Updated: The Catholic News Agency is reporting that Bishop D’Arcy will boycott Notre Dame commencement over Obama’s presence.
Statement issued Tuesday by Bishop John M. D’Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese:
On Friday, March 21, Father John Jenkins, CSC, phoned to inform me that President Obama had accepted his invitation to speak to the graduating class at Notre Dame and receive an honorary degree. We spoke shortly before the announcement was made public at the White House press briefing. It was the first time that I had been informed that Notre Dame had issued this invitation.
President Obama has recently reaffirmed, and has now placed in public policy, his long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred. While claiming to separate politics from science, he has in fact separated science from ethics and has brought the American government, for the first time in history, into supporting direct destruction of innocent human life.
This will be the 25th Notre Dame graduation during my time as bishop. After much prayer, I have decided not to attend the graduation. I wish no disrespect to our President, I pray for him and wish him well. I have always revered the Office of the Presidency. But a bishop must teach the Catholic faith “in season and out of season,” and he teaches not only by his words – but by his actions.
My decision is not an attack on anyone, but is in defense of the truth about human life.
The full statement of Bishop D’Arcy is [here].
From FoxNews:
Nearly 65,000 people have signed an online petition protesting President Obama’s scheduled commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, citing the president’s views on abortion and stem cell research that “directly contradict” Roman Catholic teachings.
Nearly 65,000 people have signed an online petition protesting President Obama’s scheduled May 17 commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, saying the president’s views on abortion and stem cell research “directly contradict” Roman Catholic teachings.
“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 at notredamescandal.com reads.
From the petition’s web site:
This honor is clearly a direct violation of the U.S. bishops’ 2004 mandate in “Catholics in Political Lifeâ€: “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.â€
I just signed it. Go here and sign the petition today.
AWB
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I just hope D’Arcy will take the next step and get Notre Dame to stop playing football with any other colleges other than catholic universities. We can return to glory by beating the likes of Marquette, Holy Cross, and Xavier each week. I’m tired of getting our ass kicked by USC each year and having their players infect our student body with their liberal, west coast morals. After that, go after those closet muslim Pakistani teachers in the advanced finance classes. Go Bishop!!!