The following guest post was originally published on March 24, 2009 for PonderPost. It was written by Tim Jones and is republished here with his permission to preserve it while PonderPost is renovated.
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The University of Notre Dame has invited President Obama to give the commencement speech at the spring graduation ceremony. Additionally, the university will bestow an honorary doctor of laws degree upon the President.
This has the Catholic community in quite a stir, as parishioners from both sides of the discussion weigh in. On one side, many are happy to have the President speak, including a growing Facebook group called, “We Will Be Honored to Have President Obama at Notre Dame.” On the other, you have ardent, pro-life groups that wholeheartedly oppose the President speaking at the premier Catholic university in the country.
While I try to see both sides of the coin, I believe Notre Dame has made an egregious error by inviting President Obama to give the commencement address at, if not the premier Catholic university in the US, the most well-known Catholic university.
The Catholic Church represents one of the most fervent supporters of the pro-life movement, while President Obama represents one of the most pro-abortion politicians, ever. President Obama has gone so far as to repeatedly vote for so-called pro-choice legislation that really amounts to infanticide, in the case of refusing medical care to live babies born after botched abortions. His current administration threatens to, at the very least, lessen the ability for Catholic hospitals to operate with the elimination of healthcare conscience rule and to increase abortions by 125,000 per year with his Freedom of Choice Act.
It would seem that Notre Dame would prefer a
commencement speech given by someone that more closely represents the Church’s positions, not just with regard to abortion, but across the board. Doesn’t the Church have enough difficulty promoting it’s staunchly pro-life position without endorsing the exact opposite activity with President Obama as the commencement speaker?
As a Catholic and pro-life advocate, I’m disappointed with the Read More…
Posted under Barack Obama
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This post was written by PonderstormMike on May 25, 2010

