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| Monday, May 25, 2009 |
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Bishop Says Obama's Address Halted Dialogue, Affirms Need for "Frontal Attack" in Favor of Catholic Values
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Bishop Says Obama's Address Halted Dialogue, Affirms Need for "Frontal Attack" in Favor of Catholic Values
KANSAS CITY, Missouri, MAY 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Although the Notre Dame president spoke hopefully about dialogue, President Barack Obama threw that desire "back in his face," according to Bishop Robert Finn.
The Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph affirmed this Monday in an interview with the diocesan newspaper regarding the University of Notre Dame's decision to honor President Obama at last Sunday's commencement ceremony.
To date, 83 prelates have publicly denounced the decision as going against 2004 guidelines set by the U.S. bishops' conference for Catholic institutions of higher education, which state that schools should not bestow honors on individuals who "act in defiance" of the Church's fundamental teachings.
We cannot give up working with the administration, Bishop Finn said, but "we're fighting for our lives -- literally."
He continued: "We are attempting to protect real unborn children by the thousands. We're fighting for the right to exercise a rightly formed conscientious difference with public policy.
"We shouldn't underestimate the danger of dragging our feet in this effort, or taking a 'wait and see' approach. If we are not ready to make a frontal attack on the protection of conscience rights, the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, and the primacy of authentic marriage, we will lose in these areas."
He added, "If we sit back and allow ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of peace and cooperation in regards to these things, then we will lose these battles and, later, wonder why."
The prelate commented on the commencement speech by the university president, Father John Jenkins, who employed a series of "very hard words," such as "division, pride, contempt, demonize, anger, distort, hateful, condemn, hostility."
These words, he said, might be understood as a "caricature" of the bishops who spoke out against the invitation.
Bishop Finn noted that Father Jenkins' address focused on encouraging dialogue, and to this end, it referenced Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II's "Ex Corde Ecclesiae," and the Second Vatican Council.
The prelate affirmed, "Dialogue is important, but the question is fairly raised, 'May we negotiate about things that are intrinsic evils?' and I think the answer is no."... ::MORE
Denver Prelate Calls Obama Invitation Inexcusable, Says Catholics Have Duty to Defend Life
DENVER, Colorado, MAY 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Denver had some "hard words" for Notre Dame's president, Father John Jenkins, after last Sunday's commencement.
Archbishop Charles Chaput criticized the university president Monday in a statement posted on the diocesan Web site, denouncing his decision to invite U.S. President Barack Obama to give the address to the school's graduating seniors.
"There was no excuse -- none, except intellectual vanity -- for the university to persist in its course," the prelate said. "And Father Jenkins compounded a bad original decision with evasive and disingenuous explanations to subsequently justify it."
More than 70 U.S. bishops voiced disagreement with the university's decision to invite President Barack Obama as the commencement speaker and bestow on him an honorary law degree. They noted that it went against the 2004 guidelines set by the U.S. bishops' conference for Catholic institutions of higher education, which states that schools should not bestow honors on individuals who "act in defiance" of the Church's fundamental teachings.
"Let’s remember that the debate over President Obama’s appearance at Notre Dame was never about whether he is a good or bad man," Archbishop Chaput recalled. "The president is clearly a sincere and able man. By his own words, religion has had a major influence in his life.
"We owe him the respect Scripture calls us to show all public officials. We have a duty to pray for his wisdom and for the success of his service to the common good -- insofar as it is guided by right moral reasoning."
The prelate also noted as equally important the duty to defend Catholic teaching on "foundational issues" such as abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. ::MORE
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