Prelates and pundits weigh in on Notre Dame's invitation to Obama

March 30, 2009

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston said that Notre Dame's decision to invite President Obama to speak at commencement was "very disappointing." He added: "Particularly troubling is the honorary law degree since it recognizes that the person is a 'teacher,' in this case of the law." Archbishop Timothy Dolan, soon to assume leaders of the New York archdiocese, said that Notre Dame made a "big mistake" by inviting the President-- although, oddly, Archbishop Dolan reportedly issued an invitation for Obama to attend his own installation ceremonies.

Obama apologist Douglas Kmiec defended the invitation in a Chicago Tribune op-ed column, while George Weigel, in the same newspaper, called it an "egregious error." Hadley Arkes suggested that if Notre Dame seriously wants to "engage in conversation" with the visiting President, Obama should be challenged to a public debate on the dignity of life.

 

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Further information:

• A Shepherd’s Message (Cardinal DiNardo/Texas Catholic Herald)
• Dolan: they made a big mistake (Sunday Insight)
• Notre Dame's common ground (Douglas Kmiec/Chicago Tribune)
• The university's egregious error (George Weigel/Chicago Tribune)
• A Modest Proposal for Dialogue at Notre Dame (Hadley Arkes/The Catholic Thing)
• The Notre Dame Commencement: Who's Smiling? (Diogenes/Off the Record)