A friend of mine who works for the Archdiocese first alerted me to the presence of President Obama at the Notre Dame graduation. The initial complaint was that Obama insisted on having symbolic Catholic statues and symbols covered during his televised address. Having seen the coverage of the graduation, it was apparent that many on campus were troubled about his presence there.
Allowing the issue to fester for a few days in the ol’ brain, I came to a pretty solid conclusion: Notre Dame needs to fire whomever allowed President Obama to speak. Simple. Period. Mr. Obama’s very presence at the commencement ceremonies of the nation’s top Catholic institution is as appalling as David Duke speaking at a Synagog. It’s insulting to believe, as a Catholic, that Mr. Obama’s shock and awe campaign for president has allowed those in charge of the university to forget the underlying principles and responsibilities.
“Alright, alright, hang on their Chuck-O! You’re going a little overboard. After all, you’re not a right-wing extremest! Plus, you’ve already wrote who you are going into this administration with an open mind.”
My anger in this issue is two-fold. I am angered (but not surprised) that Obama would consider giving this speech at this University. I am also angered at the board of supervisors at Notre Dame who said, “I think this is a GOOD idea!” The later is what I’d rather spend my time discussing.
The fundamental obligation of all catholic educators is to uphold the traditions and standards set by Rome. In a lot of ways, American Catholics follow and allegiance to both Washington and Rome. While many would see this as conflicting ideology, this two-headed system gives the American Catholic the ability to move beyond the political hodgepodge of Washington and rely on the traditions set by Rome. When the state passes out condoms to “solve an illegitimate child concern”, Catholics can still look to a higher-order for true spiritual guidance without blindly accepting CNN political nonsense.
If the separation of Church and State is a core value of decision making in the halls of Congress, shouldn’t our executive branch STAY THE HELL OUT of a Catholic graduation?! Obama’s abortion stance alone justifies his exclusion from this event…much less his LESS THAN 100 DAYS decisions concerning stem cell research and gay marriage!
But, HEY, HE’S BARACK OBAMA, Savior of the nation!
It was polled that the majority of the students at Notre Dame did not mind Obama’s presence at their graduation. …..if four to five years in the flagship Catholic university didn’t instill a greater moral compass in any of these graduates, then they should be denied their diploma. If this statement is true, than not only have the faculty and staff at Notre Dame seen a total disgraceful decline in responsibility, the students have as well. It appears to me that Notre Dame is on the fast track to become a Berkley or any other liberal higher-learning institution…a value that is not found at the core mission of the school.
So, to finish my rant, I find it totally insulting for Obama to have had any involvement with the Notre Dame graduation…I find it totally insulting that those in charge of the university are obviously blinded to their responsibility and are caught up in Obamamania….and I find it TOTALLY DISCOURAGING that more catholics (students and beyond) did not draw a line in the sand in South Bend and declare this act an outrage to our beliefs.
Think what you want about Obama. He’s a lot of things. Catholic ain’t one of them.
