Should Notre Dame ‘disinvite’ Obama?
Notre Dame University has invited President Obama to deliver the commencement address this year, and Obama has accepted. That has outraged many on the right (some of whom are capable of going from zero to outrage faster than a speeding bullet.)
Newt Gingrich — he of the three wives — says on Twitter, that it’s “sad … since his policies are so anti catholic values. ” Katherine Jean Lopez of the National Review calls the invitation “shameful.”
“Last week the president of the United States perpetrated an assault on human dignity. No statements or press releases will undo what Notre Dame’s position in the eyes of the world is in response: “Doesn’t matter.” We’ve got THE ONE. So much for the One to whom the school’s namesake gave birth…. At Notre Dame, the administration there just made a choice. They took a giant step away from their identity as “Catholic.” They would rather be of this world than the one they supposedly exist to bring people toward.”
Right-wing Catholic groups have are trying to pressure Notre Dame to withdraw the invitation. “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,” states a petition at notredamescandal.com that claims to have collected almost 110,000 signatures.
One point to put it all in context: According to exit polls, Obama got 54 percent of the Catholic vote in November, compared to 45 percent for John McCain. That’s better than he did among the general populace.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2011 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
166 comments Add your comment
DB, Gwinnettian
March 25th, 2009
8:01 am
Gosh, Jay–what does your paper’s Catholic scold Lorraine Murray think of this?
G
March 25th, 2009
8:02 am
I don’t care for Notre Dame myself, but, no, they should not disinvite President Obama.
Newty-Newt should go hide with the Rushpublicant budget plan, and take “The Penguin” Cheney with him.
DB, Gwinnettian
March 25th, 2009
8:03 am
Lorraine’s wiki photo is a hoot, by the way. Seems she’s gussied up in some kind of 16th century gear, which seems if anything forward-thinking for her ideological bent.
I Report/ You Whine
March 25th, 2009
8:04 am
They could find someone else to come lie to them-
What he said: “At the end of the day, the best way to bring our deficit down in the long run is not with a budget that continues the very same policies that have led us to narrow prosperity and massive debt. It’s with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow-and-spend to one where we save and invest.”
This dude is detached from reality and a bald faced liar, why would you want to hear him speak?
It’s a waste of time.
Mrs. Godzilla
March 25th, 2009
8:07 am
Heavens no! Such silliness!
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
8:11 am
I think they should abstain from any further contact. Otherwise, they risk exposing more than simple hypocrisy. Then again, some prefer to be noted for what they say rather than what they do.
Redneck Convert
March 25th, 2009
8:13 am
Well, it’s just a shame this Obama wants to kill little baby stem cells. They shouldn’t let scientists use them. If they ain’t going to be used to make babys they need to give them a good Christian burial. It ain’t their fault people pick up all these diseases and want to use them to try and get a cure.
I don’t hold with the Catholics much on account of they worship idols and such, but the people that want Notre Dame to cancel Obama’s speaking invite are dead right on this one. He’s just a baby killer, is what he is. Just think how many god-fearing rednecks they could make with the cells and won’t never get a chance to because scientists want to kill them.
We need to make sure we put a stop to these scientists. We can start by not letting this Obama speak to anybody. When we get our Southren States of America we’ll put a stop to all this business of putting cells in test tubes. Women will be made to have babys the regler way, by doing You Know What. And when they get in the Fambly Way we’ll make it a law they have to have them. We can lock the women that try to have abortions and their Drs. up and throw away the key. We don’t beleive in killing anybody till they get old enough to get the Death Penalty.
Well, looks like golf is out for Saturday. Me and Jim Earl and Joe Bill was planning to get a round in down at Countryland Golf Club down near Cumming but we’d need hip boots to do it now. Have a good day everybody.
G
March 25th, 2009
8:16 am
There is a myopia here that should scare anyone who ever voted for Newty-Newt or would do so in the future.
If Newty-Newt is willing to criticize President Obama for not being Catholic enough, with his marital track record – including adultery and desertion, imagine what he could blind himself to if he was ever again in a position of power.
(Not to mention the splendid irony that he takes on President Obama in a category he has so failed at and where President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have so succeeded – a strong marriage.)
I’m not much interested in a politician’s personal life until he/she shows me I should be. When I see a person who lives in a glass house willing to throw stones willy nilly I wish for them the inevitable fall from their own hubris that they deserve.
jon
March 25th, 2009
8:18 am
Lessee. I’m not Catholic (not even religious), will never have an abortion, and am not planning to attend Notre Dame or contribute to the school, so, as they say, ” I ain’t got no dog in that fight.”. They can invite whoever they please and suffer the consequences or the rewards.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
8:19 am
Who cannot help but burst out in uncontrollable laughter whenever Newt sticks his foot in his mouth and proceeds to use it to spread his buttocks. How does he perform that feat. Why, it’s almost as though it were a miracle.
DB, Gwinnettian
March 25th, 2009
8:20 am
RC gave us: He’s just a baby killer, is what he is.
For those who read this as pure parody, let me remind one and all that in the week before the election, in the AJC’s “Faith and Values” section, in the Houses of Worship listings, was a two-column wide advert whose headline read: “Barack Obama is 100% Pro-Abortion!”
don’t you love how tastefully this issue is framed? and how our complicit media go along with it being “pro-” or “anti-” abortion?
As if the real issue being determined by lawmakers wasn’t, in fact, whether it makes any sense whatsoever to criminalize this procedure?
Anyway, as to Obama winning 54% of the Catholic vote–I’m not surprised, but I didn’t realize this, so I guess I did learn something from this otherwise fairly pointless exercise.
G
March 25th, 2009
8:20 am
Isn’t that how it works though?
The GOP have multiple marriages, mistresses, abortions, down low affairs, you name it, but they sling feces at others while claiming to be holier than thou, not believing in abortion (for others that is), etc.
AmVet
March 25th, 2009
8:21 am
Of course, the papists are gonna catch h&ll from the TRUE believers, the REAL Christians, the GENUINE patriots — the Southern Talibaptists.
Thank (your favorite superstition here) the RC’s have Touchdown Jesus and the Four Horsemen on their side…
So the Uppity One gives a speech and the Reich-wingers go apeshiite.
Now there’s one I didn’t see coming!
I’ve always wondered why these zealous adherents of the RNC’s man-teated Chairperson, HeadRush “Some of my best friends are pharmacists” Limberger, would be so against America’s recovery from this disastrous fake conservatism because of a skinny mulatto.
Things that make you go hmmm…
ESR
March 25th, 2009
8:23 am
It’s nothing personal that Notre Dame has against The Prompter In Chief. The problem is that the school doesn’t have the room for the IMAX size teleprompter Obama Bin Lyin requires for him to be able to transmit his secret eye signals to His Followers with.
Copyleft
March 25th, 2009
8:23 am
There’s any number of amusing hypocrisies to point out here.
ONE: Obama has done nothing that’s “anti-Catholic” in any way. The bill he signed about stem-cell research affects embryos that would otherwise be destroyed. Zero religious conflict, no matter how hopelessly ignorant and science-hating your cult happens to be.
TWO: Notre Dame has no obligation to invite only “Catholic-friendly” speakers. Free speech, opposing viewpoints, yadda yadda.
THREE: American Catholics are not the monolithic slaves to Papal dogma that the Church would prefer. In order to function in society, most Catholics have to ignore or violate a large chunk of Church doctrine anyway, every day. A whole heckuva lotta Catholics voted for Obama, f’rinstance… and very few bought into the whole “Kerry shouldn’t receive Communion” nonsense back in ‘04.
DB, Gwinnettian
March 25th, 2009
8:25 am
very few bought into the whole “Kerry shouldn’t receive Communion” nonsense back in ‘04.
Not a lot had to. Just enough to, say, swing 50, 60 thousand or so votes in Ohio. Which is the whole reason then-Cardinal Ratzinger engineered that particular political ploy, of course.
G
March 25th, 2009
8:25 am
Is this the same up-to-date Catholic church who has the Pope in Aids-ravaged Africa denouncing the use of condoms?
Yeah, I thought so.
Joey
March 25th, 2009
8:25 am
What we have here is a case of Republicans behaving like Democrats/Progressives. Then we have Democrats reacting the way Democrats react, that is rebuke, vilify, stigmatize: (Gingrich – He of three wives).
Republicans should not act like Democrats. It is unbecoming. Let it go.
And Jay, the next time a Conservative or Republican is invited to speak at a University, and Progressives get up-at-arms, please, pause and reflect before you defend their behaviour.
G
March 25th, 2009
8:27 am
AmVet @ 8:21, the Southern Talibaptists!
I’ve had to clean off my monitor, but it was worth it.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
8:29 am
So, when is Newt going to fault Obama for not providing funding for the Civil War. It’s Obama’s fault that the South will not rise again. He’s going to cut funding for everything from baking powder to Viagra, dontcha know.
JH
March 25th, 2009
8:29 am
Slouching toward Gomorrah. It should be about character and identity, not policy and money. Is Notre Dame Catholic first or a university first?
Jay
March 25th, 2009
8:31 am
Joey, I don’t believe I have ever advocated not allowing a speaker to speak. If you can demonstrate facts to the contrary, please do so.
DB, Gwinnettian
March 25th, 2009
8:33 am
I guess I should answer the question about whether ND should “disinvite” Obama. Officially, of course, it’s their call and if they think it’s in the school’s interest to do so, vaya con dios and all that.
Considering, though, that apparently the movement to disinvite is coming from the likes of Newt and K-Lo, I’d say that doing so would make ND appear rather weak and foolish.
Later, all.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
8:33 am
Let’s see, Catholics claim to be against abortion yet invite him to speak at Notre Dame. Don’t know how Catholics can call themselves Catholic and at the same time go against the Vatican. Sounds like a conundrum for the Catholics.
G, I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve had to clean off your mom’s monitor.
Dave R
March 25th, 2009
8:34 am
There are far more accomplished citizens of the U.S. who could be invited to speak at Notre Dame instead of a 142-day former Senator with no legislative or executive experience.
But if Notre Dame wants to lower their standards, that’s their choice.
Bosch
March 25th, 2009
8:35 am
G,
I always like that particular phrase by AmVet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I don’t really care to be honest. As jon said earlier, “I ain’t got no dog in this fight.” They can invite/disinvite whomever they want, I wonder though – um, Obama hasn’t changed none since the original invite.
But anywho……
With Notre Dame – as with any institute of higher learning – it will all boil down to – how mad will it make the big alumni donors. That’s their bottom line – who cares if the faculty or the students or whoever are in an uproar – it’s about the donors – they are the ones you don’t want to make mad.
I’m sure the President of Notre Dame along with it’s top administrators have been on the horn in the past few weeks asking their opinion — for theirs are the only ones they care about.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
8:35 am
Taxpayer, you’re correct. Newt is a hypocrite. Anyone who tries to impeach a sitting president over adultery and at the same time cheats on his wife is a despicable person.
DB, Gwinnettian
March 25th, 2009
8:35 am
Well, I thought I was going to leave, but I am not going to let this one drop just yet.
CommunistAJC, I know you have a hard time getting this, but there is a difference between being “against abortion” and being opposed to criminalizing abortion.
I suspect a majority–perhaps 54%?–of Catholics understand this already.
anyway, adios, everyone, for real now.
G
March 25th, 2009
8:35 am
Taxpayer @ 8:29, I’m using up all my monitor wipes today, but again, it’s worth it.
ESR
March 25th, 2009
8:38 am
Since ND totally sucks at football this is the only way the school can get it’s name out there. Well put Dave R; like his infomercial on TV last night…who really cares….yawn.
Bosch
March 25th, 2009
8:38 am
Dave R,
Call me crazy, but being the President of the United States is a pretty big accomplishment.
Bosch
March 25th, 2009
8:39 am
JH,
University first would be my initial guess – as with all private schools.
AMDG
March 25th, 2009
8:40 am
I am very disappointed that Notre Dame invited the President to be honored its commencement.
The Church’s teaching on abortion is quite clear – Abortion is “gravely contrary to moral law”. In the Church’s view life begins at conception. Procuring or facilitating (e.g. voting to fund abortion) is no different than murdering or paying for the murder of a ten year old child.
All of the President’s positions with regard to life issues are 180 degrees from those of the Church. Inviting him to be honored at Notre Dame’s commencement is no different than the NAACP inviting David Duke to give the keynote at its convention. At the very least it imparts a mixed message.
Jay points out that the President received a majority of the Catholic vote. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that Catholics receive mixed messages on the importance of the Church’s teachings because of things like this.
Bosch
March 25th, 2009
8:41 am
Commie,
I think, now I could be wrong, but Newt was trying to impeach Clinton over perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of the power of office, not adultery.
Joey
March 25th, 2009
8:41 am
Jay:
You have access to your writings and your memory. I will accept your denial and I appologize for the accusation.
The undesirable result of adding that comment to you at the end of my 8:25 post is that it distracted from the truth of the rest of the post. I should have paused and considered the value of the sentence.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
8:44 am
DB, Gwinnettian, no not really. Taking the life of an innocent unborn baby is what? What is it, DB, Gwinnettian? Is it euthanasia? No, doesn’t fit the definition. Is it a fun sport? Nope.
There are two types of abortion. The type where the baby is an “unwanted” nuisance and the type where the mothers life is in grave danger. I can sympathise with the mothers life being in danger. I can not do so when women just want the “unwanted problem” out of their life.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
8:47 am
Bosch, true and Clinton did lie under oath and on television to the American people. BUT, Newt did play up the whole adultery charge like a kid in a candy store. And it came out years later that Newt cheated on his wife.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
8:50 am
AMDG, President Teleprompter may have gotten 54% of the Catholic vote but that doesn’t change anything. The problem lies with individuals who “claim” to be Catholic or Christian yet at the same time go out of their way to reject the church’s teachings. You can not claim to be Christian and reject God at the same time.
Corporal
March 25th, 2009
8:50 am
The invitation should stand.
But like many conservative speakers who get “the treatment”, the “Talicrat President” should have trouble being heard above the thousands of peaceful demonstrators chanting “life” and if everyone want to turn around and face the other way that would be great also.
Ray
March 25th, 2009
8:51 am
Redneck Convert,
You delight in comparing abortion to the death penalty. In your own stupid way, you come out looking like a fool. A jury of peers decides who will die in a court of law when the death penalty is in play. When a child is aborted, it is often a teenage girl who made a bad mistake. She is confused, feels guilty has a sense of doing something terribly wrong.
There are 1.3M abortions performed in this country EVERY YEAR. That’s a pretty large city by some standards. All killed. 92% are done for “societal reasons”, that is, not wanted. This is only time in our country when a person is not charged with murder for taking a life. All in the name of “choice” and a convenient birth control method to take the life of someone you have created by irresponsibility. An easier method would be to just keep your legs together. No wonder Notre Dame doesn’t want Bozo to speak at their graduation. He represents the very essence of what is wrong with our society and society’s spin on the unborn.
Katherine Walsh
March 25th, 2009
8:51 am
We need to separate the school.students from its administration. Those that govern this institution know exactly what they are doing. I pray that more Catholics voice their views on this amtter. President Obama should not have been invited in the first place. Not because he is president but because this instituion calls itself Catholic. It must live up to its name and defend human life from conception to death. Anyone that advocates the use of citizens dollars including Catholic citizens dollar to support abortion at home and overseas should not be considered for such a prestigious honor and should not be heralded as a role model for graduating Catholic students. Keep Mr. Obama away from Notre Dame.
Jay
March 25th, 2009
8:51 am
I appreciate your forthrightness, Mr. Joey.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
8:53 am
Jay Bookman, I usually have no problem with who universities choose to have as speakers. The only time I’ve been REALLY upset was when Columbia invited the president of Iran to speak. Inviting him backfired BIG TIME for the university. These university professors thought they were doing something great and at the same time got shot in the foot by the Iranian pres. He trashed gays and pissed off gay rights activists. Oh well, what you do?
lovelyliz
March 25th, 2009
8:54 am
Check out church teachings for other anti-Catholic values:
death penalty
Thr Iraq War (just ask the Pope and the hundreds of thousand of men women and children who have died as a result)
Fertility treatments such as in vitro
Social Justice
Poverty
I could go on, but the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church did not start and end with abortion. If certain Catholics want Obama to be dis-invited, they had better look at others they have welcomed with open arms and their anti-Catholic values first.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
8:55 am
G, you have egg all in your face. Your your computer wipes to wipe off that egg, comrade. You claimed, last night, that President Hussein didn’t have a teleprompter. Guess what, HE HAD A GIANT TELEPROMPTER!
http://www.breitbart.tv/html/304123.html
Corporal
March 25th, 2009
8:58 am
TWO OFF TOPICS:
Jay, Jay, Jay:
1) Do you think you guys will ever have to go the “no endorsements” route ??
NEWSPAPER REVITALIZATION ACT: CONGRESS MOVES TO SAVE PRINT; OUTLAW POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS…
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE52N67F20090324
2) This Administration is becoming truly dangerous ……………
HEADLINE: Pentagon to drop ‘Global War on Terror’ for ‘Overseas Contingency Operation’…
So if the “Global War on Terror” is now the “Overseas Contingency Operation” what do we call fighting Islamic terrorists in this country -a “Domestic Contingency Operation”?
G
March 25th, 2009
8:58 am
I have a name for people who say they don’t believe in abortion, and then abort continually.
Hint-hint, it’s not a nice one.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
8:59 am
For anyone who thinks unionizing is great! FedEx slams the hammer down.
FedEx threatens to cancel Boeing jet orders: report
(Reuters) – FedEx Corp is threatening to cancel the purchase of billions of dollars worth of new Boeing Co cargo planes if Congress passes a law that would make it easier for unions to organize at the package-delivery company, the Wall Street Journal said.
FedEx may cancel plans to buy as many as 30 new Boeing planes should Congress pass a bill that would remove truck drivers, couriers and other employees at FedEx’s Express unit from the jurisdiction of the federal Railway Labor Act of 1926, the paper cited the company spokesman as saying.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090325/us_nm/us_fedex_orders
Mrs. Godzilla
March 25th, 2009
9:00 am
This is nothing new….
Secretary Condoleezza Rice Speaks at Boston College here:
http://wizbangblog.com/content/2006/05/22/secretary-condoleezza-rice-speaks-at-boston-college.php
Heck, this one is ongoing:
SMU, George W. Bush library face renewed fight over land here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012209dnmetbushlibrary.435aa4a.html
There was also Rove at Choate, Cheney at BYU, Ashcroft at Bob Jones,….
G
March 25th, 2009
9:01 am
Communist, Communist, Communist, you are having a bit of trouble with the typing this morning. Making lots of errors. All kinds of errors.
Work on that. Then get back to me.