At Georgetown/On Faith, Thomas J. Reese weighs in on the gathering controversy surrounding President Barack Obama’s invitation to serve as the commencement speaker for Notre Dame University:
Some have objected that this is a violation of the bishops’ statement Catholics in Political Life. This is absurd.
According to Catholics in Political Life, “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.”
I would argue that having Obama as a commencement speaker and giving him an honorary degree does not violate Catholics in Political Life because:
1. In his personal life, Obama has never acted in defiance of the fundamental moral principle that abortion is wrong.
2. Publicly, Obama has never spoken out against the fundamental moral principle that abortion is wrong.
3. He supports legal restrictions on third trimester abortions with a health-of-the-mother exemption.
4. Although he does not believe that other abortions can be made illegal, he supports programs to reduce the number of abortions.
5. Notre Dame is not honoring Obama because of his views on abortion but because he is President of the United States, as has been made clear by the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president.
For the full article and a lengthy comments section, visit Georgetown/On Faith.