Fr. Jenkins, Notre Dame betrayed true goal of Catholic education, archbishop says

Fr. Jenkins, Notre Dame betrayed true goal of Catholic education, archbishop says

Denver, Colo., May 18, 2009 / 04:50 pm (CNA).- In a strong statement released today, the Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap, blamed Fr. John Jenkins C.S.C and the University of Notre Dame for betraying the true, original goal of Catholic higher education, not only by conferring a degree on President Barack Obama despite his anti-life record, but for attempting a disingenuous justification for the invitation during his commencement speech on Sunday.

Quoting Fr. Jenkins when he said that "I have found that even among those who did not go to Notre Dame, even among those who do not share the Catholic faith, there is a special expectation, a special hope, for what Notre Dame can accomplish in the world;" Archbishop Chaput says that "most graduation speeches are a mix of piety and optimism designed to ease students smoothly into real life. The best have humor. Some genuinely inspire. But only a rare few manage to be pious, optimistic, evasive, sad and damaging all at the same time."

"Father John Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame's president, is a man of substantial intellect and ability. This makes his introductory comments to President Obama's Notre Dame commencement speech on May 17 all the more embarrassing."

The Archbishop of Denver recalls in his statement that the debate over President Obama's appearance at Notre Dame "was never about whether he is a good or bad man. The president is clearly a sincere and able man."

"By his own words, religion has had a major influence in his life. We owe him the respect Scripture calls us to show all public officials. We have a duty to pray for his wisdom and for the success of his service to the common good -- insofar as it is guided by right moral reasoning."

Nevertheless, Archbishop Chaput adds, "we also have the duty to oppose him when he's wrong on foundational issues like abortion, embryonic stem cell research and similar matters. And we also have the duty to avoid prostituting our Catholic identity by appeals to phony dialogue that mask an abdication of our moral witness."

"Notre Dame did not merely invite the president to speak at its commencement. It also conferred an unnecessary and unearned honorary law degree on a man committed to upholding one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in our nation's history," he says.

According to Archbishop Chaput, in doing so, Notre Dame ignored the U.S. bishops' guidance in their 2004 statement, "Catholics in Political Life," ignored "the concerns of Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon, Notre Dame's 2009 Laetare Medal honoree -- who, unlike the president, certainly did deserve her award, but finally declined it in frustration with the university's action. It ignored appeals from the university's local bishop, the president of the U.S. Catholic bishops' conference, more than 70 other bishops, many thousands of Notre Dame alumni and hundreds of thousands of other American Catholics."

"Even here in Colorado -- Chaput says, - I've heard from too many to count."

The Archbishop of Denver claims that "there was no excuse -- none, except intellectual vanity -- for the university to persist in its course."

"And Father Jenkins compounded a bad original decision with evasive and disingenuous explanations to subsequently justify it."

"These are hard words," he admits, "but they're deserved precisely because of Father Jenkins's own remarks on May 17: Until now, American Catholics have indeed had 'a special expectation, a special hope for what Notre Dame can accomplish in the world.' For many faithful Catholics -- and not just a 'small but vocal group' described with such inexcusable disdain and ignorance in journals like Time magazine -- that changed Sunday."

Archbishop Chaput finds in the May 17 events "some fitting irony."

"Almost exactly 25 years ago, Notre Dame provided the forum for Gov. Mario Cuomo to outline the 'Catholic' case for 'pro-choice' public service."

"At the time, Cuomo's speech was hailed in the media as a masterpiece of American Catholic legal and moral reasoning. In retrospect, it's clearly adroit. It's also, just as clearly, an illogical and intellectually shabby exercise in the manufacture of excuses."

The archbishop also notes that "Father Jenkins' explanations, and President Obama's honorary degree, are a fitting national bookend to a quarter century of softening Catholic witness in Catholic higher education."

"Together," he adds in his statement, "they've given the next generation of Catholic leadership all the excuses they need to baptize their personal conveniences and ignore what it really demands to be 'Catholic' in the public square."

According to Chaput, the "heart of the matter" is that "Notre Dame is hardly alone in its institutional confusion."

"Notre Dame's leadership has done a real disservice to the Church, and now seeks to ride out the criticism by treating it as an expression of fringe anger. But the damage remains, and Notre Dame’s critics are right."

The Archbishop of Denver says also that "the most vital thing faithful Catholics can do now is to insist -- by their words, actions and financial support -- that institutions claiming to be 'Catholic' actually live the faith with courage and consistency."

"If that happens, Notre Dame's failure may yet do some unintended good," he concludes.

Read the Archbishop's full statement: http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/2081

First 300,000 Petition Signatures Delivered to Notre Dame Board Members, Fr. Jenkins

First 300,000 Petition Signatures Delivered to Notre Dame Board Members, Fr. Jenkins

Copies Are Being Rushed to Rome, Papal Nuncio, USCCB and ND Bishop John D'Arcy

This morning, April 29, 2009, the first 300,000 names of individuals who signed the petition at NotreDameScandal.com -- opposing the University of Notre Dame's decision to honor President Barack Obama at commencement -- began to be delivered to Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., the Board of Trustees and the Board of Fellows as they prepare for scheduled meetings on Friday, May 1, at Notre Dame.

As of this morning, more than 344,000 people have signed the petition, but because of the overwhelming numbers it took The Cardinal Newman Society more than 24 hours to prepare the data and print more than 64,000 sheets of paper, double sided, which were then bound in notebooks and sent via FedEx to Father Jenkins and individual members of the Notre Dame Board of Trustees and Board of Fellows.

Copies of the petitions are also being rushed by The Cardinal Newman Society, which sponsored the petition, to Archbishop Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education; Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio (Vatican ambassador) to the United States; Francis Cardinal George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB); Bishop John D'Arcy, of Fort Wayne-South Bend, who presides over Notre Dame; and Bishop Robert McManus, Chairman of the USCCB Education Committee.

"Only the Notre Dame Trustees and Fellows have direct authority over Father Jenkins, so their meetings on Friday are our best hope for an end to this scandal," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society.

"It is critical for all of us to pray that the Trustees and Fellows charged with safeguarding Notre Dame's Catholic identity will heed the 50 bishops and hundreds of thousands of faithful Catholics urging Notre Dame to withdraw its invitation to President Obama."

The University of Notre Dame is governed by a 12-member Board of Fellows, including six Holy Cross priests, who are charged with ensuring "that the University maintains its essential character as a Catholic institution of higher learning." The Fellows delegate most of their governing authority to the 38-member Board of Trustees, comprised mostly of lay people.

The university's charter states: "The essential character of the University as a Catholic institution of higher learning shall at all times be maintained, it being the stated intention and desire of the present Fellows of the University that the University shall retain in perpetuity its identity as such an institution."

Archbishop Hughes to Boycott Xavier University Commencement Over Pro-Abortion Honoree

Archbishop Hughes to Boycott Xavier University Commencement Over Pro-Abortion Honoree

Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes, Archbishop of New Orleans, has made public his letter to Dr. Norman Francis, president of Xavier University of Louisiana, announcing that he will boycott the university's May 9 commencement exercises to protest the selection of pro-abortion Donna Brazile as speaker and honoree. Archbishop Hughes is also opposing the University of Notre Dame's decision to honor President Obama at commencement.

"Catholic universities have a serious responsibility to uphold the Catholic identity with which they are entrusted," said Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society. "Catholics nationwide will be grateful to Archbishop Hughes for his defense of Xavier's Catholic mission."

Archbishop Hughes cites instances in which political commentator Donna Brazile has expressed pro-abortion and pro-artificial contraception points of view as the reasons for his boycott of Xavier's commencement. He notes that Xavier was founded by Saint Katherine Drexel and offers prayers that the university "will be faithful to that legacy in every way.'

Below is the text of Archbishop Alfred Hughes' letter:

I write to you to follow up our telephone conversation. It is with regret
that I make the decision not to participate in the Commencement Exercises this
year at Xavier University in light of the university's decision to invite Ms.
Donna Brazile to be the Commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree. Ms. Brazile has a public record in support of keeping abortion legal.

In our document released in 2004 the Catholic bishops of the United
States provided explicit direction for all Catholic parishes and institutions:
"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 recognize that Ms. Brazile is a Catholic Louisiana native who has
worked effectively in service to the poor and African Americans in particular.
However, her public statements on the abortion issue are not in keeping with
Catholic moral teaching. She has supported President Obama's decision to reverse
the Mexico City policy allowing federal funds to organizations that provide
abortions overseas by saying that this policy will "save lives." She has also
relativized the importance of the fundamental life issues on national television
suggesting that there are more important things for the American people to
discuss than abortion. She has supported and worked for the election of
candidates who support contraceptive practices and abortion on the basis that
this stance is pro-woman.

The Catholic Church stands in support of all of those who want to serve
and plead for the poor and vulnerable in our midst. This, however, must include
those who are most vulnerable in their mother's wombs. Moreover, contraceptive
practice actually leads men to be less responsible toward women and abortion
both harms the mother and kills the child.

I, again, reiterate my disappointment. I have always enjoyed being a
part of the Xavier Commencement when I was able to do so. I applaud the
remarkable history of Xavier University in offering highly respected university
education to African Americans. I also admire your remarkable record of public
service.

The University has received an extraordinary legacy from its holy
founder, Saint Katherine Drexel. I pray that the university will be faithful to
that legacy in every way including respect and protection of all human
life.

N.Y. Archbishop Dolan: Opposition to 'Intrinsic Evil' Explains Notre Dame Protest

N.Y. Archbishop Dolan: Opposition to 'Intrinsic Evil' Explains Notre Dame Protest

The Most Reverend Timothy A. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, explained during a recent interview that his opposition to Notre Dame's slated honor for President Obama on May 17 is due to the President's support for the "intrinsic evil" of abortion. He also contrasted abortion to other serious concerns, like the Iraq war and the death penalty, which "are open to some discussion and are not intrinsically evil."

"Archbishop Dolan's clear teaching should help Americans understand that there is nothing political about the bishops' protest of Notre Dame's action," said Patrick Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society. "This is not primarily about President Obama or partisan politics, but about a prominent Catholic institution publicly betraying fundamental Catholic values."

New York Post reporter Dan Mangan's interview with Archbishop Timothy Dolan from Wednesday, April 22, was posted online. The reporter asked Archbishop Dolan why he is publicly opposed to Notre Dame honoring President Obama at its commencement on May 17, but did not publicly oppose the same honor to President George W. Bush in 2001, given Bush's positions on the Iraq war and the death penalty.

"There's a big difference," Archbishop Dolan said. "There are some issues where the Church has weighed in, that one must be very sensitive to the morality of some issues, but they're not intrinsically evil. An intrinsic evil means that something is always and everywhere wrong."

The Church's teaching on the death penalty and war, explained Archbishop Dolan, allow for such activities in extreme cases. So while Archbishop Dolan said he was uncomfortable with President Bush's positions, he "would have to give him the benefit of the doubt to say that those two issues are open to some discussion and are not intrinsically evil. In the Catholic mindset... that would not apply to abortion."

William McGurn, Notre Dame alumnus and former chief speechwriter for President G. W. Bush, delivered a lecture sponsored by Notre Dame's Center for Ethics and Culture entitled "Notre Dame: A Witness for Life" yesterday, April 23. Like Archbishop Dolan, McGurn argued that abortion is not "one issue on a political scorecard."

McGurn proposed that Notre Dame hold a "summit of pro-life Democrats to come here to make the Notre Dame statement for life."

He continued, arguing that "all pleas for other important human rights are 'false and illusory' if we do not defend with 'maximum determination' the fundamental right to life upon which all other rights rest."

The Growing number of bishops opposing Notre Dame's decision to honor President Obama at commencement has grown to 46, with Bishops Le Voir, Galeone and Zubik joining the swelling ranks.

Bishop John Le Voir, of the New Ulm Diocese, said, "The decision of the University of Notre Dame makes it much more difficult for the Church to carry out her vital mission to transform our culture into a culture of life and love."

Bishop Victor Galeone, of the St. Augustine Diocese, said, "Coupled with the performance of... 'The Vagina Monologues'... this most recent decision raises serious doubts about Fr. Jenkins' qualifications for continuing to serve as president of one of the foremost Catholic universities in the nation."

Bishop David Zubik, of the Pittsburgh Diocese, said, "This is Our Lady's university choosing to give an honorary degree to the single most outspoken pro-abortion president since the issue was foisted upon the country by the Supreme Court. It must, indeed, embarrass Our Lady."

The bishops' statements, news items and other insider commentary are updated daily at NotreDameScandal.com. The petition at the website has grown to more than 334,000 signers.

Father Jenkins Should Resign

Dear Father Jenkins:

I have read the excerpted letter from Bishop D’Arcy and it brought tears to my eyes. It is the appeal of a Shepherd of the Church to one of his flock that has gone astray. In it he points out that if there was any question of right interpretation of Catholic doctrine, the local bishop is the authority to resolve it whether you like him or not.

Further, the good bishop points out that your letter to the trustees of Notre Dame relies on the opinions of theologians. And you sought them to the exclusion of your own bishop. Some are likewise from apostate Catholic colleges or universities. Their opinions are not only untrustworthy, they are irrelevant. This is like looking out over a crowd for an opinion and only picking out your friends.

Pointing to the majority of young people in your care that also support the invitation of President Obama actually strengthens Bishop D’Arcy’s argument. As a Catholic leader, you are obligated to tell the truth, to lead young people, to evangelize, whether in the majority and whether in agreement with power or not. By leading these young people to the conclusion that disobedience to the local bishop is acceptable, you teach falsehood and heresy. You do so at great risk to yourself, your very immortal soul.

You have made a grave miscalculation and in so doing have scandalized the little ones in your care, especially those who hold fast to Christ’s words and commands in a culture increasingly hostile to His message. Your reasoning is twisted and false and illogical. A child could see through it. You wish to gain the personal prestige that a presidential visit brings as well as the economic windfall government grants will surely bring because you have chosen to suffer for your messiah, Barack Obama. You took the easy road.

I call on you to resign and to apologize to your students, the faculty, the trustees, your order and most of all to the bishop, that shepherd who teaches in the person of Christ.

I will continue to pray for you, for Notre Dame and for our country.

In Christ,

Steve

Bishops Bruskewitz, Aquila Issue Stinging Condemnations to "Formerly Catholic" Notre Dame

Bishops Bruskewitz, Aquila Issue Stinging Condemnations to "Formerly Catholic" Notre Dame
By Kathleen Gilbert

NOTRE DAME, Indiana, April 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two more bishops have written and made public strongly-worded letters to University president Fr. John Jenkins, bringing the number of U.S. bishops to 31 protesting the school's invitation to President Obama to speak at commencement and receive an honorary law degree May 17.

Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of the Lincoln Diocese supplied his letter, addressed to University president Fr. John Jenkins, today to the Cardinal Newman Society, which is hosting a petition against the scandal, now bearing well over a quarter million signatures (http://www.notredamescandal.com).

"Permit me to add my name as well to the long list of Bishops of the Catholic Church who are utterly appalled at your dedication to immorality and wrong-doing represented by your support for the obscenity called 'The Vagina Monologues' and your absolute indifference to the murderous abortion program and beliefs of this President of the United States," reads the brief letter, dated April 3.

"The fact that you have some sort of past connection with the State of Nebraska makes it all the more painful that the Catholic people here have to see your betrayal of the moral teachings of the Catholic Church," Bruskewitz wrote. "I can assure you of my prayers for your conversion, and for the conversion of your formerly Catholic University."

Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, ND wrote an April 5 letter to Fr. Jenkins published on the diocesan website saying he was "surprised and saddened" to learn of the invitation, and adding that Jenkins' defense of the honors has "only deepened" his dismay.

Expressing confidence that Jenkins is "a man of integrity" who believes in "the Church's witness," Aquila mentioned the papal encyclical Ex Corde Ecclesiae and the U.S. Bishops Conference directive, "Catholics in Political Life," which respectively urge Catholic schools to witness to Catholic teaching and forbid them from honoring pro-abortion politicians.

"Even though President Obama is not Catholic, he clearly rejects the truth about human dignity through his constant support of a so called 'right to abortion,'" wrote Aquila. "Inviting President Obama to award him a degree and to speak at a Catholic University implicitly extends legitimacy to his views on these issues in the minds of the average onlooker.

"Your actions and that of the Board of Trustees of Notre Dame do real harm to the mission of Catholic education in this country and further splinters Catholic witness in the public square," he continued.

Providing a forum for an abortion advocate at a school that teaches the truths of the Faith, wrote the bishop, "places commitment to these truths on an equal plane with a commitment to an intrinsic evil which destroys innocent human life."

"Your judgment in this matter is seriously flawed, with damaging consequences, for '…you are not on the side of God, but of men' (Mt 16:23)."

Noting the fidelity of many among the Notre Dame community, Aquila said, "Unfortunately, your action and that of your Board diminishes the reputation of Notre Dame and makes one wonder what its mission truly is."

The bishops who have so far publicly criticized Notre Dame's invitation to Obama (in alphabetical order) are:

1. Bishop John D'Arcy - Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN
2. Bishop Samuel Aquila - Fargo, ND
3. Bishop Gregory Aymond - Austin, TX
4. Archbishop Daniel Buechlein - Indianapolis, IN
5. Bishop Robert Baker - Birmingham, AL
6. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz - Lincoln, NE
7. Archbishop Eusebius Beltran - Oklahoma City, OK
8. Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú - San Antonio, TX
9. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo - Houston, TX
10. Archbishop Timothy Dolan - New York, NY
11. Bishop Thomas Doran - Rockford, IL
12. Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty - Scranton, PA
13. Cardinal Francis George - Chicago, IL; President, USCCB
14. Archbishop José Gomez - San Antonio, TX
15. Bishop William Higi - Lafayette, IN
16. Archbishop Alfred Hughs - New Orleans, LA
17. Bishop Jerome Listecki - La Crosse, WI
18. Bishop William E. Lori - Bridgeport, CT
19. Bishop Robert Lynch - St. Petersburg, FL
20. Bishop Joseph Martino - Scranton, PA
21. Bishop Charles Morlino - Madison, WI
22. Bishop George Murry - Youngstown, OH
23. Archbishop John J. Myers - Newark, NJ
24. Bishop R. Walker Nickless - Sioux City, IA
25. Archbishop John C. Nienstedt - St. Paul-Minneapolis, MD
26. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien - Baltimore, MD
27. Bishop Thomas Olmsted - Phoenix, AZ
28. Bishop Kevin Rhoades - Harrisburg
29. Bishop Alexander Sample - Marquette, MI
30. Bishop Edward J. Slattery - Tulsa, OK
31. Bishop Anthony Taylor - Little Rock, AR

Archbishop Nienstedt protests 'egregious' invite of Obama to Notre Dame

Archbishop Nienstedt protests 'egregious' invite of Obama to Notre Dame

Minneapolis, Minn., Apr 1, 2009 / 05:37 am (CNA).- Citing President Barack Obama's "deliberate disregard of the unborn," Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis has written to the president of the University of Notre Dame, protesting the "egregious decision" to invite the president as commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient. The archbishop joins several other U.S. bishops who have opposed the invitation.

Writing a March 31 letter to University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Archbishop Nienstedt characterized President Obama as a former "pro-abortion legislator" who has indicated his "deliberate disregard for the unborn" by promoting "the FOCA agenda" and "lifting the ban on embryonic stem cell research."

The Freedom of Choice Act involves laws that would further enshrine permissive abortion policies in federal law and could threaten both restrictions on taxpayer funding for abortions and protections for those who object to performing abortions. The "FOCA agenda" is a term used by FOCA opponents to describe the piecemeal implementation of FOCA and other pro-abortion legislation.

President Obama recently overturned President George W. Bush's restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. President Bush did not ban the research outright.

Archbishop Nienstedt in his letter also objected to President Obama's "open support for gay rights."

"It is a travesty that the University of Notre Dame, considered by many to be a Catholic University, should give its public support to such an anti-Catholic politician," the archbishop wrote, asking President Jenkins to reconsider the decision.

If the decision is not reconsidered, the archbishop said, "please do not expect me to support your University in the future."

Responding to the letter, Patrick Reilly, President of the Cardinal Newman Society, said the faithful owe "a debt of prayerful thanks" to Archbishop Nienstedt.

The Cardinal Newman Society, an organization dedicated to strengthening Catholic higher education, has organized a petition drive asking President Jenkins to rescind the invitation to President Obama. As of Tuesday afternoon the petition had more than 220,000 signatures.

Notre Dame's 2009 commencement is scheduled for May 17.

Exclusive: President of US Bishops' Conference: Notre Dame Obama Invite an "Extreme Embarassment"

Note: I can agree that this is an embarrassment to the bishops but only because it exposes their impotence and lack of action regarding Catholic institutions in America. If they really want to, they could end the embarrassment simply by declaring Notre Dame "Not Catholic". Then Notre Dame would have two options - remove Father Jenkins and dis invite President Obama or agree that they are no longer a Catholic institution. Either way, the scandal goes away. But the bishops, as is almost always the case, reserve penalties for monetary issues only and this incident is likely to produce not cost money.

Exclusive: President of US Bishops' Conference: Notre Dame Obama Invite an "Extreme Embarrassment"

By Kathleen Gilbert

NOTRE DAME, Indiana, March 31, 2009

(LifeSiteNews.com) - Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, has said that the University of Notre Dame's decision to host and honor President Obama at their commencement ceremony this year was an "extreme embarrassment" to Catholics.

"Whatever else is clear, it is clear that Notre Dame didn't understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation," George told the crowd at a conference Saturday on the Vatican document Dignitatis Personae. The conference was hosted by the Chicago archdiocese's Respect Life office and Office for Evangelization at the Marriott O'Hare hotel.

In a video obtained by LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) today, Cardinal George prefaced his remarks by noting that although he is the president of the USCCB, he does not have jurisdiction or authority over other bishops. His role, he indicated, nonetheless has "some moral authority, without any kind of jurisdiction or any sort of real authority."

(Download the brief video to view in Windows Media format - http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/video/CardinalGeorge.wmv - or QuickTime format - http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/video/CardinalGeorge.mov - allow time for the download to complete.)

"As president of the U.S. bishops' conference I have to precisely speak for the bishops and not in my own name, as I could as Archbishop of Chicago," he added.

George said he had spoken with the administrative committee of the bishops' conference and corresponded with University president Fr. John Jenkins several times on the issue.

"That conversation will continue .... whether or not it will have some kind of consequence that will bring, I think, the University of Notre Dame to its [the USCCB's] understanding of what it means to be Catholic," said the Cardinal. "That is, when you're Catholic, everything you do changes the life of everybody else who calls himself a personal Catholic - it's a network of relationships.

"So quite apart from the president's own positions, which are well known, the problem is in that you have a Catholic university - the flagship Catholic university - do something that brought extreme embarrassment to many, many people who are Catholic," said the cardinal.

"So whatever else is clear, it is clear that Notre Dame didn't understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation, and didn't anticipate the kind of uproar that would be consequent to the decision, at least not to the extent that it has happened," said George.

The Cardinal urged concerned Catholics "to do what you are supposed to be doing: to call, to email, to write letters, to express what's in your heart about this: the embarrassment, the difficulties."

However, Cardinal George emphasized that the U.S. presidency "is an office that deserves some respect, no matter who is holding it," and said that Notre Dame would not disinvite the president, since "you just don't do that (disinvite the president of the United States)."

According to the cardinal requests to revoke the invitation would fall on deaf ears, but he also observed that there is legitimate potential to organize some form of protest at the ceremony.

"You have to sit back and get past the immediate moral outrage and say, 'Now what's the best thing to do in these circumstances?'" said the Cardinal.

"I can assure you the bishops are doing that."

Cardinal George is the ninth U.S. bishop to speak out against the scandal.