UPDATE BELOW
This will surprise the anti-Obama people who come here to assert that he is a child killer and other such hysterical, hateful nonsense. It is a small group of very vocal people who have stirred up the controversy; and obviously, not all graduating students agree with them.
The valedictorian, Brennan Bollman, explains her perception of President Obama, and in doing so, exhibits more maturity and sense than the people who have incited the wackos over Mr. Obama's upcoming commencement address to the Class of 2009.
I never believed this controversy was a moral one. It is a political one. George W. Bush gave a commencement speech at ND, and there was no protest by the extreme rightwing Catholics. The Catholic Church is as adamantly AGAINST capital punishment as it is against abortion. And yet no one protested Bush's appearance at the time. He sent more people to death during his term as governor of Texas than any other sitting governor. Mr. Bush also invaded Iraq, a country that did not attack us, and started an unjust war, which is against Catholic doctrine, and which the Pope himslef had spoken out against.
Thank Darwin the students are so much smarter than the out-of-touch trouble makers.
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The media focus on the controversy surrounding President Obama's upcoming Notre Dame speech might give the impression that Obama is not welcome at the university. Class valedictorian Brennan Bollman, the woman who will be sharing the stage with the president on Sunday, says that couldn't be further from the truth.
"This issue has not divided the campus by any means," says the Catholic, pro-life biology major who will be attending Harvard Medical School after graduation.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Bollman stressed that her peers do not view the president's overall values as inconsistent with Catholicism. In fact, Bollman says Obama is practicing Catholic values in his administration. Like Jesus, Bollman says, Obama is trying to invite "everyone to the table."
Condemnation of Notre Dame's invitation has come from Catholic Church members as well as anti-abortion groups, who have pushed the message that Obama and his pro-choice policies are not welcome.
These groups have drummed up a considerable amount of coverage despite their smaller numbers.
On Friday, Alan Keyes, one of Obama's challengers in the 2004 Illinois Senate Race, was arrested (for the second time in one week) on campus during a protest with about forty anti-abortion activists.
UPDATE
Former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes and five others were arrested Friday and held overnight. Keyes was released Saturday evening after posting $1,000 bond.
Also protesting Saturday was Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff identified as "Roe" in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. She now opposes abortion.
She said she had planned to be arrested on Saturday, but changed her mind when a security officer ushered her to the side and gave her a chance to walk away.
"I didn't know why he just kind of gently moved me away. So I'm like, maybe this isn't the right time," McCorvey said.
Some driving past the protesters on Saturday waved in support. Others yelled at them. One man honked his horn in protest and held up a handful of hangers, a symbol of the gruesome procedures some pregnant women resorted to before Roe v. Wade.
Later, about 10 pro-Obama demonstrators assembled across the street holding up placards with slogans such as "Honk if you support Obama" and "Pro-Jenkins/Notre Dame." Jenkins has been criticized by many, including dozens of bishops, for the school's decision to invite Obama.
On campus, though, there were no signs of protest. Students generally favored Obama giving the graduation speech. The graduating class voted to name Jenkins their Senior Class Fellow.
A full page advertisement in the South Bend Tribune on Saturday had the headline: "Catholic Leaders and Theologians Welcome President Obama to Notre Dame." The ad, signed by university professors around the country, many of them at Catholic schools, said that as Catholics committed to civil dialogue, they were proud Obama was giving the commencement address.
There were some students, though, who opposed Obama giving the speech. ND Response, a coalition of university groups, has received permission from Notre Dame to hold a protest on the west end of the South Quad on Sunday. Spokesman John Daly said he expected 20 to 30 graduating seniors to skip commencement and attend the prayer vigil.
15 comments:
Just how many women has Alan Keyes talked out of having an abortion. Here's the truth. If you tell a woman not to have an abortion because her baby could grow up to be like Barack Obama she may think again. Tell her the baby may grow up to be like Alan Keyes she will not only have the abortion. She will most likely get a hysterectomy also.
And become abstinate.
Abstinence makes the womb grow fuller.*
*Levi Johnson
Rather, celibate.
Well, I suspect that quite a few Catholics disagree with her. Cardinal George of Chicago certainly does: "It's hard to disagree with him because he'll always tell you he agrees with you," he said. "Maybe that's political. I think he sincerely wants to agree with you. You have to say, again and again, 'No, Mr. President, we don't agree (on abortion).' But we can agree on a lot, and we do, and that's why there is so much hope. I think we have to pray for him every day."
But protesting is patriotic, after all, and everyone's gonna get their chance to be arrested on camera.
I have a friend who worked for Gov. George W. Bush in Austin, TX.
He tells of a lazy, uninvolved and rather bored man, who departed from the governor's mansion each day by 3PM.
The exception was on the Friday each month when the Huntsville Prison carried out their executions. The executions would often take place late evening -- as late as 9PM. On these Fridays, Bush was always reported to be in a jovial mood and he remained ensconced in his office, laughing and yucking it up with staffers, as he awaited the phone call from the prison confirming the state's next scheduled execution had been successfully carried out.
Apparently, few things tickled Bush's funny bone as much as a good, Ole' Texas execution.
I am pro-life but believe that he had the right to speak at the school.
There is no different set of rules for the president than there is for the common citizen in this regard. Many people who support abortion have stepped foot on campus and you can be sure that they've had debates in the classroom. It is a college university after all.
Ryan
Values taken from the teachings which are the basis of the catholic church's existence have nothing to do with women's rights to their own bodies. That is a purely political point of contention, and will never constitute the basis for anyone's actual beliefs.
this discussion still hasn't dealt with the fact that GWB spoke at ND.
the catholic church is against capital punishment the same as it is against abortion.
where were those devout catholics protesting that when GWB spoke?
this is not about killing babies, as that jerk Keyes wants everyone to believe. this protest is about Barack Obama and the fact that he won the election and that he is a democrat.
those catholics are cowardly hypocrites.
If he were giving a commencement speech about pro-choice, I could see the conflict, but somehow I doubt the subject is on his list of talking points.
Much ado about nothing - and I wish all those great young people about to graduate from the venerable Notre Dame, best wishes and congratulations!
just watched the conferring of the honorary degree on Mr. Obama by the president of ND, and the crowd heartily and enthusiastically applauded the president, as they did [loud, loud cheering] when Mr. Obama entered the auditorium.
No protests in sight.
indeed. much ado about nothing.
I watched Obama's speech and watched the standing ovation given to him.
Maybe one day we can talk about ways to reduce the number of abortions without zealots calling our President and others murderers.
K&G - I have always contended that the place to start in eliminating abortions is not in front of the clinics but in our own communities with outreach and education programs for young girls and teens. Taking an interest and active role in guiding young females to responsible adulthood is a job for all of us.
By giving young women confidence and high self esteem, they will be more likely to make better choices in their lives.
Obama's speech was a total triumph, the graduates and families overwhelmingly approved of it and him.
The Catholic Church is as adamantly AGAINST capital punishment as it is against abortion.Church statements and the weekly sermons tell a different story.
Having spent may years sitting in the pews (until about 5 years ago), I can't remember a single sermon about the evils of capital punishment. On the other hand we had to get hit with abortion almost every week.
So in this case it's not about Obama, it's really about the abortion obsession.
Except Alan Keyes, who's just pissed he couldn't beat Obama the first time.
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