The Cardinal Newman SocietyRenewing Catholic higher ed. BECOME A FAN......OR A FOLLOWERGET CATHOLIC CAMPUS NEWS VIA E-MAILBECOME A SUPPORTERThe Cardinal Newman Societyis..."...a public conscience for Catholic higher education,"Father Matthew Lamb, Ave Maria University"...a voice crying out in the wilderness,"Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR"...simply one of the most effective Catholic apostolates in America,"Brian St. Paul, editor InsideCatholic.comFounded in 1993, The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) is dedicated to renewing and strengthening Catholic identity at America's 224 Catholic colleges and universities. The Society focuses its work on assisting students, alumni and school officials; urging fidelity to the Magisterium...More about CNSThe Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic CollegeThe Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education
As of 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 23, more than 18,000 people have joined the nationwide campaign urging the University of Notre Dame to rescind the honor of selecting President Barack Obama as its commencement speaker on May 17. The campaign was launched at 6:00 p.m. Friday, March 20 immediately after The White House and Notre Dame made the announcement that Notre Dame would honor President Obama.
The campaign is organized around The Cardinal Newman Society sponsored website, NotreDameScandal.com, which includes an online petition to Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins, CSC, and contact information for the university. Catholics are urged to join the campaign, and the petition is being circulated among leaders of other Catholic organizations.
The petition has averaged more than 270 signatures per hour since its launch, and The Cardinal Newman Society is pleased to announce that CatholicVote.org has joined the campaign as a cosponsor of the petition effort.
The decision to honor President Obama has drawn quick and sharp criticism from Notre Dame alumni and Catholic leaders across the country.
Dr. Ralph McInerny, a professor at Notre Dame for more than 50 years, has written on the popular website The Catholic Thing that “By inviting Barack Obama as commencement speaker, Notre Dame is telling the nation that the teaching of the Catholic church on this fundamental matter [abortion] can be ignored.”
Thomas Peters at the American Papist blog has reported that Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput has encouraged Catholics to write to Notre Dame to protest the honor.
Project Sycamore, an organization dedicated to protecting Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, is organizing alumni to protest the honor.
NotreDameScandal.com will provide regular updates on all of the activities.
“It is an outrage and a scandal that ‘Our Lady’s University,’ one of the premier Catholic universities in the United States, would bestow such an honor on President Obama given his clear support for policies and laws that directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage,” the petition reads.
