Obama At Notre Dame

>Clearly the Catholic church is divided on where it should stand on the abortion issue and how it should be reaching out (or not reaching out) to Obama.

I think it’s more accurate to say that *Catholics* are divided on it. The Church has an official stance on the issue and shows no sign of division. It’s one of the benefits of having an official teaching office for the entire church.

What do I think? I wonder if the lifestyles of the students who boycotted the graduation would show any evidence of their pro-life stance. Had they been actively involved in feeding the hungry, serving the homeless, advocating for medical care for those without health insurance, man a suicide hotline…who also face potential loss of life because of their life situation? Are their lives less important? Being pro-life extends to all human life, does it not?

I think it is easy to voice a belief in something, like being pro-life, it is entirely another to do something about that belief and be part of the solution. Posting info-films, joining rallies and being condescending in the social media is only a venting mechanism. It does not put a meal in the hands of someone who is hungry or offer viable options to someone making a decision about her pregnancy being terminated when she is unemployed, uninsured and has minimal contraception options.

Those who boycotted their graduations feel strongly about being pro-life, as do those who usually donate to the school and with-held their cash this year. OK, they have made their positions on being pro-life known. Now, what support or network are they going to be a part of to make it so that abortion isn’t seen as a necessary option? What other persons who face grave life situations are they going to be heroes for?

Seth that is definitely a fair point. Though the fact that not all Catholic bishops spoke out against this move by Notre Dame makes me think things don’t stand quite as solid for them as they have before, which is why I said that statement.

i was curious about the decision as well. but remember catholicvote.org had a brilliant anti-abortion ad at the beginning of the year that used obama as their very example. fabulous. so perhaps it’s a way of trying to create bridges with the guy who’s in the big chair for the next 4 years…

reduce abortions? yes obama, lets. and how do we do that? target the education system. the demographics show that it’s young un-wed mothers who are getting pregnant before they turn 21..and abortions follow. it’s not about sex education (although that’s important), it’s rather the education of human life and options.

but notre dame over the years has become less of a Catholic institution and more a great private college w/ Catholic ties.

melinda makes a good point. i’m definitely someone that believes in choice, as it is a gift that God’s given us, but i also believe that i’m pro-life and that covers every aspect, not just baby abortion. women who face such circumstances need to be reached on an educational level and heart level so that we can talk about reduction rather than outlawing…and protesters often want to vent their stance on outlawing bashing anyone who does not rather than offering viable solutions.

random thoughts…

Its funny to me that you still think of Obama as a “centrist” on the abortion issue…quick drinking the Obama media kool-aid man! The facts are clear…he is PRO CHOICE. Would you think it was good to elect a leader in Nazi Germany that would reduce the number of Jews killed…but still continue to believe it was fundamentally alright to kill them?

“77 Catholic bishops spoke out against the Notre Dame’s decision and the alumni announced that over $14 million had been lost in donations”

Good for them. Once again Notre Dame is a sign of a dying breed of institutions that stand for something other than what is popular and makes the majority happy. Sadly the church that Christ died for is no different…most believers are now caving in on even the CLEAR issues such as abortion. Life has always begun at conception…it is time we started defending it there.

I think Notre Dame officials made the right decision reaching out to the president, but I question whether awarding him an honorary degree was worth all of the fuel that has been added to the culture war fire.

I feel sorry for the students who thought their sitting out commencement would advance the pro-life cause in a positive way.

I’m not saying Obama is a centrist on abortions at all. He is clearly Pro Choice, I totally agree. I am saying that his desire to reduce abortions and how to go about that is more centrist and he is trying to bring both sides to that somewhat center area.

Im not going to argue over semantics…you said he took a centrist position…what does that make him? What do you think his real motivation is in taking such a position? If he really desired to reduce the number of abortions (valued human life)…why not work toward reducing it to 0?

godsidekurt-

i don’t think in the world we live in right now, outlawing abortions will be effective. i think that reducing them to begin with is smart but you have to be willing to tackle the root of the problem, which i mentioned before is the education system.

women also have to reached on a heart level- not through laws and wagging fingers. i am anti-abortion, but i am also pro-choice and what i mean by that is that it would be a healthier practice if women would CHOOSE not to have abortions and there are ways to lead them there.

Thanks for the post …

It seems that President Obama talked about how we should talk about abortion. He really did not speak to the issue of abortion itself, and he certainly would not be able to provide a rational defense for it. We were summoned to find the “common ground” … and to have “open minds, open hearts, fair-minded words.”

The legislative record of Obama in the Illinois Senate (highlighted by his oppostion to the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act) and the U.S. Senate (rated the most extreme abortion rights supporter) show us where he is coming from. As well, promises made during the presidential campaign, and his first 100 days as president have clearly located him on the issue. We should not be surprised at how he moves forward on this issue in his term. The issue will certainly not go away this summer. Social issues will come to the front burner as the Senate considers his Supreme Court nominee.

I just can’t help but find it curious that the president is admonishing Americans to find the common ground and to be open. Is it not clear that he is not interested in common ground in the long term, but is seeking over his term to move the issue to the hard left? It may be that his speech at Notre Dame is just part of a process in setting the table for this gradual shift. His team continues to shape the Catholic vote with an eye on 2012. Looking back, trying to discern the present, and anticipating the future, it’s all so very subtle and sophisticated.

A majority of Americans are not with him on this. Moral law is not with him. In a Christ-like way, the American church needs to get her game up on this.

I think that Notre Dame’s choice to have Obama as the commencement speaker was – well – confusing. It confused us and it seems to have confused them. As for the students boycotting, it’s their graduation, they certainly have the right to not attend. Perhaps they’re boycotting is just another way of saying “This is not who we are or why we came to ND”. I know if I was a student there it would have been extremely confusing as to why the administration brought in someone with beliefs so totally opposed to the beliefs held – supposedly – by the school.

Again, the whole thing just sent mixed signals and obviously mixed signals were what people received. Never good for any organization. My guess is ND will suffer for this.

For what it’s worth, I have no idea whether the speaker at my college commencement was pro-life or not. I just know her speech was short, sweet, to the point and forgettable.

“but notre dame over the years has become less of a Catholic institution and more a great private college w/ Catholic ties.”

I agree with this. I have a really good friend who was a senior there, and she really didn’t feel the effects of it being Catholic, just being a bit conservative (i.e., parietals). It was a wet campus, after all, and she could have alcohol in her dorm room? Odd.

I don’t know, I am not so much into this ideological brouhaha. I understand the idea of it, that Obama’s pro-choice, and Catholics are not (well, they shouldn’t be), but it seems a bit, I don’t know, late. I think Notre Dame has definitely taken other steps away from orthodox Catholicism, and this definitely isn’t the first.

I feel sorry for President Obama….he is barely in the white house for a few months, and he’s constantly under attack. It is going to be a long four years for him.

I sure hope the American citizens would pray more for him since he does have lots of clean up to do and he definitely got his work cut out for him.

He has won the presidency and I think the American citizens could give him the support he needs just like the previous president.

I actually think he has a lot of support…at least that is what the polls say. The same people who hated the idea of him being President are the same people who were outraged at him speaking at Notre Dame. Being President means you will be criticized…part of the job.

Tyler,

I just think people put him under microscope quite a lot for barely six months into his presidency. I don’t remember the previous president got this much scrutiny (until the war anyway).

I will have to say compare to your usual blog readers, I don’t know much about politics though so some may be able to find holes in my argument.

I don’t normally talk about politics..maybe I just hit my quota with this two posts in the same day