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Archbishops Voice Their Opposition To Obama Invite
By JOHN P. CONNOLLY, The Bulletin
The number of bishops who have publicly criticized the University of Notre Dame for honoring President Barack Obama has reached 48, with archbishops in Kansas City and Washington, D.C. adding their disapproval.
A spokesperson for Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. said, although the archbishop disapproved of the invitation, he does not think it should be rescinded. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City reportedly wrote about the invitation using sharper language in the archdiocesan newspaper, The Leaven.
“Notre Dame’s invitation to President Obama reveals that the leadership of the university is either incredibly naïve or just does not care about the impact of its actions on the church’s efforts to protect the lives of innocent, vulnerable unborn children,” Archbishop Naumann wrote. “Fr. John Jenkins, CSC, the president of Notre Dame, has attempted to posture Notre Dame’s honoring President Obama as a vehicle for engaging the president in dialogue. In reality, Notre Dame’s invitation signals to President Obama that there is no need to dialogue. Why should the president feel a need to dialogue when he is honored by our nation’s most prestigious Catholic university no matter how extreme his policies and actions supporting legalized abortion?”
The controversy surrounding the president’s visit stems from his support for abortion and embryonic stem cell research, both positions opposed to Roman Catholic teaching. In 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a directive that Catholic institutions should not honor or give platforms to politicians opposed to Catholic teachings.
An alumni group that wants to see Fr. Jenkins removed from office gave a “conservative” estimate that donors have withheld $8.2 million from the university over the controversy. The group, which consists of alumni and hosts the Web site ReplaceJenkins.com, said it had been calling donors and lawyers to confirm the pledges in withheld funds.
“The process of verifying the largest donors has been carefully conducted,” said David DiFranco, a Notre Dame alumnus in the class of 1995 and spokesman for the group. “We dismissed the obvious bogus submissions, and are not counting a huge number of larger donations that we are still in the process of verifying. We are speaking directly with donors and, in several cases, we have spoken with estate attorneys to confirm that Notre Dame has been stripped from a donor’s will. We are going about this process with a critical eye in order that the numbers we report are accurate. For that reason, the $8.2 million we are reporting today is actually very conservative.”
Notre Dame’s decision to host Mr. Obama and bestow upon him an honorary law degree has led to a nationwide backlash against the nation’s most prestigious Catholic university. More than 341,000 petitioners have requested that Fr. Jenkins rescind the invitation.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
A spokesperson for Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. said, although the archbishop disapproved of the invitation, he does not think it should be rescinded. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City reportedly wrote about the invitation using sharper language in the archdiocesan newspaper, The Leaven.
“Notre Dame’s invitation to President Obama reveals that the leadership of the university is either incredibly naïve or just does not care about the impact of its actions on the church’s efforts to protect the lives of innocent, vulnerable unborn children,” Archbishop Naumann wrote. “Fr. John Jenkins, CSC, the president of Notre Dame, has attempted to posture Notre Dame’s honoring President Obama as a vehicle for engaging the president in dialogue. In reality, Notre Dame’s invitation signals to President Obama that there is no need to dialogue. Why should the president feel a need to dialogue when he is honored by our nation’s most prestigious Catholic university no matter how extreme his policies and actions supporting legalized abortion?”
The controversy surrounding the president’s visit stems from his support for abortion and embryonic stem cell research, both positions opposed to Roman Catholic teaching. In 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a directive that Catholic institutions should not honor or give platforms to politicians opposed to Catholic teachings.
An alumni group that wants to see Fr. Jenkins removed from office gave a “conservative” estimate that donors have withheld $8.2 million from the university over the controversy. The group, which consists of alumni and hosts the Web site ReplaceJenkins.com, said it had been calling donors and lawyers to confirm the pledges in withheld funds.
“The process of verifying the largest donors has been carefully conducted,” said David DiFranco, a Notre Dame alumnus in the class of 1995 and spokesman for the group. “We dismissed the obvious bogus submissions, and are not counting a huge number of larger donations that we are still in the process of verifying. We are speaking directly with donors and, in several cases, we have spoken with estate attorneys to confirm that Notre Dame has been stripped from a donor’s will. We are going about this process with a critical eye in order that the numbers we report are accurate. For that reason, the $8.2 million we are reporting today is actually very conservative.”
Notre Dame’s decision to host Mr. Obama and bestow upon him an honorary law degree has led to a nationwide backlash against the nation’s most prestigious Catholic university. More than 341,000 petitioners have requested that Fr. Jenkins rescind the invitation.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
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