the citation for the honorary degree Notre Dame bill bestow on President Obama that has been leaked today by anti-abortion extremist Randall Terry is accurate, the university is making much the same case as I did below for why Mr. Obama deserves this recognition.
"This degree reeks of the harlotry spirit shown by a teenage girl who is about to throw away her honor with a pervert," Mr. Terry declared. Huh? How can anyone who seeks to be a Jesus Follower side with such a crazed, hate-filled man and against Barack Obama?
At the last count I have seen, 68 American bishops have come out in public opposition to the University of Notre Dame's decision to invite President Obama to be its commencement speaker and to grant him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree this Sunday.
More than 350,000 people have signed petitions against the invitation. John D'Arcy, Bishop of the Fort Wayne Diocese, which includes South Bend, will boycott the Notre Dame commencement.
Last Friday, at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, the prefect of the Vatican's Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the church's highest court, proclaimed that Notre Dame's granting of the honorary degree to the president is "a source of the gravest scandal."
As an American Catholic, I find these actions by the Hierarchy and "conservative" elements within the laity to be more than a little disturbing.
Referring to the president of the United States (one who so far is in most respects doing a better job of trying to adhere to the teachings of Jesus than have many of his predecessors) speaking at and receiving an honorary degree from a major American university as a "scandal" is . . . well, scandalous.
But here is the comment that really got my notice and deeply angered me:
"The toxic residue from this scandal will be the perception that Notre Dame has made dissent in the Catholic Church respectable," said Bishop Lawrence Brandt of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. "This cannot be looked upon as a paradigm to be followed by others."
Bishop Brandt's comment on the poisonous nature of the idea that dissent within the Catholic Church is "respectable" is the real scandal.
In fact, making dissent within our Church respectable is exactly what is needed--desperately. For far too long, we have had to suffer under a group of old men following a centuries-long tradition of ignoring the teachings of Jesus and imposing the practices and prejudices of their own time and place as official Church doctrine.
Bishop Brandt is reinforcing the perception long held by many Protestants that Catholicism is diametrically opposed to the essence of Americanism. Dissent is far more American than apple pie. Dissent is what this nation is built upon. Dissent is patriotic.
The belief that Catholics must follow the dictates of the Hierarchy and may not think for themselves was one of the major impediments that John F. Kennedy had to knock down to convince non-Catholics that a Catholic could be president of the United States.
Dissent is not only patriotic; dissent is Christian. Can anyone seriously argue that Jesus was not a dissenter?
According to an Associated Press story at the beginning of this month, the Catholic bishops have made "abortion the paramount issue for their activism."
Well, Jesus was an activist if there ever was one, and he certainly didn't make abortion the paramount issue of his activism. Abortion by various methods was widely practiced in Roman times, yet Jesus never mentioned it. That silence on the subject plainly does not mean that he was "pro-choice," but it certainly indicates that it was not the most important issue to him. It is also very relevant that Jesus was totally silent on the other issue that conservative "Christians" insist is most important (and one that was very widespread in the ancient world), homosexuality.
What Jesus did talk about, over and over again, was helping the poor, caring for the sick and prisoners, opposing greed and the accumulation of wealth, and rejecting war and violence.
Unlike many of those who loudly proclaim themselves to be "Christians" today, the Catholic Church is generally with Jesus on social and economic questions, but the bishops should listen to Jesus when it comes to setting their priorities and not place abortion ahead of the issues Jesus actually addressed and on which President Obama is at least as close to Jesus as they are. Among them are: providing health care, restraining materialism and the accumulation of excessive wealth, opposing torture and preemptive war, and assisting "the least of these."
Because of his very Christian positions on those issues, Barack Obama is a most worthy recipient of an honorary degree from Notre Dame, and if the bishops would listen to Jesus they would agree.
Dissent is not only American; dissent is also Catholic, particularly when the Hierarchy fails to heed what Jesus said.
{Historian Robert S. McElvaine is Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts & Letters at Millsaps College. His most recent book, Grand Theft Jesus: The Hijacking of Religion in America 
has just been published in paperback by Three Rivers Press.}
Critics Blast Obama's Scheduled Notre Dame Commencement Address ...
Notre Dame's Obama invite outrages some Catholics - Faith & Reason
Obama Notre Dame Speech: Anti-Abortion Activist Challenges ...
I agree that Jesus ate, drank, and talked (not preached at the table) with all kinds of people, but that's not usually the kind of image anyone has of a devoted Catholic (or any Christian) today. Most women in North America would rather convert to Islam as to the apostolic truth Benjamin XVI offers us. We've got the same voice either way.
Yours in Christ, Sandra
Rev. Debra Haffner
http://debrahaffner.blogspot.com/2009/05/president-obama-notre-dame-and-abortion.html
Imagine if the President was working to pass a law that would make it legal for mothers to kill their children up to the age of 5. And that 4,000 children would be killed *every* day because it is now legal.
Would you not start protesting? Would you not make a big deal about it? Would the economy, torture, and *everything* not take a back-seat to this horrendous crime?
As Catholics, we believe life - true, human life like yours or mine - begins at conception, not at birth. Thus, to us, not only is there a law that permits children to be killed by their mothers but the President is pushing for Federal Funds to fund it!
Now that you see my perspective, we can both agree that you and I have different answers as to when life starts. I know that you cannot make a rationale answer of life starts at "birth" as you could, for example, give birth to a baby 5 months into pregnancy and he will survive and lead a normal life. How about the day before that day? Or the previous one? Or how about during the 5th week when the heart starts to pump? Where do you draw the line? Just think about that...
God Bless.
so I could leave the church!!!
Dissent = disrespectful???
No wonder so many are leaving The Church......old men with old ideas of patriarchy.
I am agnostic, or athiest, so I look on all the leaders of churches as liars, hypocrites, and snake oil salesmen.
I refuse to write off those who truly try to imtate the character of Christ, if such a person ever existed.
Keep up the good fight.
I am Christian, with ideas than run along the lines of being an agnostic.
Your ideas echo mine so well. (Are you a mind-reader?)
While abortion and infanticide were condoned in pre-Christian Rome, they do not appear to have been in the culture of Jesus’ Hebrew audiences. At any rate, to say that abortion is one issue among many is to look at it the wrong way. It is arguably the quintessential application of Christ's teachings on the sacredness of human life. All of the other Christian social justice positions are traceable back to that recognition. If you get the fundamental understanding wrong, it compromises the durability of, and rationale for, progress on just about any other social justice issue. That's why it's so important to get it right.
A human fetus is an extension of its mother until birth. It does not think. It does not feel. Things get blurry in the third trimester, absolutely, but when someone says they are pro-choice they mean they support a woman's right to have an abortion during the first trimester, and after that during life-threatening circumstances. I choose the woman who has a family, friends, thoughts, feelings, is self-aware, and knows that she is going to die, over the fetus.
Why is only human life sacred? Who are we to put ourselves up on such a self-stroking pedestal?
I hear talk about the 'innocent unborn', but we are also 'born into sin'. At what point do we stop defending the innocent and start judging the sinful? Birth?
Is it hard to defend something that can't speak, think, disagree with you or disappoint you? Is it too hard to stand up for people that are already here but may have opinions that conflict with yours? Are you sure you're not clinging to security over the risk of dealing with living people with minds of their own, who may hurt your feelings or anger you because of your differences, or may have not gone to your church last sunday?
And you know Catholics are pro-life
Is your objective to change what it means to be Catholic? Is your goal to change Catholic doctrine in order for it to be more convenient for your belief system?
You can choose not to be Catholic.. which you already have.. congrats on making up your mind on that one. But, please don't try to influence the Catholic belief system in order to satisfy your own agenda.
If you base your beliefs on the Gospels, then you are acknowledging the authority of the Catholic Church.
As it is written about the church it is 'the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).
You should be concern about only one thing... THE TRUTH!
Influenced by human agendas.
Compromised by human weakness.
Restrained by human close-mindedness.
I forgot... the Pope is infallable. Why does he contradict Pope John Paul II so much?
This is why I am no longer Catholic, or part of any religion whatsoever. Since then I have become an Atheist, but that is beside the point.
Now that you probably written me off as a non-believer I can shed some light on my history. My entire family is very religious, but also progressive. My brother nearly became a priest and I, along with my family, were involved with the Catholic Youth Organization of my archdiocese based in a metropolis. We planned huge youth conventions that filled the largest hotel downtown and helped shape the lives of thousands upon thousands of teenagers in a positive and spiritual way, all based on God and faith. I personally attended many retreats on peace and justice studies founded on the motto, "If you want peace, work for justice", which really gave me the ability to view situations from multiple perspectives in order to approach *real* solutions. The masses we celibrated were not like cold or stale funerals but were alive with joy and celebration.
(continued...)
My family and I are also pro-choice, believe strongly in community service, and think birth control should be accessible to anyone that needs it. They believe women should be allowed to enter the priesthood and beyond, support Vatican II, and realize that although the bible is full of much wisdom, it was transcribed by people like you and I, and should not be taken literally.
They've done so much good for their community and the church... but you would have them removed out of intolerance. Did Jesus teach us nothing? The church is built upon his legacy... but then again, he also stormed the temple...
So much of what he believes is inline with Catholic morality and teaching, yet you would choose religion to berate him?
I hate to go on a tangent, but there is only one item I care to emphasize: "birth control should be accessible to anyone that needs it." If you were to get married within the Catholic church, part of marriage preparation is a mandatory class on Natural Family Planning (not to be confused with the Rhythm method). My wife and I have successfully used the Creighton Model to avoid pregnancy for 2 years, and achieve pregnancy in one fertility cycle. It has a low cost (about $50 a year).
I got lost when you started talking about "they" (I assume your family) and "he" (I assume you mean President Obama), so I will respond accordingly.
"...the bible is full of much wisdom, it was transcribed by people like you and I..."
A key belief as a Catholic is that God, through men and women, is the author of the Bible and that *everything* in the Bible is true and Truth. In addition, because it can be mis-interpreted, Jesus created the Holy Catholic Church to officially interpret the Bible via the Holy Spirit and captured in Sacred Tradition. See http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a3.htm.
"but you would have them removed out of intolerance"
Catholics do not want to remove anyone. On the contrary, we want everyone to enjoy the fullness of Truth, God's Teachings and Love. However, we do believe that He has shown us the way and the We, in order to be in full communion with Him, have to abide by all the He has revealed to us.
And the point is certainly not to berate the President nor the Office he represents. Rather, it is an attempt to not berate our own Faith. Believe me, I have no hold backs from any other University bestowing an Honorary Degree - just not a Catholic University.
I have to remind you that you cannot call yourself a Catholic if you do not abide by the dogmas and core teachings of the Holy Catholic Church. The "Hierarchy" or the Magisterium teach the True Will of our Lord. It is OK for you to not believe this or that they are not truly inspired by the Holy Spirit, but doing so, automatically makes you a non-Catholic. Yes, its that cut and dry.
**Well, Jesus was an activist if their ever was one, and he certainly didn't make abortion the paramount issue of his activism.
Thus "Thou shall not kill" sound familiar?
** Among them are: providing health care, restraining materialism and the accumulation of excessive wealth, opposing torture and preemptive war, and assisting "the least of these."
Do you know which institution runs the most hospitals in the world? How about the most orphanages? Or even universities? Or how about the most charitable organizations? If you answered the Catholic Church to each of the questions above, you got them right.
And who, out of all the people in the world, qualify more as "the least of these" than babies that have no voice, no way to defend themselves, and nobody to lookout for them - not even their mothers? Yes, you are right, unborn children.
So, is the Catholic Church being consistent? You bet.
By the way, you may be well-served visiting CatholicsComeHome.com
God Bless.
I left long before i found out that a family member had been molested by a priest as a child...to me this is far worse than aborting a non-sentient unborn fetus and much more a definition of the :"least of these".
Too bad the world isn't that cut and dry.
Square peg. Round hole.
I don't want to minimize or put aside the suffering that children have suffered at the hand of priests who have committed grave crimes, again, especiallly because of the special trust that people have in them. I would, however, want to point that that the problem amongst Catholic priests is considerably less that what you see in schools and with close relative. Again, this is no excuse and justification for the Priests as you and I pray that there are no instaces at all of such evils. But my intent is to point out that the Catholic Church has been targeted by the media and created a perception that is much more prevalent than what it actually is.
This is one example:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/24/opinion/main1933687.shtml
“[T]hink the Catholic Church has a problem?” she said. “The physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.”
Another brainwashed catholic. Unable to think for yourself. Pitiful it is.
In this sense, there is no brainwashing involved as I have a choice on whether I choose to belong to the Catholic Church and abide by its rules and definitions, or not.
Now, if the brainwashing is about me choosing to be a Catholic, then yes, I have been brainwashed. On the other hand, it may also be because I believe in God, hence I believe in the Bible and in Jesus, and hence I believe in the Catholic Church.
God Bless.
Ah what a tangled web we weave. Dan Brown should write a book about it.
On the issue of whether a Catholic university should bestow on honor on someone seems to be a internal matter that Catholics have to wrestle with. I still don't understand why non-catholics are becoming involved in a catholic issue. This is like China trying to dictate terms to Russia.
"Happening to be born a certain skin color and then getting elected" sounds a lot different than describing all of the immense obstacles in the way of someone who was trying to become president simply because he "happened to be born of a certain skin color". Indeed, he is still facing opposition today from some for no other reason. Just tie something to him that you normally wouldn't hold against a white person and you're off the hook. The amount of hatred brewing in many circles, some near mainstream, is disturbing and sickening.
I would suggest that ND get rid of ALL non-catholics from their university pronto!
I'm trying to imagine Jesus walking in with a big fat medal as he joins the tax collector for dinner.
"Here you go, pal. Good job. We're not going to talk about sin here. Let's just have some food. Gosh, it's so great to be here with you."
Somehow that's not how the scene plays out in my mind.
Obama has promised to be strong in opposing the first driver of abortion although he has unfortunately claimed that opposing the second one is above his 'pay grade'.
The most important job Pro-Lifers have in front of them is to change attitudes. By making a stink about the invitation we have basically alienated the very people whose attitudes we are seeking to change. Obama may be doing more to protect the unborn than the bishops who oppose him.
Paul Bradford, Pro-Life Catholics for Choice
Pro-Life Catholics for Choice - a contradiction within itself
Obama is also extremely engaged in trying to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place with many good ideas already on the table as well as open invitations to others willing to participate in trying to come up with solutions as well.
So many honorable qualities, and even a similar goal with a different approach yet...
Hello Alana and thank you for your interest in Pro-Life Catholics for Choice.
I'm utterly convinced that there are millions of people in the US who have confused the social teachings of the Catholic Church with the policies of the Republican Party. If you're a Catholic, there's a lot not to like about the Democrats but there's also a lot not to like about the Republicans -- sadly, I've run across very few politicians of any stripe whose idea of justice is actually 'in synch' with the Church's.
Barack Obama is not some wild-eyed radical with a pro-abortion agenda. In fact, if he were to prioritize his 'agenda' I'm sure that reproductive rights issues wouldn't even appear on the top ten (or the top twenty five). The bishops look at Obama and think, "Pro Choice". I look at Obama and think, "opponent of the Iraq invasion", "advocate of tax justice", "friend to the immigrant", "proponent of universal health care", "environmentalist" and a whole lot of other things that Catholics anywhere can warm to.
Paul Bradford, Pro-Life Catholics for Choice