NCRegister:
Dear Fr. Jenkins,
I am saddened and heavy of heart about your decision to invite President Obama to speak at Notre Dame University and even to receive an honorary degree.
It is a public act of disobedience to the Bishops of the United States. Our USCCB June 2004 Statement “Catholics in Political Life” states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” No one could not know of the public stands and actions of the president on key issues opposed to the most vulnerable human beings.
John Paul II said, “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with the maximum determination.”
I pray that you come to see the grave mistake of your decision, and the way that it undercuts the Church’s proclamation of the Gospel of Life in our day.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted
Diocese of Phoenix
Although Notre Dame is a purportedly Catholic institution, and Fr. Jenkins is supposedly still in communion with the Church, the 'Obama' scandal is only one of several for which he is responsible.
Last year, against the Bishop's guidance, and with much negative publicity, Fr. Jenkins supported the presentation of the extremely vulgar 'Vagina Monologues', on the Feast of the Annunciation (!), and just prior to Pope Benedict's American visit.
CATHOLIC?!
1 comment:
You kind of miss the point of the outrage. Notre Dame is a CATHOLIC institution - by reputation and by their own marketing. Therefore, there are expectations that it will uphold Catholic principles.
(You did notice that this post is a letter from a Catholic Bishop to a Catholic priest?)
That these principles also happen to coiincide with human dignity seems to get lost in translation. What offends me about Obama, specifically, is his disregard for the sanctity of every human life and his disregard for human dignity. That a Catholic institution is honouring such a man is deplorable, ESPECIALLY because he has the power the office of the President, and has already used it to build up the Culture of Death. You can read more about his accomplishments in THIS blog.
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