Former US Ambassador to the Vatican Says “No” to Notre Dame and Obama
Pro-Life Harvard Law professor (I didn’t know they had those at Harvard!), Ann Glendon, was to appear at Notre Dame to accept the Laetare Medal for recognition of outstanding service to the Roman Catholic church and society. She was to give a speech upon receiving the medal, but Obama’s invitation to speak at the school on the same day seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back and Ann Glendon has declined.
Here is her letter:
April 27, 2009
The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre DameDear Father Jenkins,
When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.
Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.
First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.
Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:
• “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”
• “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”
A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.
Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.
It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.
In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.
Yours Very Truly,
Mary Ann Glendon
Ann, I wouldn’t really appreciate being used as a pawn or an excuse for Notre Dame to go against its doctrines and the oath it took on behalf of the Church. I would back out if I also felt like I was being used without my consent. I also think that it is very valiant of Ann to stand on principle and not back down from her convictions.
Ann Glendon served as US Ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009.
Liberals have been protesting speakers for a very long time so I don’t want to hear anything from them when it comes to double standards (examples such as Tancredo, Rick Warren, Ann Coulter, Karl Rove, and so on and so forth).
Miss California Lost Pageant due to Gay Marriage Comments!?
What is wrong with our country? You can’t have an opinion any longer if it is a conservative or Christian viewpoint? Your opinion must coincide with these gay bigoted activists? Your opinion must be liberal in order to be acceptable? People are now required to toss their principles aside to appease others? How is this freedom of speech and how is what the Miss America Pageant did and Perez Hilton said not considered discriminatory? Read more
Gay Rights Activist Tears Up Bible and Uses Vulgarities Towards Catholics
A real showing of tolerance from the gay gentleman who is a part of the liberal party, professing to be tolerant of everyone. Except of course those who may have a different opinion. Of course the hypocrisy and irony of this is that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and can protest publicly or state it publicly if they so choose. You may not agree with Christians or Catholics and their stand against same sex marriage, but you have to allow them their own opinion and the freedom of speech as well. The only way to get your point across is civil debate and discourse, but as I am finding out more and more, the only method that the liberals know how to use is the method of “shut-uppery.” They, in essence, look like fools and never get their message across properly and only make things worse.
Take for example the protests during the Prop. 8 fiasco this past November and the vandalism and violence by gay activists, where an elderly woman was shouted down and her cross taken from her and stomped upon in Florida. Or a church in Michigan that had gay activists come in and tear up bibles and throw things around to disrupt a service. This is unfortunately, making their cause less valid because people who once were for acceptance are against itm based on the fact that they are so hateful, intolerant and are full of bigotry themselves, they just seem to have an incredible inability to look in a mirror.
Caroline Kennedy Denied by Vatican!
If this isn’t sweet justice, then I don’t know what is – but I sure do love Happy Endings!
The Vatican has blocked the appointment of Caroline Kennedy as US ambassador, according to reports.
Vatican sources told Il Giornale that their support for abortion disqualified Ms Kennedy and other Roman Catholics President Barack Obama had been seeking to appoint.
Mr Obama was reportedly seeking to reward John F Kennedy’s daughter, who publicly gave her support to his election bid. She had been poised to replace Hillary Clinton as New York senator, but dropped out amid criticism that she lacked enough experience for the job.
I guess the Pope, like you know, like figured out, that like Caroline, and like the rest of you know, the Kennedy clan, was like you know, anything but like pro-life or like remotely Catholic you know.
The Italian paper said that the Vatican strongly disapproved of Mr Obama’s support for abortion and stem cell research. The impasse over the ambassadorial appointment threatens to cloud his meeting with the Pope during a G8 summit in Itay in July.
Ms Kennedy, 53, has said that she supports abortion. Raymond Flynn, a former US ambassador to the Vatican, said earlier this week that Ms Kennedy would be a poor choice.
“It’s imperative, it’s essential that the person who represents us to the Holy See be a person who has pro-life values. I hope the President doesn’t make that mistake,” he told the Boston Herald. “She said she was pro-choice. I don’t assume she’s going to change that, which is problematic.”
The White House refused to comment.
Good for the Pope and the Catholic Church. You may not agree with the pro-life stance, but a religion shouldn’t have to kowtow to a political agenda or ideology. As I learned in International Business in undergrad – if you are conducting business or negotiating with a business overseas you should know their culture and respect it – same goes for the Catholic Church.
I’m not sure if Obama and his Administration are just that incompetent or just deliberately doing this to demean the Catholic religion. I tend to lean towards the latter – which is why I’m glad the Pope is holding his own.
Since this report is coming out of the U.K. I’m curious to know whether or not the rest of the MSM will report on this, besides Fox News.
