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Glendon Turns Down Notre Dame Honor
By JOHN P. CONNOLLY, The Bulletin
A former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican has turned down an award from the University of Notre Dame to protest President Barack Obama’s visit and receipt of an honorary law doctorate.
Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and U.S. ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009, decided to refuse the Laetare Medal awarded to her by the university after Mr. Obama’s pending visit became public.
She was supposed to have received the award at the same commencement that will feature Mr. Obama as a speaker, a decision that has created a controversy involving more than 45 Catholic bishops. In 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops forbade Catholic institutions from honoring or giving a platform to politicians who are opposed to Church teachings.
“As a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree,” Ms. Glendon wrote in a letter to Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins. “This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions ‘should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles’ and that such persons ‘should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.’ That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.”
Ms. Glendon said she made her decision partly because of the talking points Notre Dame circulated over the ensuing firestorm from Catholics around the country.
“I learned that ‘talking points’ issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event,” she wrote.
The two points in question were: “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal,” and “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”
She also decried the forum Mr. Obama was being given.
“A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families,” continued Ms. Glendon. “It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision — in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops — to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.”
The White House responded to the news promptly, expressing Mr. Obama’s disappointment over Ms. Glendon’s decision.
“President Obama is disappointed by former Ambassador Mary Glendon’s decision, but he looks forward to delivering an inclusive and respectful speech at the Notre Dame graduation, a school with a rich history of fostering the exchange of ideas,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Jen Psaki. “While he is honored to have the support of millions of people of all faiths, he does not govern with the expectation that everyone sees eye to eye with him on every position, and the spirit of debate and healthy disagreement on important issues is part of what he loves about this country.”
Groups objecting to Mr. Obama’s visit were quick to praise Ms. Glendon’s rejection of the award.
“Mary Ann Glendon is one of the most accomplished Catholic and pro-life leaders of our time,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, which has gathered over 336,000 petitions against Mr. Obama’s Notre Dame honors. “In heroic fashion, she has willingly sacrificed an award that she richly deserves, as a casualty of Notre Dame's choice to betray its Catholic mission. We urge Catholics nationwide to continue to pray that Notre Dame will end this scandal.”
Ms. Glendon said that she planned to make no further comment on the matter aside from her letter.
Mr. Obama is scheduled to speak at the university on May 17.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and U.S. ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009, decided to refuse the Laetare Medal awarded to her by the university after Mr. Obama’s pending visit became public.
She was supposed to have received the award at the same commencement that will feature Mr. Obama as a speaker, a decision that has created a controversy involving more than 45 Catholic bishops. In 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops forbade Catholic institutions from honoring or giving a platform to politicians who are opposed to Church teachings.
“As a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree,” Ms. Glendon wrote in a letter to Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins. “This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions ‘should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles’ and that such persons ‘should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.’ That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.”
Ms. Glendon said she made her decision partly because of the talking points Notre Dame circulated over the ensuing firestorm from Catholics around the country.
“I learned that ‘talking points’ issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event,” she wrote.
The two points in question were: “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal,” and “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”
She also decried the forum Mr. Obama was being given.
“A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families,” continued Ms. Glendon. “It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision — in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops — to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.”
The White House responded to the news promptly, expressing Mr. Obama’s disappointment over Ms. Glendon’s decision.
“President Obama is disappointed by former Ambassador Mary Glendon’s decision, but he looks forward to delivering an inclusive and respectful speech at the Notre Dame graduation, a school with a rich history of fostering the exchange of ideas,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Jen Psaki. “While he is honored to have the support of millions of people of all faiths, he does not govern with the expectation that everyone sees eye to eye with him on every position, and the spirit of debate and healthy disagreement on important issues is part of what he loves about this country.”
Groups objecting to Mr. Obama’s visit were quick to praise Ms. Glendon’s rejection of the award.
“Mary Ann Glendon is one of the most accomplished Catholic and pro-life leaders of our time,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, which has gathered over 336,000 petitions against Mr. Obama’s Notre Dame honors. “In heroic fashion, she has willingly sacrificed an award that she richly deserves, as a casualty of Notre Dame's choice to betray its Catholic mission. We urge Catholics nationwide to continue to pray that Notre Dame will end this scandal.”
Ms. Glendon said that she planned to make no further comment on the matter aside from her letter.
Mr. Obama is scheduled to speak at the university on May 17.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
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