Contact: Father John Trigilio, Jr., Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, 717-957-9309
HARRISBURG, Penn., April 2 /Christian Newswire/ -- On this fourth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul the Great, the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a national association of 600 priests and deacons, urges the University of Notre Dame to honor his memory by rescinding the invitation to President Obama to be Commencement Speaker for this year's graduation.
As we pray for JP2's canonization, we also profess our support for his papal letter, Ex Corde Ecclesiae (1990) which requires Catholic colleges to conform to Magisterial teaching. The decision to afford an openly pro-abortion politician the privilege of speaking to graduating seniors violates every principle of Catholic education. Pope John Paul II, on the other hand, boldly, bravely and unambiguously challenged presidents and prime ministers, congresses and parliaments, capitalists and communists, to defend the inalienable right to life of the unborn and to permanently end the evils of abortion and euthanasia.
While proud that the first African-American has been elected President, we also disavow his pro-abortion policies and appointments. His efforts to undo all the progress of pro-life legislation since the notorious Roe v. Wade decision made himself ineligible for such an invitation as commencement speaker for a Catholic school. As President of the United States of America, he deserves every honor due his office. It does not automatically entitle him to be invited as Commencement Speaker. All politicians are ethically obligated to defend the unborn who are the most vulnerable and endangered by the evil of abortion. Anything less is a gross injustice.
We are dismayed that Notre Dame would afford a public platform to a politician who openly supports the so-called legal 'right' to 'choose death' vis-à-vis abortion. The argument that this invitation merely continues dialogue with those who disagree is a non sequitur. Notre Dame approached President Obama, not vice versa. Speaking at Commencement is not an open debate, it is a monologue. Parents did not pay tuition for celebrities to speak at their son or daughter's graduation; they paid it to ensure a Catholic education. The CCC welcomes a respectful debate between opponents and proponents of alleged 'abortion rights.' A real disputation will allow logic and reason to prove that the pro-life position is the only moral choice citizens and governments truly have.
Honor the presidential office and respect the man but repudiate his pro-abortion policies and appointments. Honor the memory of JP2 and keep Catholic colleges faithful to the Magisterium.
