Fighting (for Life) Irish

The uproar over the University of Notre Dame's decision to invite President Barack Obama to speak and receive an honorary law degree at its May 17 commencement ceremony continues to mushroom. The action has generated protest and petition activities within the Notre Dame community and among the larger Catholic community and general public, given Obama's extreme anti-life record just two months into his administration. (If this fuss seems strange to you, just imagine a prestigious Catholic university inviting a prominent political leader whose policies promote discrimination based on race, gender, religion, etc.)

National Review Online posts an extensive symposium on the ND situation while Wall Street Journal columnist (and ND alumnus) William McGurn delivers an articulate critique of the university's invitation to Obama.

"We hope for this to be the basis of an engagement with him." So explains Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, as he discusses the university's choice of Barack Obama as this year's commencement speaker. In yesterday's student newspaper "The Observer," where the quotation appears, the thought is introduced with another helpful bromide: The honor accorded President Obama, it is reported, will be a "catalyst for dialogue."

Now, if the president were going to Notre Dame to engage in dialogue, that would be one thing. But Mr. Obama will not be going to Notre Dame to "dialogue." He will be going to help advance his agenda.

Given that Fr. Jenkins and others responsible are not inclined to rescind the invitation, they are likely to encounter more "engagement" and "dialogue" than they intended. An intriguing variable in this situation, according to the National Catholic Register, is another commencement participant, Mary Ann Glendon, a distinguished law professor who is receiving the university's Laetare Medal.

Few are so well equipped to teach the truths the Catholic Church proclaims about the sanctity of human life as Glendon. Among her long list of credentials are a Harvard law professorship, leadership of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Social Scientists and of the Vatican delegation to the U.N. Conference on Women in Beijing, and a just-concluded stint as United States Ambassador to the Holy See.

This could provide a teaching moment comparable to the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast, where Mother Teresa boldly spoke for defending the dignity of human life in front of President Bill Clinton (and First Lady Hillary) and other powers that be.

Also in play is the growing reaction among many students, parents and alumni. It will be interesting to see what kind of peaceful and dignified but highly visible sign of "engagement" may be visible among many of the participants in the commencement exercise.