18,000 (Now > 165,000) Join National Catholic Protest of Obama Honors at Notre Dame

As of 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 23, more than 18,000 people have joined the nationwide campaign urging the University of Notre Dame to rescind the honor of selecting President Barack Obama as its commencement speaker on May 17. The campaign was launched at 6:00 p.m. Friday, March 20 immediately after The White House and Notre Dame made the announcement that Notre Dame would honor President Obama.

The campaign is organized around The Cardinal Newman Society sponsored website, NotreDameScandal.com, which includes an online petition to Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins, CSC, and contact information for the university. Catholics are urged to join the campaign, and the petition is being circulated among leaders of other Catholic organizations.

The petition has averaged more than 270 signatures per hour since its launch, and The Cardinal Newman Society is pleased to announce that CatholicVote.org has joined the campaign as a cosponsor of the petition effort.

The decision to honor President Obama has drawn quick and sharp criticism from Notre Dame alumni and Catholic leaders across the country.

Dr. Ralph McInerny, a professor at Notre Dame for more than 50 years, has written on the popular website The Catholic Thing that "By inviting Barack Obama as commencement speaker, Notre Dame is telling the nation that the teaching of the Catholic church on this fundamental matter [abortion] can be ignored."

Thomas Peters at the American Papist blog has reported that Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput has encouraged Catholics to write to Notre Dame to protest the honor.

Project Sycamore, an organization dedicated to protecting Notre Dame's Catholic identity, is organizing alumni to protest the honor.

NotreDameScandal.com will provide regular updates on all of the activities.

"It is an outrage and a scandal that 'Our Lady's University,' one of the premier Catholic universities in the United States, would bestow such an honor on President Obama given his clear support for policies and laws that directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage," the petition reads.

Infanticide Supporter at Villanova

Note: I made my headline include the word "infanticide" because Obama voted against the Born Alive Act which simply stated that a child born alive during an abortion procedure cannot be murdered. That such a law is even needed shows how perverse our society has become. Of course, he also supports partial birth abortion so the principle is the same separated by a birth canal and five minutes. That Villanova welcomes a supporter of such a crime shows how far they will go to cozy up to political power.

VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY HOSTS ABORTION ADVOCATE MICHELLE OBAMA

Manassas, VA - In another example of a Catholic university hosting a pro-abortion political figure, Michelle Obama spoke before 2,500 people at a political rally for her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama, at Villanova University's Jake Nevin Fieldhouse on March 13.

Mrs. Obama, an abortion advocate, endorsed partial-birth abortion in a 2004 fundraising letter for her husband. Senator Obama supports Roe v. Wade, partial-birth abortion and embryonic stem cell research. He has voted against parental notification and for increased contraceptive funding for teenagers.

Joseph A. Esposito, director of the Cardinal Newman Society's Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education, said, "The Obamas' record on abortion is clear and unequivocal. We are disappointed with Villanova University. For a Catholic university to provide a platform for a pro-abortion figure in the midst of a political campaign is simply wrong."

The Cardinal Newman Society had a lead role in drafting a "Statement of Principles Regarding Catholic Institutions, Sanctity of Life and Political Engagement" last month. The statement was endorsed by 18 major Catholic organizations, including the Cardinal Newman Society, Catholics United for the Faith, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and the Fellowship of Catholic University Students.

The statement reads, in part, "We call on Catholic institutions to join us in refusing to honor or provide a public forum for any political leader or candidate who acts 'in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.' This includes any politician who undermines a 'culture of life' by advocating public policies to permit or support abortion, physician-assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, or any other threat to human life."

This initiative was undertaken in response to an alarming trend of pro-abortion politicians using Catholic college campuses for political rallies during the presidential campaign. In January, Senator Obama appeared at a huge rally on the campus on Saint Peter's College, a Jesuit institution in Jersey City, N.J. Senator Hillary Clinton appeared at St. Norbert's College in Wisconsin and St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Tex., in February.

In objecting to Clinton's visit to St. Mary's University, Archbishop Jose Gomez said, "Our Catholic institutions must promote the clear understanding of our deep moral convictions on an issue like abortion, an act that the Church calls 'an unspeakable crime' and a non-negotiable issue."

Esposito added, "It is important to let Catholic college leaders know that such disregard for Catholic Church teachings is morally wrong and ultimately impugns the Catholic mission and integrity of the institution. Faithful Catholics may want to contact Father Peter Donohue, president of Villanova University, to indicate their outrage."

He also said, "It is important, too, to thank Catholic leaders who do stand up for Church principles regarding campus speakers. The Cardinal Newman Society recently praised the University of St. Thomas, Houston, for their top administrators barring the speech of a Latina activist with a record of abortion advocacy from speaking on campus."

Father Donohue, the president of Villanova University, can be reached at president@villanova.edu.