Local Bishop and Notre Dame Students to Skip Commencement Honoring Obama

The furor over Notre Dame’s invitation to President Obama to speak and be honored at the May commencement is not dying down — only increasing. This insensitive and morally reprehensible action by Notre Dame has sickened both alumni and students.

Kudos to Bishop John D’Arcy in whose diocese Notre Dame is located. He will not attend the graduation, saying “This will be the 25th Notre Dame graduation during my time as bishop. After much prayer, I have decided not to attend the graduation…My decision is not an attack on anyone, but is in defense of the truth about human life.”

A number of Notre Dame student groups are strongly criticizing their own university. They call the decision by Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins to invite Obama “shameful.” “We cannot sit by idly while the University honors someone who believes that an entire class of human beings is undeserving of the most basic of all legal rights, the right to live,” the groups said in a statement.

Senior students are conflicted about attending their own graduation. What a sad dilemma Fr. Jenkins has caused for his own students.

Interestingly, the University stated that the uproar was not much worse than they expected. This confirms that they knowingly and deliberately created this controversy, public be damned.
The outrage from alumni, students and the public is so strong, that the University should not feel comfortable with where they are in the eyes of the public. The opposition will increase, not diminish. That’s what happens when people feel sincerely betrayed by those they held in high esteem on the most important human rights issue of our times.

Barbara Lyons