obama

Pro-Life Faction May Keep Obama Out of Notre Dame
EmailWritten by JJ on Mar-26-09 6:52am


U.S. President Barack Obama takes part in an event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building March 23, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama delivered remarks about investments in clean energy and new technology included in the budget during the event. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)more pics »

What's the difference between President Barack Obama and Rudy? One of them is welcome at Notre Dame.

ZIMBIO POLL

SHOULD BARACK OBAMA'S PRO-CHOICE STANCE ON ABORTION KEEP HIM FROM SPEAKING AT NOTRE DAME'S COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY?
Vote Here An invitation accepted by the president to speak at Notre Dame's commencement ceremony in May has sparked unexpected outrage in parts of the Catholic community. Notre Dame is still a stronghold of Roman Catholic education despite its largely secular image. That Catholic status does not mix well with President Obama's pro-choice stance on abortion.

Bishop John D'Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, diocese, lent weight to the cries of protest Tuesday when he issued an official statement on the diocese Web site, announcing that he would be boycotting the 2009 Notre Dame commencement ceremony.
After much prayer, I have decided not to attend the graduation. I wish no disrespect to our president, I pray for him and wish him well. I have always revered the Office of the Presidency. But a bishop must teach the Catholic faith “in season and out of season,” and he teaches not only by his words — but by his actions.
The controversy is the latest in a decades-old debate within the Catholic community over whether it should be more open toward leaders whose political opinions do not coincide with the teachings of the church.

Bishop John Michael D'Arcy has announce his plans to boycott Obama's Notre Dame commence- ment address.

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "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."

The argument has been used against pro-choice politicians such as John Kerry and Kathleen Sebelius, but Washington Post religion columnist Thomas J. Reese makes a pretty decent five-point argument that inviting Obama to speak does not violate that policy. Why? Because publicly, he's never spoken against the moral principle that abortion is wrong, and privately "Obama has never acted in defiance of the fundamental moral principle that abortion is wrong."

Notre Dame has so far not withdrawn its invitation.