Perhaps Fr. Jenkins should have exercised some common sense and simply NOT invited him. Why did he invite him? Could it be that Fr. Jenkins has lost his marbles and thinks he’s living in Twitter and clicked auto-invite? Surely, he KNEW what was going to hit the fan when this invitation became public.
Perhaps Obama’s office should have shown more respect for the institution and declined the invitation. But why would it? Look at the enormity of the platform Obama has gotten since this hit the media feeding frenzy. He is thumbing his nose at all Catholics by accepting this invitation; he knows it and we know it.
In a weird way, it’s good for us. The insulting implication of it is mobilizing Catholics and non Catholics alike. Finally, the silent majority is speaking out. I don’t know how much more it will take to open our eyes; Obama might never have been elected without the Catholic vote. Perhaps some of us could have worked harder to get someone else elected. There is no answer to that rhetoric.
One of the first things Mr. Obama did when he took office was to undo the good things Bush did to protect the unborn. I don’t have to list here all the abominations he upholds, the worst of which is taking no extraneous measures to save an aborted baby born alive. Stick it in the corner and let it die. Despicable. Don’t we question the morality of anyone who would sign a bill that says that’s OK?
I don’t like this any better than anyone else does but my biggest problem is not with his speaking. Nothing he could say would change the minds of those who uphold the sanctity of life. The school’s conferring of the honorary law degree when he and his policies are in clear violation of the law of our church is completely hypocritical. It implies that he is someone Notre Dame deems worthy of our highest admiration, someone we should emulate and follow.
In many ways we know he is a good person, vibrant, young; he is brilliant. He is a successful politician but as a politician he stands in direct opposition to the teachings of our faith, our church and Notre Dame University. What on earth has happened to Fr. Jenkins? Will he serve President Obama Holy Communion should Obama wish to partake?
The entire debacle is a slap in the face to those who defend life, Catholics as well as non Catholics and causes one to question the motives of the President of Notre Dame. Fr. Jenkins KNEW the firestorm this would cause.
President Obama also knew and I believe has deliberately chosen to come to the most prestigious of all Catholic institutions. His purpose is to try and spin his magic, to bring more of us over to his side of the controversial issues, especially concerning ‘life’. What he and most pro-death advocates don’t know is that very often, when properly educated, pro-death people become pro-life.
Pro-life people NEVER become pro-death.
For myself, I’m praying for President Obama to gracefully renege on his acceptance, to show respect for the dissention this has caused within the Catholic Church at large. It should go without saying that we must pray for Fr. Jenkins and his compromised regard for the Magisterium and the USCCB.
I’m also praying for those who are conflicted in this fiasco, confused by the signal being sent to understand that this, while extremely upsetting, is not the end of the world.
The bottom line is we’ve withstood worse times than these and regardless of the outcome, the Catholic Church and Notre Dame will remain standing. We will be stronger, more focused and hopefully, start a journey back to the morality in leadership that we have allowed to slip away. ><>
LynnGeyer's Blog 