Monday, March 23, 2009

Obama as Notre Dame's 2009 Commencement Speaker – Catholics React!

I was quite pleased to hear about a petition against Obama’s speaking at Notre Dame – and even more so when I found out that Archbishop Chaput is openly supporting it. The idea of allowing Obama the privilege of giving the commencement address for students of perhaps the most well-known Catholic university in the country is abhorrent. What’s worse, the school wants to give him an honorary doctorate – in Law! How could a man, who has twisted the law and the Founding Fathers to justify abortion, be entitled to an honorary law doctorate?

It makes me want to drive out there and protest!

Many, however, already are. Notre Dame students have recently published an open letter to the President of the college, Fr. John Jenkins. What’s more, the national petition against Obama’s presence is moving forward and I encourage all of you to sign it! We really cannot let Obama, who unfortunately won the Catholic vote this election, rub his anti-Catholic and anti-human agenda in our faces at our most prestigious university.

It’s a slap in the face of Catholics and a slap in the face of our Blessed Mother, the patroness of the university!

So I ask you all to fight through word and prayer!

In other Indiana-related Catholic news, the bishop of the Evansville diocese (Bishop Gettelfinger) seems ready to snub a GOP event if Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele addresses the crowd of 4,500 people. Steele, an African-American Catholic, made headlines in recent days over what appeared to be his mixed stance on abortion. What’s worse, there is fear that the bishop’s stand against Steele may hurt the evening’s VIP: Sarah Palin. Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee with John McCain, is well-known for her pro-life position – a position that she has both practiced and preached.

With all this going on, I can’t help but join the fourth-century Christians in praying: "Sancta María, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatóribus…"

And let us not forget the prayer leading to the victorious Battle of Lepanto:

Our Lady of Victory
Ora pro nobis!



UPDATE: The Associated Press just ran an article on the petition - which now has over 28,000 signatures (including yours truly). The article is of course slanted. It seems that if your organization is opposed to abortion it gets the label "conservative Roman Catholic group" applied to it! Anyway, feel free to read it and, if it's accurate, we may have to go protest on May 17!

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